Global News Post: Communal Violence

After Sectarian Violence in Myanmar: Rohingyas Heading to Malaysia

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">  <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUo6cdx6lW6M6z46VPfF9uSPu18lc9xHrb6Si4b3Vbv9gZnHGNSXkTOA0TID8m0kRkhb0B0Tn8OogpWEFe5ZlWg7Xj_0EO-vT1VOuJNN14kY7svrmpPJVOC1jDNiXINc0yFHYWnxsMR-k/s1600/201211061354390816.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUo6cdx6lW6M6z46VPfF9uSPu18lc9xHrb6Si4b3Vbv9gZnHGNSXkTOA0TID8m0kRkhb0B0Tn8OogpWEFe5ZlWg7Xj_0EO-vT1VOuJNN14kY7svrmpPJVOC1jDNiXINc0yFHYWnxsMR-k/s1600/201211061354390816.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Maher Sattar/IRIN</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Mohammad
Johar wants to leave for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
soon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">BANGKOK</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-IRIN) -- Thousands of Rohingya -
whether currently in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>
or <st1:country-region w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:country-region> - may take to
the high seas and head to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:country-region>
after last month’s deadly sectarian violence in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>’s
western <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>, activists warn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The
risk factor is certainly there,” Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, an
advocacy organization for the Rohingya, told IRIN. “Many simply feel they have
no other choice. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has closed its borders so there is no other escape.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“More
people are getting on boats to get to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:country-region>,”
Phil Robertson, the deputy director of the <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place>
Division of Human Rights Watch, said. “This year might be one of the largest
sailing seasons [of Rohingya refugees going to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region> from the two countries].”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">According
to UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are more than 24,000 Rohingya refugees and
asylum seekers in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Close
to 110,000 mostly Rohingya residents are displaced in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>
following inter-communal violence between Muslim Rohingya and ethnic (mainly
Buddhist) Rakhine residents, and need humanitarian assistance, the UN Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Nov 5. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On
Oct 21, more than 35,000 people were displaced across eight Rakhine townships
(Kyaukpyu, Kyauktaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Myebon, Pauktaw, Ramree and Rathedaung)
after a wave of inter-communal violence resulted in 89 deaths and the
destruction of more than 5,000 homes and buildings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In
earlier violence in June, dozens were killed and some 75,000 Rohingyas were
displaced following the alleged rape of a Rakhine woman by a group of Muslim
men in May. Most of the displaced are staying in nine overcrowded camps in
Sittwe, the capital of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename>
 <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Despite
the presence of thousands of soldiers and police, security across Rakhine
remains tense, while access for aid workers is increasingly proving
problematic. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">OCHA
says more displacements are likely. "The situation is still very, very
volatile, it's very tense. The government is doing its very best to keep the
situation under control, but it's still very fragile,” said Jens Laerke, an
OCHA spokesman. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Bangladesh
responded to the June violence by enforcing its “closed door” policy more
strictly, leaving the Rohingyas in Rakhine State - described by the UN as one
of the most persecuted minorities in the world - in an even tighter spot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Bangladesh</span></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> is already home to more than 200,000,
mostly undocumented Rohingya refugees, and <st1:place w:st="on">Dhaka</st1:place>
insists it is in no position to accept any more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Thousands
could well seek shelter in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:country-region>,
an escape that requires undertaking a dangerous voyage across the Indian Ocean
often in rickety, and overcrowded boats ill-equipped to make the journey, said
Maung Kyaw Nu, president of the Burmese Rohingya Association in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Thailand</st1:country-region></st1:place>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Whether
they are able to get to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
is another issue,” he said. Many of those getting on the boats are desperate
enough to shell out more than US$1,500 for the passage, he added.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Many
think the risk is worth it. Mohammad Johar, an undocumented Rohingya in the
town of <st1:city w:st="on">Teknaf</st1:city> in southeastern <st1:country-region w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:country-region> bordering <st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype>, is already plotting his escape
after saving up money for almost a year, and motivated by his longstanding fear
of life back in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Many
things can go wrong. The boat’s motor can stop working. The authorities can try
to stop you, since what we’re doing is illegal,” the 23-year-old said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Groups
of 20-30 passengers are typically picked up in the dead of night from various
areas in <st1:city w:st="on">Chittagong</st1:city>, Cox’s Bazaar, and Teknaf in
southeastern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bangladesh</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
he explained, from where they are transferred to larger boats at sea. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On
Oct 31, one such boat on its way to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:place></st1:country-region> reportedly sank. Some 130
Rohingyas on board are believed to have drowned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I
have learned that last year perhaps as many as 50 percent of all boat refugees
died,” said Maung Kyaw Nu. -- NNN-IRIN (www.irinnews.org)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

