Rohingya Can Only Starve in Bangladesh – The Irrawaddy
February 18th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17842
Pressure is mounting on the Bangladesh Government to cease what European Parliamentarians and NGOs are calling “an unprecedented crackdown” on Rohingya refugees now settled outside the two official camps in Cox’s Bazaar District near the Burmese border.
A Rohingya woman stands with her child in front of makeshift huts in a refugee camp in Cox's Bazaar. (Photo: Reuters)
As Dhaka clamps down on Rohingya refugees, local anti-Rohingya sentiment—never far from the surface in a relatively-poor region of Bangladesh—has been whipped-up by the authorities and by local media.
The recent crackdown in Bangladesh risks creating a humanitarian crisis for tens of thousands of refugees who already face precarious living conditions.
“All they [Burmese Rohingya] can legally do is starve,” said Paul Critchley, mission head for Médecin Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Bangladesh.
Speaking at a press conference in Bangkok on Thursday, Critchley said women and girls have been raped leaving the camp to collect firewood, which they hope to sell and earn some meager resources for their families.
MSF said it is imperative the Government in Dhaka and the UNHCR do more to help the unregistered Rohingya, whose living conditions are getting worse as they are crowding into a crammed, unsanitary area without any support infrastructure.
MSF, which is operating a basic healthcare program at an unoffical camp at Kutapalong in Ukhia, said, “As camp numbers continue to swell, conditions pose a significant risk to people’s health.”
Around 30,000 Rohingya have flocked to the makeshift camp.
Of an estimated 230,000 Burmese Rohingya refugees thought to be in Bangladesh, only around 28,000 are registered as refugees and receive UNHCR-led assistance. The rest try to survive unaided and unprotected in villages and slums in south-eastern Bangladesh. (more…)
NLD-Ethnic Groups Share Common Center – The Irrawaddy
February 17th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17826
The perceived divide between the “mainstream” Burmese opposition led by the National League for Democracy (NLD) on the one hand, and groups representing ethnic minorities on the other, is “artificial and contrived.”
Karen women leave a refugee camp on the Thai-Burma border to return to Burma. About 30,000 Karen entered Thailand in June 2009 to flee fighting between rebel groups and the government. (Photo: Reuters)
Noting that the 2007 protests known as the “Saffron Revolution” were started by monks in Rakhine, Benjamin Zawacki, a researcher on Amnesty’s Southeast Asia team, said that the presence of a substantial number of ethnic minorities in the NLD suggests that the ethnic groups share many common grievances with the Burmese opposition, and see common ground in addressing these issues.
“While ethnic minorities have their own issues with the Myanmar [Burma] government, a shared experience of oppression infuses links between the opposition and ethnic groups,” Zawacki said.
Zawacki spoke at a press conference in Bangkok on Tuesday, launching Amnesty’s report “The Repression of Ethnic Minority Activists in Myanmar.” The document is based on interviews with more than 700 representatives of ethnic groups, with interviews taking place in Bangladesh, China, Thailand and other countries neighboring Burma.
It focuses on the seven main ethnic groups in Burma, those identified as making up a majority in their eponymous state, namely the Arakan, Chin, Kachin, Shan, Karenni, Karen and Mon. Ethnic minorities make up between 35 to 40 percent of the country’s population, with at least 135 ethnic groups living inside Burma. Burmese make up the majority of the country’s people.
Ten political parties have registered to participate in the upcoming election in Burma, according to a junta. However, the NLD and the major parties representing ethnic minorities have not indicated that they will take part.
The junta has ordered that ethnic militias, many of which are linked to political parties, stand down and become part of the state border force prior to the elections.
Burma recently marked its Union Day, commemorating the signing of the Panglong Agreement in 1947. Gen Aung San and leaders of some of the ethnic minorities agreed to establish a form of federal union in which the non-Burmese minorities would have substantial local autonomy. When the military seized power in 1962, it justified the coup by dismissing the Panglong agreement and the federation principle as code for ethnic groups trying to separate from Burma. (more…)
China-US Rivalry Intensifies – The Irrawaddy
February 15th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17812
With the Dalai Lama set to meet President Obama later this week, more political fireworks can be expected just days after the Chinese New Year. US-China relations have been stormy over recent weeks, with Beijing and Washington trading barbs over Taiwan and Google, disagreeing over policy on Iran, North Korea, and bickering over exchange rates, among a range of contentious political and economic issues.
