Rohingya Ethnic Cleansing - Updates & Discussions

[Bilal9]

Facebook move on Myanmar raises thorny political questions


This AFP photo taken on February 09, 2017, shows supporters of Myanmar Senior General Min Aung Hlaing displaying his portrait during an anti-Rohingya rally by a hardline Buddhist group outside Yangon's Thilawa port as the Malaysian ship carrying relief aid for Rohingya Muslim minority arrives.

AFP, Washington

Facebook's ban of Myanmar's military leaders marks a new step for the leading social network against state "actors" -- and raises thorny questions on how the company deals with repressive regimes using the platform.

The move against Myanmar's army chief and other top military brass on Monday -- which came on the heels of an explosive UN investigation -- was the first time Facebook has barred members of the military or state actors, the company confirmed.

Facebook's actions came after repeated complaints that the platform was being used to spread hate and incite violence against the Rohingya.

Read More

• 
  They must face genocide trial
• 
  Only words, no action

The UN report, which recommended that military leaders face prosecution for genocide over their crackdown on the Muslim minority, said Facebook had become "a useful instrument" for those seeking to spread hate.

Facebook and other social networks have been under pressure to curb the spread of disinformation, especially when it can be seen as "hate speech" that may incite violence. Governments themselves can be the sources of such false information.


Jennifer Grygiel, a Syracuse University professor who studies social media, said while the move in Myanmar was "a significant development," the company "has a lot more work to do."

She added that Facebook had to "find a balance" between addressing how state entities are using the platform -- and making sure governments do not block the service.

Several countries have already banned Facebook while others use the platform as part of efforts to reinforce control.

Oxford University researchers said in a report this year they found "organized social media manipulation" in 48 countries.

"A range of government agencies and political parties are exploiting social media platforms to spread junk news and disinformation, exercise censorship and control," they said.

More 'proactive' move
Irina Raicu, director of the internet ethics program at Santa Clara University, said Facebook appeared to go further than in the past by banning 20 individuals and organizations even if they had no prior presence on the network.

"That seems to be a much more proactive stance than Facebook has taken before -- and it raises the question about what criteria are applied in determining which individuals and groups are prevented from using the platform in the first place, rather than in response to terms of service or community guidelines violations," Raicu said.

Daniel Castro, vice president of the Information Technology and Innovation Institute, a Washington think tank, said Facebook could face more questions on its approach to hate speech.

"Social networks are getting better at enforcing their codes of conduct, but it is harder for them to make these distinctions when it comes to government leaders, since their use of violence may be seen as legitimate under certain circumstances," Castro said.

Castro said it was notable that Facebook relied on the report from the UN Human Rights Council's investigators rather than act on its own because "the average company is not well-suited to investigate each case for themselves," he said.

"However, the downside is that (the Council) likely moves too slow for the digital era. But that suggests the UN, or some other body, should update its processes for the digital era, not that social networks should take on these additional roles."

Facebook said its move Monday was based on exceptional circumstances following the release of the report.

"We've taken this step in Myanmar following findings by international experts, including a recent UN-commissioned report, that many of these officials committed serious human rights abuses in the country," said Ruchika Budhraja, a Facebook spokeswoman.

"And we believe that their use of Facebook may have fueled ethnic and religious tension in Myanmar."

Budhraja said that because so many people rely on Facebook for information in Myanmar, the situation is "fairly unique."

"That said, we recognize that people in other parts of the world face devastating violence on a daily basis, and we will continue to investigate and take action when we have enough facts to do so," she added.

 

[Bilal9]

U.S. Vice President Pence calls for release of jailed Reuters journalists

• WORLD
• Wednesday, 5 Sep 2018
  
  7:06 AM MYT
• • 
    
• By Makini Brice and Matt Spetalnick
  
  
  

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday called on Myanmar's government to reverse a court ruling that imprisoned two Reuters journalists for seven years and to release them immediately.