After Sectarian Violence in Myanmar: Rohingyas Heading to Malaysia

Photo: Maher Sattar/IRIN Mohammad Johar wants to leave for Malaysia soon BANGKOK (NNN-IRIN) -- Thousands of Rohingya -...

Aung San Suu Kyi Refuses to Take Sides in Burma Ethnic Violence

Aung San Suu Kyi Refuses to Take Sides in Burma Ethnic Violence

Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has urged tolerance in response to a wave of ethnic violence in the west of the country, but ...

MYANMAR: Rohingyas Call for Global Day of Action on Nov 8

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">YANGON
(NNN-MIZZIMA) -- Rohingya groups from across the world have signed a statement
calling for a Global Day of Action on Nov 8 in support of human rights for the
Rohingya people of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“We
call upon all organisations and individuals who support human rights for the
Rohingya to unite to take action on November 8th. On this date it will be 5
months since violent attacks against the Rohingya began in Arakan (<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>),” the
joint statement said. “We call [on] you for demonstrations at Myanmar Embassies
or the Foreign Ministry in your respective countries.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
Rohingya umbrella group, which includes Rohingya Organisation UK and similar
NGOs in Europe, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Malaysia</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Thailand</st1:country-region>, claims that
since violence erupted in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename>
 <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place> in June, thousands
of Rohingya people have been forced to flee their homes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In
its statement on Thursday, the group also drew attention to allegations that
many Rohingya villagers have been living under a state of siege and that many
are suffering from starvation and disease. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
Rohingya groups also called for support for its call to the United Nations to
send UN peacekeepers and international observers into the restive region, the
unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to those affected, and for the
establishment of a UN commission of inquiry into the violence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">They
also called on the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>
government to repeal the 1982 Citizenship Law under which the Rohingya are
effectively rendered stateless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
Washington-based US Campaign for Burma (USCB) released a statement on Nov 1
demanding “extreme elements from both sides [Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim
Rohingya] immediately stop utilizing violence as a solution, and to end the
distribution of false and fabricated information with an aim to fuel further
violence and instigating discrimination.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">USCB
urged President Thein Sein to take action against those responsible for the
violence. It also called on the Myanmar Parliament to review the 1982
Citizenship Law and amend the law in accordance with the international standard,
thereby allowing stateless persons in the country to be granted citizenship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The
recent communal violence in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename>
 <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place> is a product of
decades-long, deep-seeded cultural distrust between the two communities,” the
USCB said. “When people are committed to the democratic principle to tolerate
and respect differences, such distrust can be overcome, which sets up the
future possibility of unity. Diversity is the destiny of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>.” -- NNN-MIZZIMA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

MYANMAR: Rohingyas Call for Global Day of Action on Nov 8

YANGON (NNN-MIZZIMA) -- Rohingya groups from across the world have signed a statement calling for a Global Day of Action on Nov 8 in su...

