Myanmar Govt to Send Special Envoy to UN

Myanmar Govt to Send Special Envoy to UN

par | Août 16, 2017 | Ethnic conflict

 

The Myanmar government will dispatch a special envoy to be stationed in New York where the UN is headquartered to explain the Rakhine issue to the international community, said U Kyaw Zeya, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He mentioned the plan in response to The Irrawaddy’s question during the Asean 50th anniversary celebration in Naypyitaw on Monday.

“We met concerned directors-general and explored ideas. We’ve made proper preparations to assign a separate body,” said U Kyaw Zeya.

The Rakhine issue calls for cooperation and coordination among all ministries to find an answer, he said.

“We can’t shift the responsibility to each other. We have difficulties handling this issue but we’ll try to achieve success by working together. Not only our foreign ministry, but other agencies are also working to find a solution,” said U Kyaw Zeya.

On July 24, Daw Thandar, a well-known human rights activist and National League for Democracy (NLD) lawmaker, submitted an emergency proposal to the Lower House to condemn UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee’s end-of-mission statement after concluding her recent visit to the country on July 21.

Lee said she was “disappointed to see the tactics applied by the previous government still being used,” and that she would “strongly urge the government” to allow an international independent body to investigate allegations of rights abuses particularly in Rakhine State, and in conflict regions in Myanmar at large.

Daw Thandar’s proposal was unanimously approved by the parliament. Daw Pyone Kaythi Naing, an NLD lawmaker from Shan State’s Kalaw, additionally proposed sending a special envoy to the UN to counter international allegations and provide briefings outlining Myanmar’s legislative perspective on the situation in Rakhine State.

She told The Irrawaddy that Myanmar’s government was only able to respond after international agencies make allegations, and that the government should take the initiative to explain the situation to the UN first.

Daw Pyone Kaythi Naing, who is also a member of the Lower House International Relations Committee, has consistently promoted the idea of sending a special envoy to the UN whenever there has been parliamentary debate on issues in Rakhine State.

“We are in a defensive position, while the other side has disseminated widespread propaganda in the international community,” she told The Irrawaddy.

“The government should send a special envoy—a respected figure with diplomatic expertise—to the UN to counter it,” she added.

The State Counselor’s Office announced on August 11 that it was considering imposing a curfew in certain areas in Rakhine State; and that it would cooperate with the Myanmar Army to counter militancy. Since militants attacked border police posts in Maungdaw last October, 59 people have been killed and 33 went missing as of August 9, according to the State Counselor’s Office.

According to sources from Rakhine State, Myanmar Army troops in cooperation with local security forces are conducting clearance operations in the Mayu Mountain Range, where they claim that militants are hiding. “Clearance operations” carried out in the area after the October border guard post attack resulted in widespread accusations of human rights abuses committed by the military.

The Myanmar government should find a long-term solution, spur economic development, and create education and job opportunities in Rakhine State rather than isolating communities, said political analyst U Tin Maung Than.

By Htet Naing Zaw 15 August 2017 – NAYPYITAW

USDP-Led Coalition Calls on Govt to Reject Rohingya Ethnicity

par | Août 15, 2017 | Rohingyas

A coalition of 20 political parties led by the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) called on the Myanmar government to declare to the international community that there is “no Rohingya ethnicity” in the country.
Party representatives—largely from minor groups currently unrepresented in Parliament, including the Democratic Party Myanmar, National Democratic Force, and the National Development Party—discussed issues in northern Rakhine State on Monday at the USDP head office in Yangon. After the talks, they signed the statement, which contained four demands: improve general security in the region, provide increased security for government staff, enforce the 2014 counter-terrorism law, and reject the term “Rohingya” to describe a population of more than 1 million Muslims.
The self-identifying Rohingya are widely labeled throughout Myanmar as “Bengali,” implying that they are immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh, rather than belonging to Rakhine State.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated in May that 168,000 Rohingya had fled violence and persecution Myanmar in the last five years, mostly seeking refuge in Bangladesh and Malaysia. Most recently, following militant attacks on police outposts in October 2016, Myanmar security forces carried out clearance operations in Rakhine State, displacing nearly 70,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh.
Myanmar State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticized for not speaking out on behalf of the group, and has previously labeled both the terms “Rohingya” and “Bengali” as “emotive.” She told UN Special Envoy for Human Rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee in June 2016 that these “controversial terms should be avoided.”

… /…

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, USDP central executive committee member U Hla Thein chastised the international community for “complaining about human rights violations to the government” while “ethnic Rakhine and members of the security forces are being killed by militant terrorists.”
In early August, seven ethnic Mro—a sub-ethnicity of the Buddhist Arakanese in the region—were found dead of gunshot and machete wounds in the Mayu mountains of Maungdaw Township in northern Rakhine State. While no one has been arrested for the murders, local sources have said they suspect militants active in the borderlands of committing the murders.
Hundreds of troops were deployed to Rakhine State last week after a meeting between military commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and a seven-member delegation from the Arakan National Party (ANP) in Naypyitaw.
The Irrawaddy reported on Monday that the Myanmar military gave a verbal order to villagers in the state’s northern townships to avoid entering the Mayu mountains for any reason, in order to “avoid fatalities” while they conduct clearance operations in the area.
U Hla Thein told The Irrawaddy that the recent mission “was not enough, if further attacks potentially happen in the area.”

                                                                                                          By Thu Thu Aung 15 August 2017 – YANGON

Thu Thu Aung The Irrawaddy

 

More Than 1,000 New IDPs Reported in Kachin State

par | Août 14, 2017 | Ethnic conflict

More than 1,000 locals abandoned their homes and have sought refuge at Baptist and Catholic churches in Namti, Kachin State, due to fighting between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO/A).
The displacement followed clashes near Kasung village with KIA Battalion 11 on Thursday and a reported raid by the Myanmar Army on the area the next day.
Kasung is located about 15 miles from Namti town in Mogaung Township, Kachin State.
La Mai Seng Awng, a religious leader from the Kachin Baptist Church told The Irrawaddy that 593 internally displaced people (IDPs) had come to the church seeking food and shelter.
“The IDPs arrived in Namti first,” he said. “They witnessed skirmishes between the military and the KIO that happened in the village.”
According to a statement made by a coalition of humanitarian groups in Kachin State known as the Joint Strategy Team for Humanitarian Response (JST), about 700 people arrived Namti village by Friday. Later, more than 300 villagers were assisted in escaping from Kasung and Zup Mai Yang villages by a team involving Baptist and Catholic Church leaders, the Peace Creation Group, Myanmar Red Cross Society, and Myanmar Rescue Myitkyina on Sunday, August 13.
The JST has raised concern for the safety and security of the IDPs and civilians in conflict-affected areas and school-aged children’s education.
“The danger of a flu outbreak, and [other] health concerns remains high among IDPs, especially for children and many elderly, and those with chronic diseases,” the coalition said in its statement. “It is also important to ensure that the displaced school children are provided with psychosocial support and are able to continue schooling while in Namti before they are able to return.”

… / …

On Sunday, government leaders including the minister of Kachin State’s Department of Social Welfare visited IDPs in the churches and met with the community leaders.
The Roman Catholic Church leader Lagyi La Ja told The Irrawaddy that the government had promised to arrange for the schooling of displaced children in Namti until they were able to return home.
The Roman Catholic Church in Namti is serving as a host site to more than 400 refugees.
JST secretary Gum Sha Awng told The Irrawaddy that locals’ safety should remain the “first priority” for all stakeholders in the crisis.
“We already have over 100,000 IDPs who haven’t gotten a chance to return to their original places. Their future is extremely vulnerable,” he said of those who have been displaced since a long-term ceasefire between the KIA and Myanmar Army broke down in 2011.
Church members, the JST, international NGOs, UN agencies and the government have provided emergency assistance including food, hygiene materials and blankets to the displaced.
In June, around 1,000 villagers were displaced in Kachin State’s Tanai Township, and have, as of yet, been unable to return home.

The Irrawaddy – By Thu Thu Aung 14 August 2017

Detained Journalists Reapply for Bail in Unlawful Association Trial

par | Août 12, 2017 | Media

The lawyers of three detained journalists submitted a bail request for the second time, after the Hsipaw Township Court rejected the initial appeal last week.
At Friday’s court hearing, lawyers appealed for bail for six men including three journalists from The Irrawaddy and DVB who were detained while reporting in the area by the military and later charged under Article 17(1) of the colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act.
The court heard a witness [a local resident] from the prosecutor’s side on Friday but a military official who was scheduled to appear at the court for testimony did not show, with the excuse given that he was on military duty.
The defendant’s lawyers stated at the court that they requested bail again as the accusations against the journalists were not strong enough to build a case or charge them under the Unlawful Associations Act.
After the court hearing, the police sent the journalists directly back to Hsipaw Prison, where they have been detained for 46 days, despite a request made to leave them in police custody behind the court for a half hour to have lunch and meet with family members.

…. / …..

