The United Nations fails to appoint a special envoy to resolve the Rohingya crisis
Arakan News Agency UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is still seeking a “strong and agreed” envoy to Myanmar for the implementation of a UN General Assembly resolution passed last December, a senior UN official said. The spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, “Stéphane Dujarric,” said during a press conference at the headquarters of the United Nations in […]
NLD Denies Reports of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Imminent Retirement
Arkan News Agency A spokesman for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) on Sunday denied reports that State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would be retiring any time soon. “There are reports that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi would retire. I didn’t say that. I said she would be able to retire soon […]
Japan’s support sought for resolving Rohingya crisis
Arakan News Agency Bangladesh has sought support of Japan for a peaceful solution to the protracted Rohingya crisis through a safe return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar. The foreign minister appreciated Japanese emergency assistance to support the displaced people of Arakan State of Myanmar who took shelter in Bangladesh. Ali sought the support when the […]
Two Reuters Reporters Have Now Spent 100 Days Behind Bars in Myanmar for Exposing a Massacre
Arakan News Agency Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo would normally spend their days chasing sources and writing stories. But on Wednesday, after a full 100 days in jail, the two Reuters reporters spent their hours in a dusty Myanmar courthouse, where they could face up to 14 years in prison if convicted of possessing […]
Rohingya crisis could pose security risk to region, Najib warns
Arakan News Agency Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has warned his South-east Asian neighbours that the Rohingya refugee crisis in Myanmar could become a serious security threat for the region. About 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s troubled Arakan state after the authorities launched a brutal crackdown on insurgents six months ago, which the United […]
How populism turned Myanmar’s ‘democracy’ against Rohingya Muslims
Arakan News Agency At the same time as a democratic system is being revived in Myanmar after half-a-century of military dictatorship, strong challenges have re-emerged. A racist, authoritarian populism is being directed against Muslim minorities, notably the Rohingya, in order to prop up a regime that has no vision. This is threatening not only the […]
OIC: keen to find a solution to the Rohingya issue
Arakan News Agency The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has confirmed its commitment to finding a solution to the issue of Muslim Rohingya and Muslim minorities in the Philippines, Thailand, Central Africa, Sri Lanka and Europe. Dr. Yousuf Al-Othaimeen, Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), made the remarks at a meeting of the […]
Myanmar denies involvement in genocide against Rohingya
Arakan News Agency Senior Myanmar officials denied that the army has committed any crimes against the Rohingya Muslims, a day after a UN expert said the government was involved in the genocide against the oppressed Muslim minority. “There is no ethnic cleansing or genocide in our country. The charges are very easy, but we do […]
Out of 8320 … Myanmar only sees the return of 374 Rohingya refugees in the first batch
Arakan News Agency Myanmar officials said on Wednesday they had only been able to verify 374 Rohingya Muslim refugees for their repatriation, accusing neighboring Bangladesh of failing to provide correct information about the refugees. About 700,000 Rohingya people fled Myanmar after attacks by security forces on August 25, prompting the United Nations and the United […]
The Rohingya crisis on the agenda of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Arakan News Agency Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Sydney listened to Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Sunday over the Rohingya crisis, but the regional organization indicated it could not intervene. Some 700,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority have fled violence in Arakan, Myanmar, since the Myanmar […]
Burma considers law that could restrict work of UN, non-governmental groups
Arakan News Agency The proposed law comes at a time of a wider crackdown on democratic freedoms by Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, as it struggles to deal with the fallout of military operations that have sent nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing. Burma’s government, struggling to handle accusations of ethnic cleansing over its treatment of […]
Myanmar lacks genuine efforts to resolve Rohingya crisis
Arakan News Agency Adama Dieng, UN Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, on Tuesday said the Myanmar authorities have so far shown no genuine efforts to resolve the Rohingya crisis. The special adviser was talking to reporters at a press conference at the Liberation War Museum in the capital in the […]
UN expert: Myanmar practices starvation policy in Arakan
Arakan News Agency UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar said on Monday that the Myanmar government appears to be pursuing a policy of starvation in Arakan state to force the rest of the Rohingya population to leave. Lee told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that the army also launched new attacks […]