Rohingya in Turkey determined to help those back home
Arakan News Agency While the thoughts of the world remain on those suffering on crammed boats in Southeast Asia, for two Istanbul-based students the story is particularly close to home. Both men have fled the repression and violence of Myanmar’s Rakhine State, both have utilized the country’s smuggling channels to cross the River Naf into […]
The Burning Hatred of Burma’s Ugly Buddhists
Arakan News Agency Western clichés about peace-loving saffron-robed monks fall by the wayside amid protest marches on the mean streets of the Burmese commercial capital.… RANGOON — Anti-Muslim protestors supported by Buddhist monks gathered in Burma’s main city of Rangoon this week to denounce the United Nations for “bullying” their country into accepting desperate migrants […]
The Netherlands NGO applauds Malaysia’s assistance to Rohingya refugees
Arakan News Agency PADANG BESAR: The Malaysian Government’s efforts in assisting the plight of Rohingya refugees to date, has received the thumbs-up from a Netherlands non-governmental organisation (NGO).… Salaamah Wal Adaalah president, Nourdeen Wilderman said he and his team were impressed with the treatment accorded by the Malaysian Government to the refugees at the Belantik […]
Religious leaders must practise what they preach
Arakan News Agency Ultra nationalist groups and religious extremists, by themselves, are bad enough, but when brought together by a common agenda, you have the most potent brew possible. These elements always fight in the name of country, race and religion. Tolerance and acceptance are not in their vocabulary, and they justify their ends with […]
Thailand PM’s Office Seeks Rohingya Solution Ideas from Accused Phuket Reporter
Arakan News Agency PHUKET: Phuketwan journalist Chutima Sidasathian disclosed today that she has been asked by the Prime Minister’s office to suggest a solution to the Rohingya issue – at the same time as she is still being sued for criminal defamation by the Royal Thai Navy. ”It’s an interesting conflict, isn’t it?” she said. […]
Trafficking snakehead might be hiding in Ranong
Arakan News Agency The ‘snakehead’ behind the trafficking of Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi immigrants is believed to have gone into hiding in Ranong, bordering Kawthoung in Myanmar.… This is to avoid detection by the authorities as the heat intensifies to track down the mastermind behind a human trafficking network, going by the observation of locals […]
Islamophobia is killing Myanmar’s Rohingya, but the Muslim world can help
Arakan News Agency Radical Buddhists? Violent monks? Ethnic cleansing? Concentration camps? And now, mass graves? What’s happening in Myanmar is terrible, but it should be impossible. At least, so far as Islamophobes would have it.… The genocidal campaign for the elimination of a people, the Rohingya, has been gathering steam in Myanmar since 2011, but […]
Rohingya killled with hammer near Permatang Rawa site
Arakan News Agency A 26-year-old Rohingya is believed to have been killed with a hammer early Monday near a construction site in Permatang Rawa, Malaysia.… Police discovered the murder weapon beside the body of Firus Ahmad, who suffered three blows on his head. Firus, who worked at the housing project and lived in a ‘kongsi’ […]
Actor Matt Dillon puts rare celebrity spotlight on Rohingya
Arakan News Agency SITTWE, Myanmar (AP) — American actor Matt Dillon put a rare star-powered spotlight on Myanmar’s long-persecuted Rohingya Muslims, visiting a hot, squalid camp for tens of thousands displaced by violence and a port that has been one of the main launching pads for their exodus by sea. It was “heartbreaking,” he said […]
Philippines vows tips, not aid, in Rohingya meeting
Arakan News Agency The Department of Foreign Affairs says there is, ‘at the moment, no need’ for the Philippines to accept Rohingya refugees … MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines vowed to share best practices, not material aid, in a recent meeting to resolve Asia’s refugee crisis involving thousands of people from Myanmar’s ethnic Rohingya minority. […]
Suspected Rohingya boats evade rescue team
Arakan News Agency Two boats believed to be carrying more than 40 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar have evaded Malaysian rescue forces Thursday, as the international community prepares to step up efforts to save boat people in Southeast Asian waters. The two boats, carrying more than 20 people each, were spotted by a Malaysian patrol near […]
UN council has first briefing on rights of Rohingya Muslims
Arakan News Agency UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations Security Council on Thursday held its first closed-door briefing on the human rights situation in Myanmar, focusing on the dire situation of the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority, the United States and council diplomats said. UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein briefed the council via […]
Myanmar criticised for excluding Rohingyas from census
Arakan News Agency Rights groups and activists have criticised the Myanmar government and United Nations for not recognising the Muslim Rohingya minority as an ethnic group in the country’s first nationwide census in 30 years. Though observers praised the census – which cost $50m – released on Friday, as an important socioeconomic indicator, they said […]