The journalists were found guilty on Monday on official secrets charges in a landmark case seen as a test of progress towards democracy in Myanmar, which was ruled by a military junta until 2011.


Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were investigating the killing by security forces of Rohingya villagers at the time of their arrest last December, and had pleaded not guilty.

"Wa Lone & Kyaw Soe Oo shd be commended—not imprisoned—for their work exposing human rights violations & mass killings. Freedom of religion & freedom of the press are essential to a strong democracy," Pence wrote on Twitter.


Pence is the most senior U.S. official to add his voice to an international outcry against the verdict by a Myanmar judge, who said the two had breached the colonial-era Official Secrets Act when they collected and obtained confidential documents.

In Yangon earlier on Tuesday, the wives of two journalists insisted that the men were innocent and called for them to be reunited with their families.

"Deeply troubled by the Burmese court ruling sentencing 2 @Reuters journalists to 7 years in jail for doing their job reporting on the atrocities being committed on the Rohingya people," Pence wrote in another tweet.

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday that the United States would become more vocal about the two journalists' situation.

Speaking at a news conference in New York marking the U.S. assumption of the rotating chairmanship of the Security Council for September, Haley said the reporters were "in prison for telling the truth."

Mark Green, administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, said "these convictions are an enormous setback for democracy and the rule of law in Burma."

MOUNTING PRESSURE

The verdict came amid mounting pressure on the government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi over a security crackdown sparked by attacks by Rohingya Muslim insurgents on security forces in Rakhine State in west Myanmar in August 2017.

More than 700,000 stateless Rohingya Muslims have fled into Bangladesh since then, according to U.N. agencies. The Rohingya, who regard themselves as native to Rakhine, are widely considered as interlopers by the country's Buddhist majority and are denied citizenship.Neither Suu Kyi nor her government have commented publicly on the case since the reporters were convicted.

The journalists were arrested on Dec. 12 while investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya men and boys and other abuses involving soldiers and police in the village of Inn Din.

Myanmar has denied allegations of atrocities against Rohingya by its security forces, saying it conducted a legitimate counterinsurgency operation against Muslim militants.

The military acknowledged the killing of the 10 Rohingya at Inn Din after arresting the Reuters reporters.

A U.N mandated fact-finding mission said last week that Myanmar's military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Muslim Rohingya with "genocidal intent" and called for top generals to be prosecuted. Myanmar rejected the findings.

The International Criminal Court is considering whether it has jurisdiction over events in Rakhine, while the United States, the European Union and Canada have sanctioned Myanmar military and police officers over the crackdown.

(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Eric Beech, Toni Reinhold)



Rohingya protesters call for freedom for Reuters reporters in Myanmar

• WORLD
• Wednesday, 5 Sep 2018
  
  10:46 PM MYT
• • 
    
• By Poppy Mcpherson
  
  
  

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh (Reuters) - About 50 Rohingya Muslim refugees gathered in a muddy sports field in a camp in Bangladesh on Wednesday to protest against the conviction in Myanmar of two Reuters reporters, who were arrested while covering the plight of their community.

A Myanmar judge on Monday found the two journalists guilty of breaching a law on state secrets and jailed them for seven years, in a landmark case seen as a test of progress towards democracy in the Southeast Asian country.


The two reporters, Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were investigating the killing by the Myanmar security forces of Rohingya villagers at the time of their arrest in December.

The pair had pleaded not guilty.


More than 700,000 stateless Rohingya Muslims fled from the west of mostly Buddhist Myanmar into Bangladesh from August last year when Rohingya insurgent attacks on the Myanmar security forces triggered a sweeping military crackdown.

Abdu Shakur, the father of Rashid Ahmed, one of the 10 men whose deaths at the hands of the Myanmar military were exposed by the Reuters reporters, was among the crowd protesting in a refugee camp in southeast Bangladesh.

"I felt very upset as my sons and other families were innocent and the reporters were innocent," Shakur told Reuters.

"Why were they sentenced?"

