Rohingya

By Dr Arshad M Khan … And my life’s cold winter that knew no spring; Of my mind so weary and sick and wild, Of my heart too sad to sing. — Paul Laurence Dunbar The world now has more refugees than at any time since after WW2, more than the … »

By Dr Arshad M Khan Very quietly, without fanfare, in a story that went by almost unnoticed, the U.S. State Department website posted a report this week on the Rohingya massacres and atrocities.  Based on a survey, for which it contracted a Washington-based law firm (PLPG — Public International Law and… »

As the world’s media continues focusing on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, its giant neighbour China maintains its aloofness while still fully using the fuel pipelines passing through the trouble-torn Arakan (also known as Rakhine) province of western Burma (former name of Myanmar). The China-Myanmar gas & crude oil pipelines,… »

As news reports and information circulates about the desperate plight of the Rohingya population of Myanmar and what, on the surface, looks like ethnic cleansing.  We publish here the open letter from the Gandhi Development Trust in South Africa.  In Pressenza we also express our deep… »

My dear Aung San Suu Kyi I am now elderly, decrepit and formally retired, but breaking my vow to remain silent on public affairs out of profound sadness about the plight of the Muslim minority in your country, the Rohingya. In my heart you are a dearly beloved younger sister. »

Bangladeshi police have detained dozens of Rohingya refugees, including women and children, who have fled Myanmar’s violence-ravaged Rakhine state. Local police chief, Shyamol Kumar Nath, in the Bangladeshi border town of Cox’s Bazar said on Wednesday that security forces had detained 70 Rohingya Muslims and would send them back across… »

“China, of late, has been pitching to increase its influence in the Indian Ocean through Myanmar by building a deep-water port, which includes a special economic zone (SEZ) … The project is coming up at Kyaukphyu in the troubled southwestern Rakhine Province of Myanmar…”, says Joshy M. Paul, writing for… »

Myanmar has once again banked on its old trick to describe Rohingya Muslims as Bengalis to avoid its responsibilities amid growing international pressure on it to rescue thousands of boat people trapped at sea. Following the rescue of 208 people from a boat on Thursday, Myanmar government officials claimed all… »

Petitioning Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia Please welcome and accept Rohingya refugees on Indonesian soils Marco Kusumawijaya Jakarta, Indonesia and Dede Oetomo Rohingya refugees will die if they are not first and quickly allowed to land on Indonesian soils, as other countries in the region would not accept them. Indonesia,… »

Last week two seemingly unrelated events attracted the attention of this writer. The first was the announcement in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar that the temporary ID documents known as white cards will expire at the end of March and those who hold them will lose their voting… »