Bangladesh to Turn Island Into Temporary Home for 100,000 Rohingya Refugees
Arakan News Agency Bangladesh approved a $280 million project on Tuesday to develop an isolated and flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal to temporarily house 100,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in neighbouring Myanmar. The decision came just days after Bangladesh sealed a deal aiming to start returning Rohingya to Myanmar within two months to […]
Pope calls for unity in Myanmar without saying ‘Rohingya’
Arakan News Agency Pope Francis insisted Tuesday that Myanmar’s future depends on respecting the rights of each ethnic group, an indirect show of support for Rohingya Muslims who have been subject to decades of discrimination and a recent military crackdown described by the U.N. as a textbook campaign of “ethnic cleansing.” Francis didn’t cite the […]
Myanmar accused of wiping out secret network of Rohingya reporters
Arakan News Agency Human rights groups fear military has disappeared or killed undercover journalists to starve the world of news about persecution in Arakan state Reporters working inside Myanmar’s Arakan state to document atrocities against Rohingya have gone missing, raising fears that they have been deliberately targeted by the military. Young Rohingya volunteers had been […]
Rohingya crisis: ‘It’s not genocide,’ say Myanmar’s hardline monks
Arakan News Agency The monks, clad in vermillion robes and flip flops, line up from old to young to receive a meal in their alms bowls — rice, vegetables, cookies — all donated by local villagers. It’s a potent act of religious devotion that takes place every day across countless communities in Myanmar, an overwhelmingly […]
Myanmar not yet safe for Rohingya refugee return: UN
Arakan News Agency Conditions for Rohingya refugees to safely return to Myanmar from Bangladesh are not in place, the UN said Friday, a day after the two countries announced repatriation would begin in two months. “UNHCR has not yet seen the details of the agreement”, the UN refugee agency said in a statement, referring to […]
Rights groups say outside monitors needed for Rohingya return to Myanmar
Arakan News Agency Driven out of Myanmar predominantly by chaos, starvation and fear, hundreds continue to pour daily into Bangladesh Human rights groups called on Friday for international agencies to be allowed to monitor the planned repatriation of hundreds of thousands Rohingya Muslims from Bangladesh to the homes they have fled from in Myanmar over […]
Pope faces tightrope act in Myanmar amid Rohingya crisis
Arakan News Agency Pope Francis is heading to Myanmar and Bangladesh as the two nations grapple with the Rohingya crisis. While some stress the pontiff should refrain from using the contentious term “Rohingya,” others disagree vehemently. Pope Francis’ trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh on Monday comes as the region confronts turbulent times, not least because of […]
Rights groups say outside monitors needed for Rohingya return to Myanmar
Arakan News Agency Human rights groups called on Friday for international agencies to be allowed to monitor the planned repatriation of hundreds of thousands Rohingya Muslim from Bangladesh to the homes they fled in Myanmar during the past three months. The two governments signed a pact on Thursday settling terms for the repatriation process. They […]
Rohingya don’t want to go back to Myanmar, and they must not be forced
Arakan News Agency Responding to the announcement that the Governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh have signed an agreement to send Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar, Sanna Johnson, Regional Director for Asia at the International Rescue Committee said: “This announcement is deeply worrying. Refugees are still arriving in camps in Cox’s Bazar on a daily basis, […]
Myanmar signs pact with Bangladesh over Rohingya repatriation
Arakan News Agency Myanmar and Bangladesh have signed an initial deal for the possible repatriation of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled violence in Arakan state. More than 620,000 Rohingya have crossed the border into Bangladesh since August, running from a military crackdown that Washington said this week clearly constituted ethnic cleansing. Rights […]
U.S. Congress members decry ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Myanmar; Suu Kyi doubts allegations
Arakan News Agency Members of the U.S. Congress said on Tuesday operations carried out against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar had “all the hallmarks” of ethnic cleansing, while the country’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi expressed doubts about allegations of rights abuses. The U.S. Senate members also said they were disturbed by a “violent and […]
UN ready to help Myanmar process Rohingya citizenship
Arakan News Agency High Commissioner says crisis is worst since Balkan War and Rwanda The United Nations refugee agency will provide technical assistance to the Myanmar government if it begins to process and verify citizenship for Rohingya to resolve the humanitarain crisis, the body’s top official said on Monday. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo […]
Aung San Suu Kyi blames world conflicts on illegal immigration
Arakan News Agency Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi said the world is facing instability and conflict in part because illegal immigration spreads terrorism in a speech Monday that comes as her country is accused of violently pushing out hundreds of thousands of unwanted Rohingya Muslims. Suu Kyi did not directly mention the refugee exodus […]