The crowd held signs bearing the reporters faces and chanted "Free!"

"I hope that if we all try for them then the government will release," Shakur said.

After the two reporters were arrested, the military confirmed that the massacre they were investigating, of 10 Rohingya in the village of Inn Din in Rakhine State, had taken place and several soldiers were prosecuted and punished.

Though the Myanmar military acknowledged the killings at Inn Din, the government has denied most allegations of atrocities against Rohingya by the security forces.

It says it conducted a legitimate counterinsurgency operation against Muslim militants who started the violence.

Rahama Khatun, the widow of another of the men killed in Inn Din, was also at the protest.

"Our family members have passed away, also these two Buddhists were jailed," she said, clutching a sign that read 'Release Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo'.

"Their families may be facing difficulties to survive. We have sympathy with their families."

(Refiles to correct first name to Abdu, instead of Abdul, paragraph six)

(Editing by Robert Birsel)


Myanmar court jails Reuters reporters for seven years in landmark secrets case

• WORLD
• Monday, 3 Sep 2018
  
  9:02 PM MYT
• • 
    
• By Shoon Naing and Aye Min Thant
  
  
  

YANGON (Reuters) - A Myanmar judge on Monday found two Reuters journalists guilty of breaching a law on state secrets and jailed them for seven years, in a landmark case seen as a test of progress towards democracy in the Southeast Asian country.

Yangon northern district judge Ye Lwin said Wa Lone, 32, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, breached the colonial-era Official Secrets Act when they collected and obtained confidential documents.


"The defendants ... have breached Official Secrets Act section 3.1.c, and are sentenced to seven years," the judge said, adding that the time served since they were detained on Dec. 12 would be taken into account. The defence can appeal the decision to a regional court and then the supreme court.

The verdict comes amid mounting pressure on the government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi over a security crackdown sparked by attacks by Rohingya Muslim insurgents on security forces in Rakhine State in west Myanmar in August 2017.


More than 700,000 stateless Rohingya Muslims have fled into Bangladesh since then, according to U.N. agencies.

The two reporters, who were investigating the killing by the security forces of Rohingya villagers at the time of their arrest, had pleaded not guilty.

Press freedom advocates, the United Nations, the European Union and countries including the United States, Canada and Australia had called for the journalists' acquittal.

"Today is a sad day for Myanmar, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, and the press everywhere," Reuters editor in chief Stephen J Adler said in a statement.

"We will not wait while Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo suffer this injustice and will evaluate how to proceed in the coming days, including whether to seek relief in an international forum."

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged Myanmar authorities to review their decision, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Monday.

"It is unacceptable that these journalists were prosecuted for reporting on major human rights violations against the Rohingya in Rakhine State," he said, adding that Guterres would continue to advocate for their release and for "full respect of freedom of the press and all human rights in Myanmar."

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called for the immediate, unconditional release of the reporters.

"It is clear to all that the Burmese military has committed vast atrocities," Haley said in a statement.

"In a free country, it is the duty of a responsible press to keep people informed and hold leaders accountable. The conviction of two journalists for doing their job is another terrible stain on the Burmese government."

The reporters had told the court two police officials handed them papers at a restaurant in the city of Yangon moments before other officers arrested them.

One police witness testified the restaurant meeting was a set-up to entrap the journalists to block or punish them for their reporting of a mass killing of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine.

More than 80 people, including senior diplomats, were packed into the court on Monday.

Judge Ye Lwin read a summary of witness testimony for about an hour before delivering his verdict, which had been postponed by a week because he was sick.

The court determined that "confidential documents" found on the two would have been useful "to enemies of the state and terrorist organisations". Documents in their possession and on their phones were "not public information", he said.

'NO FEAR'

Kyaw Soe Oo's wife, Chit Su Win, burst into tears after the verdict, and family members had to support her as she left the court.

Wa Lone, in handcuffs and flanked by police, told a cluster of friends and reporters after the verdict not to worry.

