UN, embassies fret over Myanmar coup talk

Bangkok Post 

AFP
29 Jan 2021

Supreme Court postpones decision on military-linked party's claim of electoral fraud

Myanmar is just a decade out of nearly 50 years of military rule. (AFP Photo)  

YANGON: More than a dozen embassies, including the US and EU delegations, on Friday urged Myanmar to “adhere to democratic norms”, joining the United Nations in a chorus of international concern about a possible military coup.

Political tensions eased slightly on Friday when the Supreme Court postponed considering allegations of electoral misconduct by President Win Myint and election commission chairman Hla Thein.

 
The submissions filed by the military-linked Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) would be “reserved for judgement", the court said.

Move of Rohingya Refugees Poses Environmental and Human Rights Concerns

EcoWatch

Tina Gerhardt
Dec. 18, 2020

Rohingya refugees board a Bangladesh Navy ship to be transported to the island of Bhashan Char in Chittagong on December 4, 2020. AFP / Getty Images

On December 4, about 1,600 Rohingya traveled across the Bay of Bengal in seven navy boats from Chattogram to Bhasan Char. Bangladesh plans to move 100,000 families to the island.

The move poses serious concerns, both with regard to the environment and human rights.

Located about 18.6 miles (30 km) from the mainland, Bhasan Char is low-lying and prone to flooding. Therefore, it has been uninhabited. The island only formed in the past 20 years as a result of silt buildup. Bhasan Char rests at the confluence of three large rivers, the Brahmaputra, the Ganges and the Meghna River, which collectively bring rich deposits of silt to the bay.

UN should help Rohingyas in Bhasan Char: Foreign minister

Prothum Alo------  

Prothom Alo English Desk
Dhaka
Published: 7 December 2020,

Foreign minister AK Abdul MomenUNB

Foreign minister AK Abdul Momen on Monday said the United Nations should help Rohingyas in Bhasan Char following the mandate on the basis of which the UN works in Bangladesh, reports UNB.

"They (UN) should follow their mandate (on refugees). It doesn't matter where they're living," he told reporters.

Momen said the UN should not think of whether the Rohingyas are living in Kutupalong, Bhasan Char or somewhere else. "It's their mandate to help them (refugees). They should do it."

Netherlands, Sweden call for urgent UN assessment on safety of Rohingyas at Bhasan Char

The Daily Star

Star Online Report
December 08, 2020

Photo: Star

 
The Netherlands and Sweden have called for urgent need for a UN assessment on the safety, feasibility and sustainability of Bhasan Char as a place for refugees to live.

The call came after a visit by the two European ambassadors to Cox's Bazar where about a million Rohingyas are living in congested refugee camps.

At least 1642 Rohingyas were transferred to Bhashan Char on December 5 amid criticism from the UN and rights bodies who say the island in Hatiya of Noakhali is low-lying and isolated. UN said it was waiting for assessment by a technical team of the UN.

UN recognises enormous investment in Bhasan Char: Mia Seppo

UNB

UNB NEWS
DHAKA
DECEMBER 05, 2020, 

It's sign of search for solutions to manage Rohingya situation, she says

UN Resident Coordinator in Dhaka Mia Seppo on Saturday said the UN and its all the agencies recognise the enormous investment that the government of Bangladesh has made in building Bhasan Char for Rohingya relocation.

"We recognise the enormous investment...that's obviously a sign of the search for solutions in managing the situation," she told reporters after attending a programme marking the International Volunteer Day.

The government invested more than US$ 350.00 million to develop the 13,000-acre island with all modern amenities, year-round fresh water, beautiful lake and proper infrastructure and enhanced facilities, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

Rohingya relocation: UN reiterates offer to engage

DhakaTribune

Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan

December 2nd, 2020

File photo: Forcibly displaced Rohingya refugees playing football at a refugee camp in Bhashan Char ISPR

“The United Nations has not been involved in preparations for this movement or the identification of refugees and has limited information on the overall relocation exercise,” it said

On the eve of the beginning of the relocation of Rohingyas from Cox’s Bazar to Bhashan Char, the United Nations reiterated its offer to engage with the process subject to technical and protection assessments of the island to be carried out by independent experts.

UN says it has 'limited information' on Rohingya relocation to Bhasan Char

bdnews24.com

News Desk, bdnews24.com
Published: 02 Dec 2020

A 91-feet high lighthouse has also been constructed on the island, which is capable of providing navigational assistance to vessels that are up to 14 nautical miles away.

The United Nations has called on Bangladesh to ensure that the Rohingya people are able to make a 'free and informed decision' about relocating to Bhasan Char as the government prepares to move the first batch of refugees to the island.

