Rights Group wants ASEAN Countries to Act on Rohingya Plight

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged countries from the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) to make strong efforts at an emergency meeting of the group to resolve the ongoing Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.

ASEAN’s upcoming meeting is scheduled for Monday in Myanmar’s Yangon.

Phil Robertson, the deputy director of the Asia Division at the HRW, said the international rights group as wells as other members of the global community is “hoping that this will be the beginning of an ongoing campaign by some of the ASEAN states to demand answers from Burma (Myanmar), and to expect better treatment of the Rohingya.”

Robertson emphasized that ASEAN nations have the necessary power to exert influence on Myanmar’s government in regard to the Rohingya crisis.

“ASEAN does have efficacy to be able to force Myanmar to answer questions,” he said.

Robertson said the solution to the crisis is to integrate the Muslims, who having been living in Myanmar for generations.

“Ultimately, these governments need to press Burma to allow the Rohingya to stay and to have citizenship and be accepted as full participants in the Burmese state. Otherwise, we’re going to continue to have these occasional pogroms against the Rohingyas,” he said, referring to the instances of murder against the ethnic Muslims in Myanmar’s northwestern Rakhine State.

This image shows a Rohingya asylum-seeker at a location in Indonesia, where some refugees from Myanmar are gathered. (By Reuters)

International pressure has been mounting on the government of Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader, over a military crackdown against the Rohingyas in Rakhine, where the Muslims are concentrated and have been besieged by army forces.

World bodies, including the United Nations (UN), have called on Suu Kyi to fulfill her responsibility in the crisis, visit the state, and take measures to protect the Rohingya Muslim minority there against ongoing atrocities at the hands of the military.

Suu Kyi has done little to address the issue. A task force that she ordered to investigate the situation in Rakhine came out saying that military soldiers there were acting according to law.

The ASEAN meeting

Myanmar called for the emergency meeting of ASEAN nations shortly after the UN said it was receiving daily reports of rapes and killings of members of the Rohingya community in the country.

The UN statement, which was released on Friday, criticized Suu Kyi for her “short-sighted, counterproductive, even callous” approach to the humanitarian crisis involving the Rohingya.

The UN has estimated that 27,000 members of the Rohingya community have been forced to flee the terror waged on them in the region by the military and extremist Buddhists and seek asylum in neighboring countries such as Bangladesh.

This image taken in Yangon on Jan. 16, 2014 shows Buddhist monks displaying an anti-Rohingya. (Photo by AFP)

A much larger number of Rohingya “boat people” have attempted to flee to other neighboring countries, including Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, which are all members of ASEAN.

People in both Malaysia and Indonesia have been protesting against the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims by the military in the Buddhist-dominant country.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak called for international intervention to resolve the crisis and put an end to the “genocide” of the Rohingyas in Myanmar.

The Monday ASEAN meeting will be held behind closed doors. It will be attended by the foreign ministers of ASEAN countries, including the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar itself.

Ongoing atrocities

Rakhine State has been under military siege since October, when unidentified elements launched a deadly raid on a police post. The Myanmarese government blamed the attack on militants whom it said were linked to the Rohingya.

There have been numerous reports of rape, murder, and arson against the Muslim population in the state. But violence against the Rohingya precedes the current military siege.

This image, taken on October 16, 2016, shows heavily-armed troops in the town of Maungdaw, in Rakhine. (By AFP)

Rakhine has been the scene of communal violence at the hands of Buddhist extremists since 2012. Hundreds of the Muslims have been killed in the violence. Myanmar’s population is mostly comprised of Buddhists.

The government denies full citizenship to the members of the Rohingya community in Myanmar despite their long-time presence in Rakhine.

The UN says the Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted communities in the world.

“We cannot travel to anywhere; there’s no education or healthcare, no jobs here. We are living here like prisoners. So, I have no more words to express our lives. We need as much help as possible,” said Maung Hla, a Muslim Rohingya who lives in apartheid-like conditions at a camp for internally displaced persons in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State.

Source by: http://www.presstv.ir

Eight Women Raped in Nari Bil Amid Tensed Calm

Army personal raided Nari Bil in Maungdaw North on Friday and raped at least eight women.

More than 80 soldiers entered the village tract at around noon, apprehended eight women and proceeded to gang rape them.

They also smashed up property and looted valuables.

In a separate incident, Hlun Htein personal set fire to houses in Kawa Bil. The villagers were earlier forced out in late October for allegedly providing shelter to Muslim rebels.

In Maungdaw South, Hlun Htein forces demolished 12 houses in Kiladong on Saturday. The incident happens a week after security forces ordered the demolition of a mosque and houses on the roadside on December 12.

While Kiladong and other Maungdaw South villages have been spared the terror of the recent crackdown, it is a traditional hotspot for violence. In one of the worst incidents, scores of women and children were hacked to death when a Rakhine mob backed by security forces attacked the village tract in January 2014. Since then there has been tension in the area as security forces cracked down on the survivors.

Local sources have also said there has been a steady movement of Tatmadaw troops into Maungdaw South.

Altogether while there has been incidents of rape and arson attacks on Rohingya settlements, there is an eerie calm in the area. Rohingya activists however warn the situation might take a turn for the worse anytime.

Hundreds have been killed and arrested, while many women have been raped since Tatmadaw forces unleashed a draconian crackdown on Rohingyas since October 9. Many of those arrested have been tortured to death, with some having their eyes gouged out and wrists cut off

Source by: http://myanmarobserver.com/

Comment:

In my opinion the human rights of woman are not taken serious by the community and goverment.The woman should be protect under the law. They should be given opportunity of job, living place and others necessity of life and daily needs.