The three journalists—Irrawaddy senior reporter Lawi Weng (U Thein Zaw) and Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reporters U Aye Naing and Ko Pyae Phone Aung—were arrested on June 26 while covering a drug-burning ceremony in Ta’ang National Liberation Army-controlled area.
“The case has been wrong from the start. We were denied bail… this is an intentional threat against us and the next generation to stop reporting on and contacting ethnic armed groups. But nothing will frighten our colleagues,” U Aye Naing of the DVB told reporters outside of the court before being sent back to prison.
Supporters and family members of the journalists shouted at the court to stop oppressing the media.
The court will rule on the bail appeal on August 18.

By The Irrawaddy 11 August 2017 – HSIPAW, Shan State

Sur le même sujet.

 

Myanmar Govt to Send Special Envoy to UN

OIC Tells Myanmar to Protect Rights of Rohingya Minority

par | Août 3, 2017 | Rohingyas

A Rohingya refugee girl reacts to the camera while carry a child at the Kutupalang Makeshift Refugee Camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh on July 8, 2017. / Mohammad Ponir Hossain / Reuters

A Rohingya refugee girl reacts to the camera while carry a child at the Kutupalang Makeshift Refugee Camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh on July 8, 2017. / Mohammad Ponir Hossain / Reuters

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Myanmar must protect the rights of its Rohingya Muslim minority, the chief of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said on Thursday, urging the southeast Asian nation to join hands with Muslim-majority neighbors in tackling a refugee crisis.
A group known as Harakah al-Yaqin attacked Myanmar border guard posts on Oct. 9, killing nine policemen and igniting the biggest crisis yet to face Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s fledgling administration.
About 75,000 people fled to Bangladesh during the ensuing military crackdown, which was beset by allegations of rape, torture and extrajudicial killings by security forces.
Suu Kyi’s government has denied most of the allegations and is refusing access to a United Nations panel of experts, saying its mission will aggravate the situation on the ground in the western state of Rakhine.
“Myanmar should sit with Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia to find a roadmap for the solution of the crisis,” said Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen of the OIC, which represents 57 states and acts as the collective voice of the Muslim world.
“We call on the Myanmar government to ensure human rights for the Rohingyas,” Othaimeen told reporters during a four-day visit to the Bangladeshi capital.
“Myanmar can’t deny the human rights of Rohingyas. We also call on the Myanmar government to ensure citizenship for the Rohingyas.”
Othaimeen is also expected to visit Rakhine Muslims in the Kutupalong camp and surrounding areas in the southern resort town of Cox’s Bazar on Friday, Bangladesh foreign ministry officials said.
Thousands of Rohingya live in Bangladesh without being officially recognized as refugees, but police rarely file immigration charges against them. Still, their presence is a source of tension between the two countries.
Many in Myanmar see the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, although about 1.1 million of them live in Rakhine state and say their roots go back generations.

By Reuters 3 August 2017

Myanmar Govt to Send Special Envoy to UN

In Sketches: Myanmar’s Challenging Media Landscape

par | Juil 15, 2017 | Media

Justice With Strings Attached

In October 2014, freelance reporter Aung Kyaw Naing, also known as Par Gyi, was killed while in military custody. The Myanmar Army said the journalist was shot dead when he attempted to seize a soldier’s gun and escape detention. Despite his wife’s attempt to file charges against the military for the death and alleged torture of her husband, the case was dropped by the police and courts.

Press Freedom in Burma

Myanmar ended literary censorship in 2012. Four years on, in 2016 press freedom in the country is depicted as still in its infancy.

Freedom on the Brink

The Irrawaddy’s cartoonist responds to the terrorist attack on French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 that killed 17 people.

Enjoy Freedom of the Press

This 2014 cartoon demonstrates the control and lack of support for independent media in Myanmar.

No Freedom From 66(d)

There have nearly 70 cases filed under Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law—which is used to prosecute “defamation” online—during the National League for Democracy’s government administration.

Press Freedom?

The year 2014 saw some backslidings in press freedom in Myanmar with authorities placing restrictions on some publications on not to publish “inappropriate news about the government.” Others were threatened that they would be “held responsible for inciting social unrest” with their coverage of violence in Rakhine State. Four journalists and the CEO of Unity Weekly newspaper were detained by the police force’s Special Branch after the newspaper reported the existence of an alleged chemical weapons factory in Pauk, Magwe Division. All are facing prison terms of up to 14 years for “violating state secret laws.”

Ministry of Information Keeps the Media in its Tentacles

Despite the booming private media outlets in the country, Myanmar’s Ministry of Information takes a lion’s share of control of everything related to the media industry.

Burma’s Press Reforms at the Bursting Point

A 2014 cartoon demonstrates the precariousness of press freedom under the quasi-civilian government led by former President U Thein Sein.

y.

Backs to the Crisis

Under Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government, the Myanmar Army arrested three journalists, including one from The Irrawaddy, on June 26, accusing them of holding connections with an outlawed ethnic armed group. At the time of publication, they remain in prison.