South Asia

NOVANEWS By Aung Aung The Stateless 18 Rohingya from Minpya and Mrauk U towns of Arakan were persuaded to go to Yangon by a broker Maung Ni, (35 years of age). As Rohingyas are generally blocked from moving around, leaving their villages is impossible without the permission of the police. The broker had a good relationship with the police who had been blocking the Rohingya from leaving their villages. On 16 February 2014, 18 Rohingya were transported by the broker and police by truck.  3 police accompanied them up to an area of dense forest where they saw another person. The police handed over those 18 Rohingya to the person standing there.  One of the Rohingya asked the person who was standing there why they could not continue by truck and why they needed to go on foot. He told them...

NOVANEWS By LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY Ethnic armed groups sit down for a conference in late October in Laiza, Kachin State. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Leaders of Burma’s ethnic armed groups will hold a side meeting with government peace negotiators in Rangoon early next month ahead of the long-awaited next round of official talks, scheduled to take place in the Karen State capital of Hpa-an. Renewed fighting in Kachin State this month has cast doubt on the Burma government’s claim it can get a nationwide ceasefire signed in April, and ethnic leaders say the current demands of the government side, led by President’s Office Minister Aung Min, are not acceptable. Khun Okkar, the joint-secretary of the ethnic alliance group the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), told...

NOVANEWS By LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY Nationalist Buddhist monk U Wirathu is greeted with respect at a monks’ conference in Rangoon in June 2013. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — The controversial Buddhist monk U Wirathu, leader of Burma’s ultranationalist 969 movement, has advised the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) to refrain from pushing the presidential candidacy of democracy icon and party chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi. The Mandalay-based monk conveyed the message in a meeting with NLD cofounder Win Tin on Saturday in Mandalay, where he said a constitutional provision that currently bars Suu Kyi from presidential eligibility should remain in place, despite his admiration for the long-time democracy campaigner turned parliamentarian. “Everyone in the country, ...

NOVANEWS By THIN LEI WIN / THOMSON REUTERS Poe Suter Toe, an ethnic Karen refugee from Mandalay, stands between fences at the Mae La refugee camp near Mae Sot June 3, 2012. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Win Myint and his two younger sisters fled Burma in June 2011, after months of harassment by plainclothes officers because of a documentary about the Burmese army featuring their exiled younger brother, a former soldier who later spent 15 years in jail for his pro-democracy activism. The officers accused them of distributing the film and warned them they could be jailed. “They told us not to go anywhere overnight. They also followed me to places I gave tuition. They accused our younger brother of trying to break the unity of the armed forces,” said Win Myint, speaking by phone from Umpiem M...

NOVANEWS Published Jan. 21, 2013 by BBC News By Jonah Fisher An investigation by the BBC has revealed that Thai officials have been selling boat people from Burma to human traffickers. Thousands of Muslim Rohingya have fled to sea in recent months after deadly communal violence in Rakhine State, with many heading east across the Andaman Sea to Thailand. The BBC found that boats were being intercepted by the Thai navy and police, with deals then made to sell the people on to traffickers who transport them south towards Malaysia. The Thai government say they are taking the allegations seriously and have promised to investigate. 'Canned fish' In November Ahmed said goodbye to his wife and eight children and left western Burma. With 60 others he travelled for 13 days on a flimsy woo...

NOVANEWS   Human Rights Watch recently released its "World Report 2013," and Burma did not fare well in the eyes of the organization. The report outlined, among other abuses, the way the Burmese officials participated in the violence against the Rohingya in June and October of last year. Burmese state authorities were complicit in the burning of homes and killing of Rohingya Muslims. Because of the state-sponsored violence, at least 100,000 are displaced. Human Rights Watch also called out world leaders, including those from the United States, who were too quick to applaud the minimal efforts Burma made to release political prisoners. “Burma’s reforms over the past year are hindered, not helped, by international oversell and hasty praise in the face of continued serious human rights ...

NOVANEWS Burmese President Thein Sein In the midst of violence against the Rohingya Muslims in his country, Burmese President Thein Sein will be given a peace award by the International Crisis Group. The group said the award was being given because: “Myanmar has initiated a remarkable and unprecedented set of reforms since President Thein Sein’s government took over in March 2011, including freeing hundreds of political prisoners, liberalizing the press and promoting dialogue with the main opposition party.” Read the entire story here. While Burma may have made some strides, the continued human rights violations against the Rohingya prove just how far the country has to go before any of its leaders should be given a peace award. Thein Sein himself has said in the past that the solution to...

NOVANEWS President Obama stopped in Burma for 6 hours on Monday, Nov. 19 and spoke at University of Yangon. In that speech, Obama made a mention of the violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in the western state of Rakhine that has left hundreds dead and thousands homeless. "For too long, the people of this state, including ethnic Rakhine, have faced crushing poverty and persecution. But there's no excuse for violence against innocent people," Obama said during his speech at the university. "The Rohingya ... hold within themselves the same dignity as you do, and I do. National reconciliation will take time, but for the sake of our common humanity, and for the sake of this country's future, it's necessary to stop incitement and to stop violence." Obama also said he welcomed "the g...