"Rights group blasts Myanmar over Muslim policies" by Robin McDowell | Associated Press February 26, 2014
YANGON, Myanmar — An independent human rights group presented evidence Tuesday directly implicating the Myanmar government in abusive and discriminatory policies targeting members of the Rohingya Muslim minority, including restrictions on family size and freedom of movement.
Matthew Smith, executive director of the Southeast Asian-based Fortify Rights, said the findings were based on a dozen leaked documents and reviews of public records.
Although persecution of the minority group has been well documented, it is the first time that official edicts have been made public, he said, describing the chilling effect of seeing them in writing.
‘‘It represents a level of planning and knowledge among Myanmar authorities that raises the abuses to the threshold of crimes against humanity,’’ Smith said. ‘‘These abuses have been carried out for years with complete impunity, driving the population into the ground.’’
So what is happening, Myanmar gravitating back toward China again?
Related: Obama in Myanmar
He did that despite the well-known human rights abuses, etc, etc, etc?
Presidential spokesman Ye Htut did not respond to requests for comment. He was quoted by the Myanmar Times as saying government officials ‘‘do not remark on baseless accusations from Bengali [Rohingya] lobby groups.’’
Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million, only recently emerged from a half century of brutal military rule. The United States and other nations worry that an outbreak of sectarian violence since June 2012 threatens the country’s fragile transition to democracy. As many as 280 people have been killed, most of them Rohingya attacked by Buddhist mobs.
The U.S. is only worried insofar as this is an issue over which they can apply pressure and sanctions if they wish. That this government would be worried about Muslim lives when they have taken millions of them based on lies is laughable were it not so outrageous.
Nowhere have Rohingya — described by the UN as one of the most persecuted religious minorities in the world — been more pursued than in Rakhine state.
And yet my coverage is intermittent at best!
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Related:
Myanmar and Its Muslims
Myanmar Muslims slain, group says
Myanmar denies Buddhist mob killed Muslim villagers
UN says 48 Muslims killed in Myanmar
They were going to expel the doctors over the issue, but let them stay instead:
"Myanmar expels doctors group" by Margie Mason | Associated Press March 01, 2014
YANGON, Myanmar — Doctors Without Borders said Friday it has been expelled from Myanmar and that tens of thousands of lives are at risk. The decision came after the humanitarian group reported it treated nearly two dozen Rohingya Muslim victims of communal violence in Rakhine state, which the government has denied.
The humanitarian group said it was ‘‘deeply shocked’’ by Myanmar’s decision to expel it after two decades of work in the country.
The United States said it was very concerned and urged the government to continue to provide ‘‘unfettered’’ access for humanitarian agencies....
Of course, the same can't be said when it comes to Gaza.
Myanmar’s presidential spokesman Ye Htut accused the group of misleading the world about an attack last month in the remote northern part of Rakhine.
That is also possible, and likely in fact because I no longer trust or believe anything I read in my agenda-pushing paper.
The United Nations says more than 40 Rohingya may have been killed, but the government has vehemently denied allegations that a Buddhist mob rampaged through a village, killing women and children. It says one policeman was killed by Rohingya and no other violence occurred....
Repeated attempts to reach Ye Htut for comment were unsuccessful Friday.
Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million, only recently emerged from a half-century of military rule. Since then, ethnic tensions have swept Rakhine state, raising concerns from the United States and others that the bloodshed could undermine democratic reforms.
Up to 280 people have been killed and tens of thousands more have fled their homes, most of them Rohingya.
Like Palestinians were forced to do.
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Related:
"Officials may let Doctors Without Borders stay in Myanmar
YANGON -- A day after Doctors Without Borders announced it was being expelled from Myanmar, the government said Saturday that negotiations with the group were ongoing and that it may be allowed to resume operations everywhere but Rakhine, a state plagued by bloody bouts of sectarian violence. The group said it welcomed the news, but added that it remained concerned about the tens of thousands of people who remain in camps (AP)."
Time for me to put the muzzle on this pos jew$paper.