In a statement on Wednesday, the UN, however, said it has not been involved in preparations for this movement or the identification of the refugees and has limited information on the overall relocation exercise.

"The United Nations takes this opportunity to highlight its longstanding position that Rohingya refugees must be able to make a free and informed decision about relocating to Bhasan Char based upon relevant, accurate and updated information."

Bangladesh faces opposition on Rohingya relocation

AA

SM Najmus Sakib
DHAKA, Bangladesh
29.11.2020

Citing ‘huge pressure’ on Cox’s Bazar, Dhaka plans to start transferring Rohingya to   remote islet in December

Bangladesh remains determined to transfer 100,000 Rohingya refugees in the temporary shelter to a remote island despite widespread opposition from rights groups and UN agencies.

The South Asian nation said it is set to initiate the relocation to the remote islet, 50 kilometers (31 miles) from its southwestern coast in December, citing “rising pressure” on the tourist hub of Cox’s Bazar, where 1.2 million Rohingya refugees are currently housed in camps.

Myanmar ignoring Rohingya genocide trial measures, say activists

Eastern Eyes

November 26, 2020

The President of The Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), Tun Khin, poses in front of Argentine federal court in Buenos Aires on November 13, 2019. (Photo by JUAN MABROMATA / AFP)

Human rights lawyers and activists said on Monday (23) that Myanmar is continuing to commit genocide against Rohingya Muslims in breach of orders by the UN’s top court.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January rejected arguments made personally by Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in The Hague and imposed urgent interim measures on the predominantly Buddhist nation.

UN Rohingya resolution reeks of Dhaka’s diplomatic failures

NEWAGE 

Nov 21,2020  

THE United Nations having adopted a resolution on November 18 urging Myanmar to resolve the Rohingya crisis appears to the Bangladesh side to be ‘a major achievement’. But experts believe that the adoption of such a resolution is of little significance. This also speaks of major diplomatic failures on part of Bangladesh authorities. After the latest round of ‘security operations’ by Myanmar’s military in Rakhine, 8,60,000 Rohingyas had fled unbridled violence to safety into Bangladesh since August 25, 2017 to join many others having already lived here since the late 1970s to take the total number of Rohingyas in Bangladesh to more than 1.1 million. Efforts to repatriate the Rohingyas since August 2017 have faltered twice — on August 22, 2019 and November 15, 2018 — mostly because Myanmar continued creating a fearful situation for the Rohingyas in Rakhine, with none living in Cox’s Bazar camps voluntarily turning up to accept the repatriation offer, citing a ‘lack of a congenial atmosphere’ in their homeland. The process of Rohingya repatriation has since then been left somewhat unattended. Although the Bangladesh permanent representative to the United Nations describes the adoption of the resolution as ‘a very strong mandate’, this speaks of grave Bangladesh failures at the diplomatic level.

Hate speech rife in Myanmar ahead of elections: Study

AA

Md. Kamruzzaman

DHAKA, Bangladesh 

04.11.2020

Ahead of general elections, state-sponsored hate speech, fake news, incitement to violence have mar campaigns, says report 

 A new study on the ongoing general election season in Myanmar documented cases of social media hate speech and disinformation by authorities against the country's minority communities.

The study, released on Wednesday by the UK-based Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN), reported 39 cases of hate speech and disinformation, of which some were shared over online platforms more then 2,000 times.

'Rohingya crisis among worst modern tragedies'

AA

Muhammet Tarhan

ANKARA  

21.10.2020

Senior Turkish diplomat urges Muslim countries to show solidarity with Rohingya Muslims

The Rohingya crisis is among the gravest tragedies in modern times, a senior Turkish diplomat said Tuesday.

In a ministerial committee meeting on the persecuted Muslim group held by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim Kiran underlined that the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the matter had recorded incidents in Myanmar involving "genocidal intentions."

OP-ED: Bangladesh is being held hostage

Dhaka Tribune  

Anis Alamgir

October 12th, 2020

Abandoned by all BIGSTOCK

With little support from the international arena, what is the future of the Rohingya in Bangladesh?

On October 5, Vikram Doraiswami, the newly appointed Indian High Commissioner to the country, arrived in Bangladesh. He told reporters at the land port in Akhaura: “Bangladesh is one of India’s closest friends, and thus we are eager to continue and enhance our bilateral relationship with this neighbouring country.”

Beijing is now more interested in keeping Bangladesh as a development partner through the continuous effort of distancing Dhaka from Delhi. Recently, Sino-Indian relations with Bangladesh are looking great, but the reality is different.