But the officially atheist politburo in Beijing might take it as an auspicious sign that this is the Year of the Tiger. China has fared relatively well amid the global economic downturn, and with the US bogged down with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Obama’s domestic reform agenda running into sand, Beijing might want to test American mettle as the perceived gap between the two countries narrows.
Obama dodged a bullet when shunning an opportunity to meet the Dalai Lama last year. But one year into an administration that has been dogged by accusations of softness and conflicting signals in foreign policy, a meeting with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader will add to Obama’s attempt at an image makeover. (more…)
Timor-Leste: Choosing Between Asean and Burmese Reform? – The Irrawaddy
February 13th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17804
Despite rumors that its United Nations ambassador was sacked for voting to support a Dec. 23 General Assembly resolution condemning human rights abuses in Burma, the tiny Southeast Asian country of Timor-Leste says it continues to back reform in Burma.
What's cooking in Timor? Homeskills training course, Aileu, Timor-Leste. (Photo: Simon Roughneen, July 2009)
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday, Timor-Lester Foreign Minister Zacarias da Costa said: “We remain committed to promoting democracy and human rights in Myanmar [Burma] and internationally.”
Denying reports that former UN Ambassador Nelson Santos was removed due to a disagreement on Burma policy, da Costa said that the diplomat returned to Timor-Leste because he had completed his term in office.
Just before Christmas, da Costa told the UN that he had removed Santos from his post. Santos had just voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution on human rights in Burma, which passed 86-23 with 39 abstentions. Santos was continuing Timor-Leste’s previous policy of supporting these resolutions.
Santos’ sudden dismissal sparked speculation that he was removed because the current multiparty coalition governing in Dili wants to align its Burma policy more closely with the approach taken by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
Asean member-states Brunei Darussalam, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam all joined the junta representative in voting against the Dec. 23 resolution, while Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and Cambodia abstained. The Philippine representative was marked absent.
“It sounds like our government is giving up on human rights and democratization in Burma. This is sending a negative signal to the international community,” said Jose Teixeira, a spokesman for the opposition Fretilin party.
Timor-Leste is hoping to join Asean by 2012. President Jose Ramos-Horta has long been a critic of the Burmese junta, and it is thought that his condemnations so rankled the generals in Napyidaw that they have held up Dili’s membership application. (more…)
Australian Opposition ‘Deeply Concerned’ about Burma Policy – The Irrawaddy
February 11th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17786
Speaking to The Irrawaddy by telephone, Australia’s shadow foreign minister Julie Bishop said that she is “deeply concerned” about Australia’s participation alongside the Burmese regime in a multilateral naval exercise hosted by India. The naval exercise was undertaken just as Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith announced a 40 percent increase in Australian humanitarian assistance to Burma.
“The Australian government has not explained this at all,” she said, adding that Australia “should not be sending mixed messages to the Burma’s military government.” Julie Bishop is MP for Curtin in Western Australia and deputy leader of the opposition Liberal Party. (more…)
Safe for Refugees to Return: Thai Gov’t – The Irrawaddy
February 10th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17779
At a forum involving various Thai government ministries and agencies, along with representatives of the military and international organizations, a Thai Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesperson said that Karen refugees at Tha Song Yang camp have expressed a willingness to return to Burma.
Karens move out from their refugee camp in Tha Son Yang district, Tak province near the Thai-Burmese border on February 5. Thailand has suspended the forced repatriation of ethnic Karen refugees, heeding calls from US lawmakers and rights groups. (Photo: Reuters)
Today’s statements come despite the Thai authorities suspending plans to deport all the refugees, once numbering over 4500, back to Burma by February 15. However, no definitive answer was given on whether the group of refugees would stay in Thailand or not.
MOFA spokesperson Rachanan Thananand said that the area from which the refugees fled in June 2006 is clear of landmines, according to information received from the Burmese side of the border.