"We know we did nothing wrong. I have no fear. I believe in justice, democracy and freedom," he said.

Kyaw Soe Oo also said the reporters had committed no crime and that they would maintain their fight for press freedom.

"What I want to say to the government is: you can put us in jail, but do not close the eyes and ears of the people," he said.

Some of the reporters' supporters shouted "let them speak" and jostled with police as they were driven back to prison.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo both have young daughters and have not seen their families outside of prison visits and court hearings for nearly nine months.

Kyaw Soe Oo has a three-year-old daughter and Wa Lone's wife, Pan Ei Mon, gave birth to their first child last month.

Government spokesman Zaw Htay didn't respond to requests for comment about the verdict. He has mostly declined to comment throughout the proceedings, saying the courts were independent and the case would be conducted according to the law.

'HAMMER BLOW'

U.S. ambassador Scot Marciel said the "deeply troubling" verdict could undermine the confidence the Myanmar people had in the justice system.

"Unbelievable! More and more, responsible journalism is found to be a crime in Myanmar!" Yanghee Lee, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said on Twitter.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said the verdict "sends a message to all journalists in Myanmar that they cannot operate fearlessly, but must rather make a choice to either self-censor or risk prosecution."

British ambassador Dan Chugg, speaking on behalf of EU members, said the verdict had "dealt a hammer blow for the rule of law".

France said it deplored `the prison sentences and that the convictions represented a serious violation of press freedom and the rule of law.

Ed Royce, Republican chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, called for more U.S. sanctions in addition to targeted measures already imposed on a handful of Myanmar military and police commanders.

"This unjust verdict reaffirms that the Burmese government is complicit in the military’s atrocities," he said in a statement. "The U.S. should respond with more sanctions and a formal determination of genocide. We must act before it is too late.”

In Bangladesh, Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, a media adviser to the prime minister, said it was "an open secret" that anyone exposing "atrocities of the Myanmar army" would be persecuted.

Marianne Hagen, deputy foreign minister of Norway, whose state-controlled firm Telenor is the second largest mobile phone operator in Myanmar, urged the authorities to "protect freedom of the press, respect basic human rights and secure journalists' rights in the court system".

Reuters called the Myanmar military spokesman but an assistant said the spokesman was busy and unable to speak.

INVESTIGATING KILLINGS

The reporters were arrested on Dec. 12 while investigating the killing of 10 Rohingya men and boys and other abuses involving soldiers and police in Inn Din, a village in Rakhine State.

Myanmar has denied allegations of atrocities made by refugees against its security forces, saying it conducted a legitimate counterinsurgency operation against Muslim militants.

But the military acknowledged the killing of the 10 Rohingya at Inn Din after arresting the Reuters reporters.

A U.N mandated fact-finding mission said last week that Myanmar's military carried out mass killings and gang rapes of Muslim Rohingya with "genocidal intent" and called for top generals to be prosecuted. Myanmar rejected the findings.

The International Criminal Court is considering whether it has jurisdiction over events in Rakhine, while the United States, the European Union and Canada have sanctioned Myanmar military and police officers over the crackdown.

(Additional reporting by Simon Lewis, Antoni Slodkowski, Thu Thu Aung in YANGON, Ruma Paul in DHAKA, David Shepardson in Washington; Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Philip McClellan, Kevin Liffey, Toni Reinhold)

 

[Flynn Swagmire]

Mates lets have some discussion here:

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/canada-declares-myanmar-rohingya-killings-genocide.578297/

 

[Bilal9]

Permanent refugee housing for Rohingyas in Bhashan-char Island (In the Ganges Delta), as seen yesterday. Practically a brand-new self-contained town. And I'd say absolutely no worse than how European countries and the US handles refugees...

 

[UKBengali]

Permanent refugee housing for Rohingyas in Bhashan-char Island (In the Ganges Delta), as seen yesterday. Practically a brand-new self-contained town. And I'd say absolutely no worse than how European countries and the US handles refugees...