UN urged to take action against Myanmar over civilian abuses

Aljazeera
12 Oct 2020

First-hand testimonies and images obtained by Amnesty show the Myanmar military’s ‘utter disregard for civilian suffering’ in Rakhine, Chin states.

Myanmar's armed forces, also known as Tatmadaw, have been battling the Arakan Army, a rebel group seeking greater autonomy for the country's western region, including Rakhine and Chin states [File: Hein Htet/EPA]

 

Amnesty International has called on the United Nations Security Council to take urgent action against Myanmar before the International Criminal Court, amid mounting evidence of military abuses, including indiscriminate firing at civilians in the continuing conflict with armed Arakan rebels.

In a report released on Monday, Amnesty said that first-hand testimony, photographs and video evidence obtained by the group show the Myanmar military’s “utter disregard for civilian suffering” in areas at the epicentre of the fighting.

The UN Sees The Rohingyas as The World's Most Persecuted. Here is Why?

albawa news
October 4th, 2020

More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires while over 114,000 others were beaten. (AFP)

 

Highlights

 

Myanmar's actions 'amount to crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, severe deprivation of liberty,' says HRW.

Rohingya Muslims held in open-air detention camps in Myanmar's Rakhine State since 2012 have been subjected to "institutional oppressions" and "grave rights violations," according to a new report by an international rights group.

Dhaka asks UN to do more to solve Rohingya crisis

Dhaka Tribune

Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan

September 30th, 2020

Newly-appointed Permanent Representative to UN, Geneva Mustafizur Rahman presents his letter of credentialsto Tatiana Valovaya, director-general of the UN, Geneva on Sept 28, 2020 Courtesy

Newly-appointed Permanent Representative to UN, Geneva, Mustafizur Rahman presents his letter of credentials

Dhaka has urged the United Nations to play a more proactive role to find an acceptable solution at the earliest to the protracted Rohingya crisis that has been affecting Bangladesh in a bad manner for a long time.

Bangladesh’s newly-appointed Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Mustafizur Rahman made the call while presenting his letter of credentials to Tatiana Valovaya, director-general of the UN, Geneva, on Monday.

Will Facebook Sit On The Evidence Of The Genocide Against The Rohingyas?

Forbes

Ewelina U. Ochab
Policy
Contributor

On June 8, 2020, The Gambia filed an application for discovery with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The application asks the Court to compel Facebook to provide information related to the personal Facebook accounts of Myanmar officials. The information that The Gambia seeks is to be used in an action brought by The Gambia against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, The Netherlands.

 

Roshida, 22, poses for a photo on December 1, 2017, in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. She fled to ... [+]

Getty Images

Donors reiterate support for Rohingya

FINANCIAL EXPRESS
September 25, 2020  
                                  
                          Envoys of US, EU, UK, Canada visit Cox's Bazar

File Photo used for representational purpose 

Representatives of the international community in Bangladesh conducted a two-day visit to Cox's Bazar and visited the Rohingya refugee camps. They reiterated their commitment to support Rohingya refugees in a joint statement on Thursday

The representatives include the ambassadors of the United States (US) and the European Union (EU), the British High Commissioner, the Head of Humanitarian Aid of the Canadian High Commission, the World Bank (WB) Country Director, and the United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator.

Commodifying prisoners of war in Myanmar

ASIA TIMES
by David Scott Mathieson
September 25, 2020

New York Times and Fortify Rights may have endangered Rohingya justice initiatives by trumpeting captured Myanmar soldiers' testimony 

Arakan Army soldiers on the march at an undisclosed location in Myanmar's Rakhine state. Image: Facebook 

BANGKOK – As long-anticipated international accountability measures for Myanmar gather pace, recent developments which at first seem to promise evidence for justice, on closer examination could potentially disrupt such investigations.

On September 8, the American nongovernmental organization Fortify Rights released a statement, in conjunction with the New York Times, of testimony by two Myanmar Army, or Tatmadaw, soldiers who claim to have perpetrated under military orders the murder of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state in 2017.

PH is willing to accept refugees, Duterte tells UN General Assembly

INQIRER.NET

Darryl John Esguerra
Reporter / @DJEsguerraINQ
INQUIRER.net
September 23, 2020

MANILA, Philippines — In his first-ever speech before the United Nations General Assembly, President Rodrigo Duterte reiterated on Wednesday the Philippines’ willingness to accept refugees, including the Rohingyas from Myanmar.

 
Duterte cited the Philippines’ history of opening its doors to the refugees — White Russians following the 1917 Revolution, European Jews during the Second World War, Vietnamese during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, and Iranians displaced by the 1979 revolution.