ASEAN LEADERS ARE BARKING AT THE WRONG TREE WITH THE WRONG CAUSE AND WRONG OBJECTIVE

ASEAN LEADERS ARE BARKING AT THE WRONG TREE  WITH THE WRONG CAUSE AND WRONG OBJECTIVE   ASEAN leaders are complaining about the convenient way to solve the Rohingya problem. But for the Rohingyas or Burmese Muslims or Christian Chins/Karens/Kachins and Buddhist Mons/Shans/Burmese etc AND the NLDS  and political opponents and armed rebel groups_ Whether the SPDC would accept [...]

Just Imagine This!

Dr. Habib Siddiqui [Author’s note: This paper is based on author’s speech at the PENN HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM on “The Rohingyas of Burma and Bangladesh” on Friday, March 31, 2006 in the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA. The material in this paper came from author’s personal contacts with the Rohingya Diaspora community and information that [...]

Asean all at sea over Rohingya problem

   Asean all at sea over Rohingya problem    HONG KONG, Feb 28 — Lest we forget, this weekend it is timely to take a look back at the fundamental questions raised by the plight of the Rohingya boatpeople. Hundreds are feared to be still at sea, risking a perilous crossing from Myanmar or Bangladesh [...]

Myanmar to cooperate on Rohingya refugee issue

By MERGAWATI ZULFAKAR/from:thestaronlinenews HUA HIN (Thailand): Myanmar has finally agreed to cooperate with the Asean secretariat for data and information collection as the first step to resolving the Rohingya refugee problem plaguing several Asean members. Read more>>

JOHOR BARU: State Opposition leader Dr Boo Cheng Hau equated “bumiputraism” with the South African apartheid policy which discriminated against non-whites

Nik Aziz says ‘bumiputera’ term is racist MARCH 1 – In extraordinary remarks today, Pas spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat said the use of the term “bumiputera” smacks of racism and deprived the poor from other races of government aid. >Read More JOHOR BARU: State Opposition leader Dr Boo Cheng Hau   equated “bumiputraism” [...]

US Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs’ Daily Press Briefing: BURMA

  US Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs’  Daily Press Briefing: BURMA Robert Wood Acting Spokesman Daily Press Briefing February 23, 2009 Review of U.S. Policy not yet Completed/Sanctions Have Not Worked The U.S. Welcomes the Release of Political Prisoners The Government of Burma is Urged to Set Free all Remaining Prisoners, Including Aung [...]

2009 Human Rights Report for 2008: Burma

2008 Human Rights Report: Burma   BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices February 25, 2009 Comments: ASEAN leaders who denied these and especially the leaders of the countries who voted on 24th. December 2008 UNGA protecting Myanmar SPDC should be summoned at the ICC  if we could [...]

Badawi: Send Muslim boat people back if they are not white European or Malay/Indon related = neo-apartheid

   Badawi: Send Muslim boat people back if they are not white European or Malay/Indon related = neo-apartheid   CHA-AM, Feb 27 — Malaysia’s prime minister has called for Myanmar’s Muslim boat people to be pushed back if they attempt to land on any Southeast Asian shores in search of asylum, a newspaper said today.

Asean’s relevancy questioned

Asean’s relevancy questioned   Meeting human rights challenges  Last and most importantly, civil society and Asean observers are viewing Asean as unable to meet human rights challenges. While Asean bureaucrats often credit Asean for having created peace in the region since its establishment, they forget to acknowledge that Asean stood still during the genocide in [...]

Abdullah says migrants must be turned back

Abdullah says migrants must be turned back COMMENT: I could not believe my eyes. Did he really say that? I hope and pray that the report is wrong. May ALLAH give the wisdom, light and mercy on all the Muslims who are suffering. No wonder Tun Dr M rightly said, I believe in ISLAM, full [...]

The State Department’s 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State Washington, DC February 25, 2009 SECRETARY CLINTON: I apologize for being a little late. This is such an important event in the annual calendar of the State Department.   You know, human progress depends on the human spirit, and this inescapable truth has never been more apparent than it [...]

Malaysia wants Myanmar to be open about refugee problem

By MERGAWATI ZULFAKAR HUA HIN (Thailand): The problem of Rohingya refugees fleeing from Myanmar has become a regional problem and Malaysia wants the military junta to address the matter. Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim raised the issue at the Asean Foreign Ministers informal dinner on Thursday night where he stressed to Myanmar that [...]

2008 Report on International Religious Freedom

2008 Report on International Religious Freedom in Myanmar International Religious Freedom Report 2008 Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor     Highly repressive, authoritarian military regimes have ruled the country since 1962. Constitutional protection of religious freedom has not existed since 1988, after the armed forces brutally suppressed massive prodemocracy demonstrations [...]

Rights groups to Asean: Press Myanmar on abuses

   Rights groups to Asean: Press Myanmar on abuses “Asean’s continuing failure to hold the Burmese military government accountable for abuses and Asean’s unwillingness to provide refuge for those fleeing oppression in Burma are two sides of the same coin,” Human Rights Watch said.