Good. This is much better than the squalor they are currently residing in.

 

[bluesky]

I think a 3.5m x 4.0m room for a family of four is too inadequate. However, it is better than the bamboo huts the Rohingyas are at present living in. May Allah help these destitute people from Arakan to get a little more peace and less anxiety. It is too unbearable to accept their man-made sufferings.

Can someone tell if kindergartens, schools, and park/playgrounds are also being set up for the children? They will need these common facilities to get over the sufferings and to restart a new life.

 

[M.R.9]

okay one question-

BD got 1 million of rohingyas. What happened to others ?

 

[bluesky]

EU delivers on its pledge to support Rohingyas in Bangladesh
Published: October 23, 2018 14:34:12

File Photo (Collected)

The European Union has said it is committed to help finding a sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis and delivered additional 15 million in support to assist Rohingyas in Bangladesh.

Neven Mimica, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, said the money will be on the needs of children, young people, female-headed households and families.

He said, "Over half of the Rohingya refugees under 18 years of age and the conflict have left many women having to look after their families alone.”

“So the priority of this €15 million support package will be on the needs of children, young people, female-headed households and families."

The EU has so far made available €65 million in humanitarian assistance, EU Embassy in Dhaka said on Tuesday.

It has been providing substantial political, development and humanitarian support in response to the Rohingya refugee crisis from the outset.

The support will deliver on the medium-term development needs of the refugees and their host communities in the Cox's Bazar region of Bangladesh, reports UNB.

It will focus on community development, social cohesion, mitigating risks of tensions, as well as gender equality.

The above-mentioned support measures will help to make these communities more resilient - an approach also recognised by the Global Compact on Refugees (link is external), which is expected to be adopted before the end of 2018 and to be subsequently endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly.

The EU welcomed the World Bank's recent pledge of development support (link is external) and encourages other development donors to follow suit.

https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/...to-support-rohingyas-in-bangladesh-1540283652

 

[M.R.9]

I wish commission will be 50 50

 

[Bilal9]

Australia hits five Myanmar generals with sanctions
International Desk | banglanews24.com
Update: 2018-10-23 12:02:18 PM
Australia's government on Tuesday unveiled sanctions against five officers in Myanmar's powerful military who are accused of overseeing barbaric violence against members of the Rohingya ethnic group.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne

Australia's government on Tuesday unveiled sanctions against five officers in Myanmar's powerful military who are accused of overseeing barbaric violence against members of the Rohingya ethnic group.

Following similar actions by the United States and the European Union, Australia announced it would freeze the assets of officers including a Lieutenant General who commanded a special operations group believed to be behind atrocities.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the officers - Aung Kyaw Zaw, Maung Maung Soe, Aung Aung, Than Oo and Khin Maung Soe were "responsible for human rights violations committed by units under their command".

The five, some of whom are since believed to have stepped down from their posts, will also be banned from travelling to Australia.

Around 700,000 Rohingya have been driven from their homes in Rakhine state, in southwest Myanmar, since 2016.

The campaign has been marked by numerous extrajudicial killings, mass rape and the burning of villages by security forces.

Source: THE BUSINESS TIMES

BDST: 1200 HRS, OCT 23, 2018

 

[M.R.9]

Australia hits five Myanmar generals with sanctions

Main criminals now trying to go under the cave. brother .

 

[bluesky]

China offers Myanmar support over Rohingya issue after US rebuke
>> Reuters

Published: 2018-11-16 09:35:34.0 BdST Updated: 2018-11-16 09:35:34.0 BdST

• 

China supports the Myanmar government's efforts to protect domestic stability and approach to resolving the Rohingya issue, Premier Li Keqiang told the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi, after US Vice President Mike Pence offered a strong rebuke.

Pence on Wednesday voiced Washington's strongest condemnation yet of Myanmar's treatment of Rohingya Muslims, telling Suu Kyi that "persecution" by her country's army was "without excuse".

