Bangladesh working to bring migrants back: Foreign secretary
Arakan News Agency Bangladesh says its consulate officials are working to locate and facilitate the return of migrants sheltered at camps in neighboring countries as well as those still stranded at sea.… “We will bring back our citizens, stranded in the sea and abroad, as soon as possible,” Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque told reporters […]
Rohingya trafficking crackdown: Thai army general surrenders in Bangkok
Arakan News Agency A senior Thai army officer wanted in connection with the trafficking of Rohingya migrants has turned himself in to police after failing to do so on Tuesday.… Lt. Gen. Manas Kongpaen surrendered shortly before noon Wednesday, marking the first arrest of a military official since the investigation started last month. He faces […]
Jakim: Use zakat to help Rohingya refugees
Arakan News Agency The oppressed group, who are also Muslims, should receive the aid on humanitarian grounds, says its director-general.… KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia Islamic Development Department (Jakim) says the Rohingya refugees should be given assistance from the zakat (tithe) collection and other suitable forms of aid. Its director-general, Othman Mustapha, said he would seek […]
Rohingya huddled in Bangladesh camps fear plan to move them on
Arakan News Agency More than 20 years after the first wave of Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar, fear is spreading through the sweltering camps of mud houses where they found shelter in southern Bangladesh that they will soon be on the move again. The refugees worry the Bangladesh government wants them out of sight, perhaps to […]
Behind exodus of desperate Rohingyas, a push from Myanmar
Arakan News Agency Legally stateless in Myanmar, Rohingya Muslims have been driven into camps by violence. Tens of thousands have left their homes in Rakhine state for the open ocean in the hands of human traffickers. … Fatima is on an emotional rollercoaster. A Rohingya Muslim, an ethnic group that has been steadily marginalized for […]
Rohingya Muslims continue to suffer amid Muslim World’s silence
Arakan News Agency The thousands of Rohingya Muslims are forced to flee the ethnic cleansing and worst form of persecution in their homeland Myanmar, after which, scores are still on boats looking for refuge on land.… Probably one of the largest humanitarian crises in the 21st century, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims continue to […]
Organizations rally to help Rohingya in Indonesia
Arakan News Agency JAKARTA, Indonesia – Since Indonesia agreed to house Muslim Rohingya refugees stranded off its shores — albeit temporarily — locals, countries and donor organizations have been offering financial help.… The Muslim community in the north Sumatran province where most of the Rohingya are based in temporary shelters has mobilized donations of food, […]
These aren’t refugee camps, they’re concentration camps: Rohingya Reporter Blog
Arakan News Agency Confined to squalid camps, supposedly for their own protection, Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya are slowly succumbing to starvation, despair and disease, writes Jason Motlagh. Several days before he was born, Mohammad Johar’s family escaped the Buddhist mobs that attacked their Muslim neighbourhood, leaving bodies and burned homes in their wake. The threat of […]
US calls for Myanmar to give citizenship for Rohingyas – 18-24 months neeeded to resettle refugees
Arakan News Agency A senior US official said yesterday that resettlement in a third country is not the answer to the swelling tide of boat people in Southeast Asia and called for Myanmar to give citizenship to Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution there. Anne Richard, US Assistant Secretary of State for population, migration and refugees, said […]
Rakhine officials collect nearly 400,000 ‘white cards’ by deadline
Arakan News Agency Rakhine State immigration officers say they have collected nearly 400,000 temporary identity papers by the May 31 deadline set by the government as part of its citizenship application program.… U Khin Soe, director of immigration department, told The Myanmar Times yesterday that office hours had been extended until 6pm on the last […]
Obama calls on Myanmar to end Rohingya discrimination
Arakan News Agency US President Barack Obama has said that Myanmar needed to take seriously the issue of how it treats the Rohingya people, if it wanted to be successful in its transition to a democracy.… Obama, speaking to a group of young Asians invited to the White House, said the US was focused on […]
French author champions Rohingya cause
Arakan News Agency Sophie Ansel calls for renewed sanctions on Myanmar as Muslim minority faces discrimination… The Myanmar state is fuelling the sectarianism that has led to thousands of Muslim Rohingya fleeing the country in dangerous boats, according to a journalist who has written a book based on the account of a Rohingya migrant. Sophie […]
PH willing to share best practices on accepting refugees
Arakan News Agency The Philippines has expressed readiness to share with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) its best practices on processing of refugees and managing the deployment of workers to ensure their safe and legal passage to destination countries.… Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said this was discussed during the Philippines participation in […]