At Least 56 Dead in New Ethnic Violence in Myanmar

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW DELHI</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-IRNA) -- At least 56 people have been
killed and nearly 2,000 homes destroyed in the latest outbreak of ethnic
violence in western <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country></st1:place>,
a government official said on Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
25 men and 31 women were reported dead in four Rakhine state townships in
violence between the Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities that
re-erupted on Sunday, PTI reported quoting local government spokesman Win
Myaing as saying in Kyauktaw.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">He
said some 1,900 homes had been burned down in fresh conflict, while 60 men and
four women were injured. In June, ethnic violence in the state left at least 90
people dead and destroyed more than 3,000 homes. Tens of thousands of people
remain in refugee camps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Curfews
have been in place in some areas since June, and been extended to others due to
the recent violence. --NNN-IRNA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

At Least 56 Dead in New Ethnic Violence in Myanmar

NEW DELHI (NNN-IRNA) -- At least 56 people have been killed and nearly 2,000 homes destroyed in the latest outbreak of ethnic violence...

Sectarian Violence Spreads in Burma

Sectarian Violence Spreads in Burma

By Daniel Schearf VOA News--- Renewed sectarian violence between Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist Rakhine is spreading in Burma ’s we...

INDIA: Army Only for Specific Operations in Violence-Stricken Assam

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">GUWAHATI (ASSAM, INDIA) (NNN-PTI) -- Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday said the Indian army will be used in the state only for specific operations to seize illegal arms and restore peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Army, which was being used to assist the civil administration in violence-hit districts, will be used in seizing illegal arms from the violence-hit districts initially.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They have been already put into action in Chirang and Bongaigaon districts and soon will conduct similar operations in the other districts, he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The army is out and is helping us. It has been given full powers to seize illegal arms and ammunition and I believe we will get results very soon," Gogoi said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The army, already engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the entire state, was requisitioned by the state government from July 25 to specifically assist the civil administration in quelling violence in lower Assam.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, the chief minister has called a meeting of senior officials at the state secretariat today to review the prevailing law and order situation in the affected districts.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A team of Youth Congress members was scheduled to visit Kokrajhar district on Wednesday on the directives of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tension prevails in the affected districts following widespread violence in different parts of the state during Tuesday's bandh called by the All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU) with security forces maintaining a strict vigil, official sources said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Night curfew was continuing in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts, they said. -- NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

INDIA: Army Only for Specific Operations in Violence-Stricken Assam

GUWAHATI (ASSAM, INDIA) (NNN-PTI) -- Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday said the Indian army will be used in the state only for...

OIC Keen to Send Mission to Myanmar on Rohingya Muslims

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (NNN-Bernama) -- The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will ask the Myanmar Government to allow an OIC fact-finding mission to be sent to Myanmar, said OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He made the remarks in an OIC statement at the conclusion of the Executive Committee meeting to discuss the Muslim Rohingya issue at the Permanent Representative level at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah over the weekend. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ihsanoglu has expressed disappointment over the failure of the international community to stop the tyranny and discrimination by the Myanmar Government against the Rohingya Muslims in Arakan, formerly known as Rakhine state. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He suggested looking into the possibility of considering the formation of an Islamic fact-finding committee to seek the best solution to the issue among all parties, including the Myanmar Government, as well as international and regional organisations. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The secretary-general said the indifference of the international community to the rights of the Rohingya people, and fragmentation of the 25 Rohingya organisations, had motivated the largest Muslim organisation to make efforts to unite the organisations at the OIC headquarters in May last year. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“OIC has directed its offices at the United Nations in New York to work in coordination with the Member States that are also non-permanent members in the UN Security Council, namely, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Pakistan and Togo, to urge the <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Council to look into the suffering of the Rohingya Muslims,” he added. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He also urged the OIC Permanent and Independent Human Rights Commission to study the crisis of Myanmar Muslims and its human rights implications during its next session in Turkey at the end of this month. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meanwhile, Ihsanoglu hoped that Bangladesh could review its position on the Rohingya Muslims, although he understood Bangladesh's position and the sensitivity of the issue. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Violence, which erupted in June, this year, in the Rakhine state between Buddhists and Rohingya, left about 80 people dead on both sides, official figures showed. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Reports said the Myanmar Government’s restrictions on humanitarian access to the Rohingya community had left many of the over 100,000 people displaced and in dire need of food, shelter, and medical care. --- NNN-BERNAMA </span></div>

OIC Keen to Send Mission to Myanmar on Rohingya Muslims

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (NNN-Bernama) -- The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will ask the Myanmar Government to allow an OIC fact...