Meeting Suu Kyi on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Singapore, Li said China attaches great importance to its ties with Myanmar and would build on their tradition of friendship, China's Foreign Ministry said late on Thursday.

"The Chinese side supports Myanmar's efforts in maintaining its domestic stability, and supports Myanmar and Bangladesh appropriately resolving the Rakhine state issue via dialogue and consultation," the ministry cited Li as saying.

China is "willing to provide the relevant parties with necessary support in this regard", he added, without elaborating.

More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees crossed into Bangladesh from western Myanmar's Rakhine state, U.N. agencies say, after Rohingya insurgent attacks on Myanmar security forces in August 2017 triggered a sweeping military crackdown.

The two countries agreed on Oct. 30 to begin returning refugees to Myanmar in mid-November. The U.N. refugee agency has said conditions in Rakhine are "not yet conducive for returns".

China has close relations with Myanmar, and backs what Myanmar officials have called a legitimate counter-insurgency operation in Rakhine.

China's statement cited Suu Kyi as expressing thanks to China for the many times it has extended help to Myanmar, especially the constant understanding and support for the Myanmar peace process and the Rakhine issue.

A plan to begin repatriating hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees to Myanmar stalled on Thursday, amid protests by refugees at camps in Bangladesh and recriminations between the officials in both countries.

 

[Buddhistforlife]

I am sure BGB is involved. You guys should take drastic measure and attack. I want to see the fireworks.

Who's the kid in your profile picture?

 

[TopCat]

Who's the kid in your profile picture?

Rohingya

 

[Buddhistforlife]

China offers Myanmar support over Rohingya issue after US rebuke
>> Reuters

Published: 2018-11-16 09:35:34.0 BdST Updated: 2018-11-16 09:35:34.0 BdST

• 

China supports the Myanmar government's efforts to protect domestic stability and approach to resolving the Rohingya issue, Premier Li Keqiang told the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi, after US Vice President Mike Pence offered a strong rebuke.

Pence on Wednesday voiced Washington's strongest condemnation yet of Myanmar's treatment of Rohingya Muslims, telling Suu Kyi that "persecution" by her country's army was "without excuse".

Meeting Suu Kyi on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Singapore, Li said China attaches great importance to its ties with Myanmar and would build on their tradition of friendship, China's Foreign Ministry said late on Thursday.

"The Chinese side supports Myanmar's efforts in maintaining its domestic stability, and supports Myanmar and Bangladesh appropriately resolving the Rakhine state issue via dialogue and consultation," the ministry cited Li as saying.

China is "willing to provide the relevant parties with necessary support in this regard", he added, without elaborating.

More than 700,000 Rohingya refugees crossed into Bangladesh from western Myanmar's Rakhine state, U.N. agencies say, after Rohingya insurgent attacks on Myanmar security forces in August 2017 triggered a sweeping military crackdown.

The two countries agreed on Oct. 30 to begin returning refugees to Myanmar in mid-November. The U.N. refugee agency has said conditions in Rakhine are "not yet conducive for returns".

China has close relations with Myanmar, and backs what Myanmar officials have called a legitimate counter-insurgency operation in Rakhine.

China's statement cited Suu Kyi as expressing thanks to China for the many times it has extended help to Myanmar, especially the constant understanding and support for the Myanmar peace process and the Rakhine issue.

A plan to begin repatriating hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees to Myanmar stalled on Thursday, amid protests by refugees at camps in Bangladesh and recriminations between the officials in both countries.

Do you think the rohingyas are living in camps? Lol. Rohingyas are no more in camps, most of them have migrated to other parts of Bangladesh. The international community and NGOs are making a fool out of you. Hardly 50% of the rohingya people are now in camps. Most of them are working as day labourers, rickshawpullers in Chittagong,Noakhali and other parts of Bangladesh.

How are you gonna repatriate rohingyas when you dont have them in the camps lol.