Rise of Tyranny in Myanmar

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 – The world needs to act soon rise because of atrocities in Burma is the worst event in the history of human civilization.


Syed Hamid Albar


Special envoy the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for Myanmar, Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said the OIC strongly condemned Myanmar’s military oppression against Rohingya Muslims worsening in northern Rakhine state.

“Buddhism even prevent inhumane acts occurred. So, the world must stop immediately likened the events in Rwanda tragedy in Southeast Asia.

“United Nations (UN) and the ASEAN should take the necessary steps as stipulated in the provisions of the UN Charter that protects and respects the rights of all human beings,” he said in a statement on Facebook today.

Earlier, the watchdog group Human Rights successful attempt to disassemble the Myanmar government troops closed the atrocities committed against the Rohingya Muslims when burning over 1,000 settlements and 30,000 Rohingyas were left homeless and thousands were killed.

In the meantime, former Senior Diplomat Malaysia, Tan Sri Hasmy Agam, urged the government to become a member of the High Commission of United Nations for Refugees (UNHCR) and the signing of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

He said this was because Malaysia is an active UN member states and is believed by many to hold office.

“We need to be an expert and be bound by the agreement to be more vocal in urging UNHCR assistance and security to the war-torn country.

“Our relationship with UNHCR now in an informal or like friends,” he said.

Hasmy also explained that Malaysia is still reluctant to ratify the agreement for fear bound by the principle to accept refugees and is likely to be an attraction to more refugees coming into Malaysia.

Meanwhile, President of the Human Rights Malaysia Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas (MERHROM), Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani, asking Malaysia as a responsible ASEAN member countries.

“I call on the government to provide food aid, medical and security to the Rohingya there. In addition, the 192 UN member states have to adopt the law on refugees persecuted and intervene to resolve this issue.

“If the world can not intervene, we have supplied arms and let ourselves fighting with the military junta of Myanmar,” he said.

– See more at:http://www.utusan.com.my/berita/nasional/bangkit-tentang-kezaliman-di-myanmar-1.411568#sthash.k1ZRq1eh.ZQgJ5cs8.dpuf

Rohingya Want Malaysia Continue to Defend Human Rights

Rohingya wish Malaysia can continue to defend human rights.

Rohingya hope to get their human rights.

In my opinions, rohingya should be given their rights and treated as human. They are human and have their right to live better, to survive, to get job, to improve their living condition.

UN Principles for Older Persons

Independence 

1.	to access to adequate food, water, shelter, clothing, and health care through the provision of income, family and community support and help;
2.	to work and pursue other income generating opportunities with no barriers based on age;
3.	to retire and participate in determining when and at what pace withdrawal from the labor force takes place;
4.	to access education and training programs to enhance literacy, facilitate employment, and permit informed planning and decision making;
5.	to live in environments that are safe and adaptable to personal preferences and changing capacities;
6.	to reside at home as long as possible;

Participation 

7.	to remain integrated and participate actively in society, including the process of development and the formulation and implementation of policies which directly affect their well-being;
8.	to share their knowledge, skills, values and life experiences with younger generations;
9.	to seek and develop opportunities for service to the community and to serve as volunteers in positions;
10.	to form movements or associations of the elderly.

Care 

11.	to benefit from family support and care consistent with the well being of the family;
12.	to access health care to help them maintain or regain the optimum level of physical, mental and emotional well-being and to prevent or delay the onset of illness;
13.	to access social and legal services to enhance capacity for autonomy and provide protection and care;
14.	to utilise appropriate levels of institutional care which provide protection, rehabilitation and social and mental stimulation in a humane and secure environment;
15.	to exercise human rights and fundamental freedoms when residing in any shelter, care and treatment facility including full respect for their dignity, beliefs, needs and privacy and for the right to make decisions about their care and quality of life.

Self - fulfillment 

16.	to pursue opportunities for the full development of their potential;
17.	to access the education, cultural, spiritual and recreational resources of society.

Dignity

18.	to be treated fairly regardless of age, gender, racial or ethnic background, disability or other status, and to be valued independently of their economic contributions;
19.	to live in dignity and security and to be free of exploitation and physical or mental abuse;
20.	to exercise personal autonomy in health care decision making, including the right to die with dignity by assenting to or rejecting treatment designed solely to prolong life.

What are Human Rights?

    Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.

    Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the forms of treaties, customary international law , general principles and other sources of international law. International human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals or groups.

Song about Human Rights - "Yes We Can"

Bear with me on this one. So it’s not technically a song, or at least it wasn’t until Will.I.Am turned it into a handy campaigning tool for Obama’s 2008 election. I know it’s nearly impossible to separate this from our current president, and the many disappointments we may have with him to date, but if you take it at face value it’s a promise of progress, change, and hope that we all share. When I listen to this now, the “we” for me is not the Obama administration, but all of us who are working towards equal rights and how together we can ultimately achieve the change that was promised to us. If for nothing else, I hope you can appreciate a reminder of the awesomely random celebrity cameos in this.

We know the battle ahead will be long

But always remember that no matter

What obstacles stand in our way

Nothing can stand in the way of the power

Of millions of voices calling for change

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics

They will only grow louder and more dissonant

We've been asked to pause for a reality check

We've been warned against offering

The people of this nation false hope

But in the unlikely story that is America

There has never been anything false about hope 

What are your favorite equal rights anthems to get you through the day?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY