Bangladesh: Protesting Rohingya Refugees Beaten

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

October 1, 2020

Authorities Prepare to Relocate Thousands to Dangerous Island

A man walks past buildings on Bhasan Char, or floating island, in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh on December 19, 2019. © 2019 AP Photo/Saleh Noman

(New York) – Bangladesh authorities beat refugees protesting their detention on Bhasan Char Island with sticks and tree branches, Human Rights Watch said today. Naval officers allegedly beat the refugees, including children, in retribution for their hunger strike beginning on September 21, 2020 to demand reunification with their families in the Cox’s Bazar refugee camps.

Burma and Bangladesh - Regional Crisis Response Fact Sheet #5, Fiscal Year (FY) 2020

Activists Denounce Myanmar Election App For ‘Inflaming’ Ethnic Tensions

THE I DIPLOMAT
By Sebastian Strangio
October 01, 2020

By accepting Myanmar’s rigid official racial and religious categorizations, the EU-funded app runs the risk of entrenching sectarian divides.

A donor-funded election app designed to provide information to Myanmar voters has come under fire for its potential to inflame racism and religious nationalism ahead of elections on November 8.

The mVoter 2020 app, which was launched on September 29, was developed by the Stockholm-based organization International Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), under the EU-funded STEP Democracy program. The app was built in partnership with The Asia Foundation and Myanmar’s Union Election Commission (UEC).

OIC Committee on Accountability for Human Rights Violations against Rohingya Meets in Riyadh

International Quran News Agency
September 30, 2020

TEHRAN (IQNA) – The OIC Ad Hoc Ministerial Committee on Accountability for Human Rights Violations against the Rohingya held a consultative meeting at the level of Permanent Representatives in Riyadh on 30 September 2020.

 During the meeting, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Dr. Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen, reviewed the practical positive steps taken by the OIC to sensitize the international community of the plight of the Rohingya and the OIC’s strong commitment to the principles of justice and accountability for human rights violations committed against the Rohingya, particularly within the framework of the legal case filed with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Myanmar.

Rohingya refugees face continuous violence

NEW FRAME 
Friday, 2 October 2020

Two Myanmar soldiers have confessed to committing atrocities against Rohingya Muslims, giving more evidence of the genocide against the minority group.

Two personnel in Myanmar’s military have confessed to “exterminating” Rohingya Muslims. Human rights defenders believe that this public acknowledgement could substantiate the ongoing international genocide investigation at the International Court of Justice against Myanmar’s military establishment.

Myo Win Tun, 33, and Zaw Naoing Tun, 30, who belong to separate light infantry battalions, claimed they were given orders to “shoot and rape villagers” while raiding “kalar” villages – “kalar” is a derogatory term for Muslim Rohingyas.

UK for keeping Rohingya issue alive on UNSC agenda

NEWAGE

Diplomatic Correspondent 

Oct 01,2020 

The United Kingdom on Wednesday stressed the need for keeping the Rohingya issues alive on the international platforms including the UN Security Council for mounting pressure on Myanmar for ensuring repatriation of the members of the community to Rakhine.

‘Myanmar must remain on the agenda’ of the UNSC and likeminded countries would require to work together on the matter, British high commissioner Robert Chatterton Dickson said in a talk held on a web platform with Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh in Dhaka.

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.

Myanmar Desertions Offer an Opening for Rohingya Justice

THE I DIPLOMAT
By Shannon Maree Torrens
September 30, 2020

The recent confessions of the two Myanmar army defectors bring justice one step closer to fruition.

The long-term persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, which dates back to the 1970s, has become particularly grave in recent years, as increasing crackdowns have coincided with mounting challenges to the pursuit of justice. However, a new opportunity for justice for the Rohingya has recently opened, in the form of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

‘Safe zones’ plan shows Bangladesh is accepting Rohingya reality

ARAB NEWS

DR. AZEEM IBRAHIM
September 29, 2020

Rohingya refugees stretch their hands to receive aid at Balukhali makeshift refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, Sept. 14, 2017. (Reuters)

 

The government of Bangladesh this week called on the international community to establish “safe zones” within Myanmar to allow for the Rohingya to safely return to the country of their birth. This is not likely to happen, but it does signal a welcome evolution on the part of the government of Bangladesh on the Rohingya situation.

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

Coronavirus and security issues cast a pall over Myanmar polls

DW
30.09.2020

Political parties in Myanmar are calling for the postponement of a national election amid rising COVID-19 cases. Continued unrest in the country's northeast also threatens to keep people from voting.

Political parties in Myanmar have urged the Union Election Commission (UEC) to postpone November's election, saying the "COVID-19 restrictions will hinder their election campaigns."

But the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party, headed by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, has decided to go ahead with its election campaign on social media.

UN meeting that began with unity concludes with divisions

StarTribune
EDITH M. LEDERER
Associated Press
September 30, 2020

UNITED NATIONS — This year's U.N. General Assembly meeting began with calls for multilateralism and cooperation — a declaration that the urgency for countries to unite "has rarely been greater." It concluded with a parade of divisive grievances that echoed when the final gavel fell.

Leader after leader in days of speeches delivered virtually stressed the importance of working together to navigate the coronavirus outbreak and the challenges that lie beyond it. As Germany's foreign minister put it, COVID-19 "shows that international cooperation is neither an ideology nor an end in itself. On the contrary, it delivers results, far beyond the actual pandemic."