He said that there was no indication that the fighting between the junta-aligned Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) was going to resume anytime soon. His statements were seconded by Thai military representative Col. Phadoong Yingpibool, who said, “We speak the truth about recent events. We would never force people to go back.”
Col Padoong said that “although I wish I could give you more information about these issues, I have been busy with other matters recently.”
However, Guiseppe de Vicentis, the deputy regional representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said that there is ample evidence that there are landmines on the Burmese side.
He said that although the refugees would ultimately like to go home, they cannot do so if the situation in Burma “has not normalized,” concluding that the conditions for safe return have not yet materialized.
The Burmese regime has given ethnic militias until the end of February to comply with demands that they stand down and operate as a border guard force for the state security apparatus. The KNLA has not consented to this order, giving rise to fears that renewed fighting looms in Burma’s borderlands.
Going into more detail, a spokeswoman for the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) said that at least nine people have been injured or killed by landmines in the region since the refugees fled in June 2009. (more…)
Former Foreign Minister reviews Thai-Burmese relations – The Irrawaddy
February 10th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17775&Submit=Submit
Former Thai foreign minister Dr Surakiart Sathirathai said that Thailand’s relations with Burma have deteriorated since the 2006 military coup and the current government has been “putting more pressure on the Government of Myanmar [Burma],” with the number of high-level meetings much reduced from the pre-coup era.
Speaking at a forum on Thai foreign policy at Chulalongkorn University, Surakiart said that during the Thai Rak Thai administration, the government “worked to bring Myanmar in from the cold” with Thai diplomacy a key factor in cajoling the junta into a 2003 announcement that they would draft a new constitution as part of their so-called seven-steps roadmap to democracy.
However, the new Constitution, which maintains military rule in Burma, was adopted in controversial and tragic circumstances in the days after Cyclone Nargis hit Burma’s Irrawaddy delta in 2008. (more…)
International Lawyers Question Thailand’s Security Law – The Irrawaddy
February 8th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17761
A weak rule of law is contributing to political division and violence in Thailand, according to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).
A report issued by the ICJ at a Bangkok seminar said the Thai government needs to find a balance between protecting citizens and guaranteeing security on the one hand, and maintaining the rule of law under international human rights obligations on the other.
The International Commission of Jurists is a non-governmental organization of lawyers from around the world which works “to ensure that international human rights law is actually implemented” at national levels,
At the Bangkok seminar, held at Chulalongkorn University, a panel discussed Thailand’s Internal Security Act (ISA). One panelist, Roger Normand, the ICJ’s Asia-Pacific director, acknowledged that the ISA is an improvement on original drafts, and is less-restrictive than the Emergency Decree that remains in force in the Muslim-majority south.
But a weak rule of law contributes to political divides and violence in Thailand, according to the ICJ, which said it was concerned at the ISA’s “failure to clearly define the concept of a threat to national security.” (more…)
Karen Refugees Warned Not To Talk – The Irrawaddy
February 7th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17760
The Thai military on Saturday warned Karen refugees at Tha Song Yang not to speak to the media or the UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR––or risk arrest and deportation.
According to Blooming Night Zan, a spokesperson for the Karen Women’s Organization (KWO), army personnel entered camps where the Karen refugees are staying on Saturday afternoon. She told The Irrawaddy that army personnel entered the camps in plain clothes to evade the attention of international representatives and media.
This comes after an overnight suspension of plans to begin the deportation of all remaining Karen refugees in the area, who fled a June 2009 military offensive in northeastern Karen State by the Burmese army and its proxy-militia, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), against the rebel Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). (more…)
Thailand remains split as verdict looms on ex-PMs assets – RTÉ World Report
February 7th, 2010
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0207/worldreport.html
Thailand is divided between Redshirt supports of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a telecoms billionaire who briefly owned Manchester City, and Yellowshirts, who claim that Thaksin is a threat to country’s revered monarchy.
This has all fed into a new round of military coups rumours. These are nothing new to Thailand, which has endured 18, some unsuccessful since absolute monarchy was ended in 1932.
Thaksin was deposed by the last coup, in 2006, and now is plotting a return to Thailand from exile. The current government is largely backed by the army, and opposes Thaksin. But is unstable, as it depends on a number of former Thaksin supporters for its narrow majority.
(more…)