INDIA: Displaced Persons in Assam Expected to Return to their Villages in Next Few Days: Home Minister

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-F5i_DiKZFAYJhxZhbgO88jnq19NcS3RlcxyQmPpOJhLfSGCxFHbXBeNa7FpjqACg-gJckGFoSLtK5AgfTr25YHnl9FYejz0_kEgw_jmaXnEuMBk1J414WdLvl8mB4vpuk32xcOLKm4/s1600/l2012073141549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-F5i_DiKZFAYJhxZhbgO88jnq19NcS3RlcxyQmPpOJhLfSGCxFHbXBeNa7FpjqACg-gJckGFoSLtK5AgfTr25YHnl9FYejz0_kEgw_jmaXnEuMBk1J414WdLvl8mB4vpuk32xcOLKm4/s640/l2012073141549.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The Union Home Minister, P. Chidambaram addressing a press conference after visiting Kokrajhar during his visit to Assam on July 30, 2012. The Chief Minister of Assam, Tarun Gogoi is also seen. Photo © PIB<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI (PIB) --- Ministry of Home Affairs has sent 65 additional companies of Central Armed Police Forces to Assam to restore normalcy in the State.  Presenting the Ministry’s Report Card for the month of July in New Delhi today, the Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said that plans have been drawn up to establish police pickets in sensitive villages in Assam.  He further said that the displaced persons are expected to return to their villages in the next few days.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Minister said that “on July 30-31, 2012, I visited Assam to review the security situation and the relief provided to persons displaced in the recent ethnic conflict. It is deeply regrettable that 56 persons lost their lives and more than 4 lakh persons have been displaced. They are currently sheltered in 278 camps set up by the Government. The Ministry of Home Affairs has provided additional 65 companies of CAPFs to Assam. The immediate tasks are relief, rehabilitation and providing security. Plans have been drawn up to establish police pickets in sensitive villages. The displaced persons are anxious to return and are expected to return to their villages in the next few days. Government of India has offered full cooperation and support to the State government.”<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

INDIA: Displaced Persons in Assam Expected to Return to their Villages in Next Few Days: Home Minister

The Union Home Minister, P. Chidambaram addressing a press conference after visiting Kokrajhar during his visit to Assam on July 30, 2012....

Rohingya Muslims' Massacre "Blot On Face of Humanity" - India's Scholar

Rohingya Muslims' Massacre "Blot On Face of Humanity" - India's Scholar

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Massacre of Rohingya Muslims of Arakan region in Myanmar is "a blot on the face of humanity", ...

Indian Court Convicts 31 Hindus for Muslim Killings

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span>A court in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> has convicted 31 Hindus and sentenced them to life in prison for killing dozens of Muslims nearly a decade ago, in one of the country's worst outbreaks of sectarian violence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span>A judge handed down the guilty verdicts Wednesday, while acquitting 41 other people.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span>Rights activists said this is the first time in decades so many people in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> have been convicted in a case of sectarian violence. They added that those freed in similar cases should be interrogated and convicted as soon as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span>A group of 33 Muslims who had sought shelter in a house were burned to death after a mob set fire to a building in <st1:place w:st="on">Gujarat</st1:place> state in 2002.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span>The incident was part of a wave of anti-Muslim rioting in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span>The rioting followed a train fire that killed 59 Hindu pilgrims. Earlier this year, a court sentenced 11 people to death and 20 to life in prison for involvement in that incident.---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Indian Court Convicts 31 Hindus for Muslim Killings

A court in India has convicted 31 Hindus and sentenced them to life in prison for killing dozens of Muslims nearly a decade ago, in one of...