Today's News (Quick Search ) September 2020

Rohingya News all over the world

NEWS TODAY    
30.09.2020
586 Rohingyas held in 8 months newagebd.net

America Has a Shameful Double Standard on Human Rights The National Interest Online

Bangladesh, India discuss celebration of Liberation War, Rohingya issue The Hindu

Dhaka asks UN to do more to solve Rohingya crisis Dhaka Tribune

Died in military custody, taxi driver's body handed over to family Narinjara News

Hindu police officer in Jammu attacking Muslims, Islam on twitter Kashmir Media Service

India-Bangladesh JCC meet: Leaders discuss trade, Rohingya issue, terrorism – Livemint

Kyauktaw Twsp man detained by Tatmadaw, family says Burma News International

Myanmar Desertions Offer an Opening for Rohingya Justice The Diplomat

Myanmar says militants hampering return of Rohingya refugees Minneapolis Star Tribune

Myanmar's Election a High-Stakes Game in War-Torn Rakhine State The Irrawaddy News Magazine

PROFILE -Kuwait Emir: 6 decades of benevolent mediation Turkish Press

'Safe zones' plan shows Bangladesh is accepting Rohingya reality Arab News

The Latest: Mali notable in its absence from UN meeting MyMotherLode.com

The Latest: Myanmar says militants hampering Rohingya return WBNG-TV

The Latest: New Zealand representative gives live UN speech Minneapolis Star Tribune

UN meeting that began with unity concludes with divisions Minneapolis Star Tribune

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

Bangladesh experts urge government not to issue passports for Rohingya in Saudi Arabia

FINANCIAL EXPRESS

September 28, 2020

 

Bangladesh's decision to issue national passports to Rohingya living in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) will be harmful to the country's interest, opined foreign affairs experts.

Recently, Saudi Arabia, the largest employer of Bangladeshi workers - numbering 2.2 million, asked Bangladesh to issue passports to around 54,000 Rohingya living there.

Apparently under pressure from the Saudi government, Bangladesh has, in principle, agreed to issue national passports to Saudi Rohingyas on conditions.

Bangladesh Deploys Troops on Myanmar’s Border

The Irrawaddy
By Htet Naing Zaw
28 September 2020

Bangladeshi soldiers on Myanmar’s border. / India Express

Naypyitaw — The Bangladeshi military has deployed troops in Cox’s Bazar District in southeastern Bangladesh along Myanmar’s border, according to Myanmar’s security sources.

The sources, who did not want to be named, reported seeing Division 10 along the border increasing in size since Sept. 25 with 155mm rocket launchers, shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles and anti-aircraft machine guns.

Myanmar’s military spokesman, Major General Zaw Min Tun, said Myanmar’s armed forces were taking action to maintain border security without affecting bilateral military relations.

MYANMAR: ROHINGYA DROWNING IN BLAME FOR SECOND WAVE OF COVID-19

ASIA MEDIA

September 26, 2020

SARA ALTUWAIJRI WRITES — Myanmar is facing a second wave of COVID-19, new cases are skyrocketing and, with general elections coming November 8, officials are accusing Rohingya of spreading the second wave of COVID. Why the blame? So that those aiming for election or re-election can gain people’s support. As elections get closer, politicians are spreading hate against the Rohingya. As stated by Rohingya activist Nay San Lwin, “Politicians in Myanmar are always trying to take advantage of the situation we are in. Although there were no Rohingya victims in the second COVID-19 wave, some politicians began propagating against us.” She adds that despite the fact that the first two new cases of coronavirus involved Rakhine Buddhists, Muslim Rohingya are blamed for the second wave and accused of bringing the virus from Bangladesh.

Dhaka to remind world of Rohingya failure at UNGA

FINANCIAL EXPRESS
September 26, 2020

Bangladesh will bring the unresolved Rohingya crisis before the global leaders today (Saturday) apparently reminding everybody of the failure to find a durable solution to the crisis amid Myanmar's non-fulfilment of repatriation pledge, officials said, reports UNB.

Bangladesh will also seek genuine efforts from the global community to help Rohingyas return to their place of origin in Myanmar's Rakhine State, they said.

PM Hasina to address UN General Assembly on Saturday

Dhaka Tribune
26 September, 2020

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina virtually addresses the high-level roundtable event held on the sidelines of the 75th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Thursday, September 24, 2020 

Focus Bangla

For the first time in the UN’s history, global leaders are joining virtually the annual high-level session

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will virtually address the 75th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on Saturday.

“The prime minister is scheduled to deliver her pre-recorded country statement at the UNGA general debate in the UN Headquarters approximately at 10 am New York time (Bangladesh time 8 pm) tomorrow,” PM’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim told BSS today.

Ongoing oppression of Rohingya highlighted again

ASIA TIMES

 by Kyaw Win  
Opinion
September 25, 2020
The effort to cause the Rohingya harm through the legal system and in the media is fully operational  

Rohingya refugees walk on a muddy path after crossing the border in Teknaf, Bangladesh, on September 3, 2017. Photo: Reuters / Mohammad Ponir Hossain

A new report has highlighted the need for the international community to examine the ongoing oppression against the Rohingya.

Myanmar is a nation whose history is marred by the struggle between those in power and those they oppress. In recent years this has been especially true of the ethnic Rohingya in the country’s western Rakhine state. They have faced decades of oppression, culminating most recently in a military campaign against them that is now being investigated as genocide by the United Nations.

Rohingya Genocide: ICC considers holding hearings in Bangladesh

theindepedent

26 September, 2020
UNB, Dhaka

Rohingya refugees want the hearings to be held away from ICC headquarters in The Hague. Photo: UNB/Wikicommons 

 

The Registry of the International Criminal Court has filed its observations on a joint request by the victims to hold the hearings in the Rohingya genocide case within reasonable proximity of the affected populations, instead of The Hague.  

In its filing submitted on September 21, which is available on the ICC’s website, the Registry outlines five possible scenarios whereby all or some part of the hearings may be held in Bangladesh, and details the pros and cons of each.