Migrants trapped in tussle between Myanmar and Bangladesh
Arakan News Agency Unwanted by Bangladesh and unwelcome in Myanmar, hundreds of stick-thin migrants found adrift at sea as a transnational trafficking route collapsed are now living in tents on a frontier scrubland. After weeks crammed together on a boat bound for Malaysia — a treacherous journey many braved to flee persecution or poverty — […]
Thailand Scrambles to Boost Image on Human Trafficking
Arakan News Agency BANGKOK — Thailand is eager to show its newfound toughness on human trafficking, taking reporters on patrols and tours of former camps, cooperating with neighboring countries and the US, and arresting dozens of officials—including a high-ranking officer in the military that now controls the country. The junta even had a “National Anti-Human […]
Kingdom, Malaysia vow support for Rohingyas
Arakan News Agency JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman held talks here Sunday with visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Najib Razak on major international and Islamic issues and explored prospects of expanding cooperation between the two key OIC countries.… The two leaders also discussed “the racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing” against the […]
Bangladesh questions Myanmar ‘Bengali’ claim
Arakan News Agency YANGON, Myanmar – Bangladeshi diplomats in Myanmar have spoken out against claims that most of the thousands of migrants caught up in a boat crisis on Southeast Asia’s seas are from their country. Myanmar’s government says that over 700 people found near its shores last week are mostly from Bangladesh and has […]
Thai PM vows no escape for officials in trafficking probe
Arakan News Agency BANGKOK: Thailand’s junta leader Friday said government officials involved in the illicit trade in migrants would not be spared and vowed to “eradicate” the industry, days before the release of an influential U.S. report ranking nations on their anti-trafficking efforts.… The kingdom, a longstanding trafficking hub, has been at pains to show […]
Rakhine State NGOs Object to Boat People in Myanmar
Arakan News Agency Thirty nongovernmental organizations issued a statement on Friday expressing concern about the nearly 1,000 boat people that are being held in temporary shelters in western Myanmar’s restive Rakhine state after being found adrift in the sea near the country last month. Twenty-one social network groups from the state’s Maungdaw township and nine […]
Bendigo shows it gives a hoot at rally for refugees
Arakan News Agency Australia – MEMBERS of Bendigo’s Catholic community gathered at Rosalind Park on Friday night to rally for refugees.… About 40 to 50 people with placards such as ‘toot if you give a hoot’, ‘it’s not illegal to seek asylum’ and ‘justice for refugees’ stood on the corner of High and View streets […]
Nawaz Sharif forms special committee to provide relief for Rohingya Muslim, says Nisar
Arakan News Agency ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has finally spoke up on the situation of Rohingya Muslims in Burma and called upon the international organizations to take notice on Plight of Rohingya Muslims.… In a statement issued today, he said that the silence of United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation and […]
Karachi: Lawyers stage protest, show solidarity with Rohingya Muslims
Arakan News Agency Lawyers on Saturday led a rally from City Court to M.A Jinnah Road to show solidarity with Burma Muslims, Dunya News reported.… The brutal violence against Rohingya Muslims in Burma has forced the lawyers in Karachi to stage protest by leading rally. The protesting lawyers urged the Muslim community to secure the […]
National scene: Govt to plan aid distribution to Rohingya
Arakan News Agency The Foreign Ministry’s director for international security and disarmament, Andy Rachmianto, has said the government is currently drafting a plan on the distribution of humanitarian assistance, including the development of temporary shelters, for Rohingya people from Myanmar.… The drafting of the plan, which involves a number of ministries, is a follow up […]
Rohingya expert: Dozens of corpses wash to shore in Myanmar
Arakan News Agency YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Dozens of corpses have washed to shore in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine in the last month, an advocacy group and villagers said Wednesday. Some were believed to be Rohingya Muslims trying to escape trafficking ships, while others were Bangladeshi. Ye Htut, the presidential spokesman, and other officials […]
UN silence on Rohingya genocide shameful, says Imran
Arakan News Agency ISLAMABAD: The United Nations has failed to stop the ‘genocide’ of the Rohingya ethnic minority in Myanmar, Imran Khan, the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), said in a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The shameful UN silence is a testament to its failure to fulfill the basic principles of upholding […]
End Rohingya discrimination, says Obama
Arakan News Agency US President Barack Obama called on Myanmar Monday to end discrimination against its Rohingya minority if it wants to succeed in its transition to a democracy from junta rule.… “One of the most important things is to put an end to discrimination against people because of what they look like or what […]