2014 Census in Burma must be universal and inclusive of Rohingya : Rohingya organizations

Chittagong, Bangladesh: Several Rohingya organizations had made a call for the 2014 census in Burma to be universal and inclusive of the Rohingya people on May 5, according to their joint stamen.

The statement was released by the Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO), Burmese Rohingya Organization, UK (BROUK), Burmese Rohingya Association Japan (BRAJ), Burmese Rohingya Community in Australia (BRCA), Burmese Rohingya Community in Norway (BRCN), Burmese Rohingya Association in Thailand (BRAT) and Burmese Rohingya for Democracy in Burma (RLDB).

“Recently the United Nations Population Fund UNFPA) has agreed to support Burma’s proposed 2014 population and housing census,” according to the Rohingya Organizations statement. But, “Rights groups worry that if not conducted properly, the census could marginalize minorities such as the Rohingya or those living in one of Burma's many conflict areas.”

The Burma Ministry of Immigration and Population and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) April 31, held a forum on plans for Burma's 2014 Population and Housing Census, was participated by lawmakers and members of the National Commission on Population and Development in Nay Pyi Taw, according to the press release of forum.

U Khin Yi, Chairperson of the National Population and Development Commission and the Union Minister of the Ministry of Immigration and Population told the forum that a successful census will require "broad and effective partnership" involving various government sectors, parliamentarians, civil society, the private sector and international organizations.

“Since 1983 –within 30 years- this is first whole Burma Nationwide Census would be conducted in 2014 which will be organized and being prepared by Central Census Committee.”

Last October Notification enlisted Burma Population 60.38 million by assessments from 24 Townships in Sample counting. “1998 - 2006 Population increase rate 20.02, we calculated.”

In an effort to deny Rohingya’s existence in Burma:- the Immigration Ministers U Khin Yi accused the Rohingyas of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrants; the Chief Political Advisor to the President U Ko Ko Hlaing confirmed that the restriction on their (Rohingyas’) freedom of movement is necessary from so-called  national security perspective; and the Director General of Burma’s Department of Population Myint Kyaing lied in a proud manner,  “we have no stateless people in Myanmar and there is no Rohingya in Myanmar as well, because no Bengali people are residing in Myanmar," according to the Rohingya Organizations joint stamen.

"No true census has ever taken place in Burma, and great injustice has been done to the ethnic Rohingyas.”

"We, therefore, urge the United Nations, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), United Kingdom, USA, European Union, ASEAN and Myanmar’s neighbors to put pressure on the Myanmar government to genuinely include Rohingya as a ''national race'' in Myanmar''s proposed census," the statement said.

The statement said due to persecution, an estimated 1.5 million Rohingyas have taken refuge in Bangladesh and other countries.

To ensure the census is universal and "inclusive of all national races", the statement said the oppressive 1982 citizenship law should be amended in conformity with international conventions, and international custom and principles generally recognized with regard to nationality.

In addition, it should be brought in line with the principles embodied in the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness of August 30, 1961.

"Suitable arrangements should also be made for the inclusion of all Rohingya and other Burmese diasporas," the statement said.

The Central Census Committee Chairperson U Maung Maung Swe said: "Data obtained from the census will be linked to the national planning." , calling on all stakeholders to cooperate in undertaking the 2014 census where the UNFPA Representative Mohamed Abdel-Ahad  said " Censuses generate accurate information on population growth and help to estimate current and future needs, including needs for schools, teachers, hospitals, doctors, nurses and employment opportunities, housing, and social security and safety nets."

No money, no bury in Maungdaw

Maungdaw, Arakan State: Two Rohingya dead bodies -struck by thunder- were not allowed to bury by police without paying money to them on April 21 in Maungdaw Township, according to village administration office member.

“Ms.Tahera Begum, 48 and Ms.Formina Begum,14 hail from Mutee village of Theechang (Balu Khali) village track under Taungbro , Maungdaw  Township, were  struck by thunder (lightning)  while working in their chili cultivation field near the village and died in the spot on April 21 at about 10:30 am.”

“But, U Kyaw Win, the assistant police inspector from Theechaung police outpost, went to the victim house with Theechang village administration officer U Abdul Rashid at about 12:00 noon on that day and the police officer asked 100,000 kyats to give permission to bury the dead body in the village.”

The two females are mother and daughter of U Nurul Zawman, a poorest family in the village. The police officer had pretended to take dead body to the morgue for autopsy as Nurul can’t able to pay the money to the police officer. But, the villagers collected the money from village and gave to the police officer for burying the dead body in the village graveyard, said a closed relative of Nurul. 

One of Nurul’s daughter- Rozena Begum, 15 month old was  also seriously injure for thunder and now she has been taking medical treatment in the Taungbro clinic.

“The police in northern Arakan need money from Rohingya community and they are watching how to extort money from any accident which is naturally or manmade,” said a teacher from that village.

Myanmar's Suu Kyi sworn in to parliament

Suu Kyi stood to read the parliamentary oath in unison with other members of her NLD party 

 

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's pro-democracy leader, has taken the oath of office to become a member of Myanmar's parliament during a swearing-in ceremony in the capital, Naypyidaw.
Wednesday's event marks a historic development for the country and for the Nobel laureate who waged a two-decade struggle against its military government.
The oath, taken in front of lower house speaker Shwe Mann, states members will "safeguard and abide by the Constitution of the Union" and "hold always in esteem (the) non-disintegration of the Union, non-disintegration of national solidarity and perpetuation of sovereignty".
Speaking briefly to reporters after the swearing-in ceremony, Suu Kyi said her focus will be "to carry out our duties within the parliament as we have been carrying out our duties outside the parliament for the last 20 or so years".
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy [NLD] swept by-elections on April 1, but its successful candidates initially refused to take their seats because of a dispute over part of the oath relating to the constitution.
The NLD had refused to take the oath to "safeguard the constitution". Instead, it wanted to swear to "respect" it.
The party backed down on Monday and said its politicians would swear the oath, but said it still disputed the wording and wanted to amend a constitution that it says is undemocratic and gives wide powers to the military.
"We've always believed in being flexible throughout the years of our struggle because that is the only way in which we can achieve our goal without violence," Suu Kyi told a news conference in Yangon on Tuesday.

"I don't think flexibility will be a new concept for us."
The dispute with the ruling army-backed party over the oath raised fears for a delicate detente with President Thein Sein, a former junta general who has overseen a year of sweeping reforms in the resource-rich country.
Suu Kyi's entry into Myanmar's political system comes after years of resistance to the army's attempts to enshrine its grip on power.
While Suu Kyi and many of her supporters were in detention in 1990, her NLD swept general elections that year, but instead of handing over power to political leadership, the army banned her party.
The NLD walked out of the military's constitution-drafting process in the mid-1990s.
Suspicion
The party boycotted a general election in November 2010, when Suu Kyi was still under house arrest, saying the poll was rigged in favour of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

The USDP won an overwhelming victory, but a new government under President Thein Sein embarked on political and economic reforms and he persuaded Suu Kyi to enter the political process.
In response to the reforms, Western powers that for years isolated the country over its human rights record, driving it into close ties with giant neighbour China, have begun to lift sanctions.
Suu Kyi, the daughter of the leader of Myanmar's campaign for independence from British rule, will take up her seat alongside uniformed generals and scores of retired military men in the USDP.

But there is deep suspicion on both sides and friction could be looming.
The NLD won all but one of the 44 seats it contested in last month's by-elections after a campaign in which Suu Kyi made the amendment of the 2008 constitution a central theme.
The charter gives the military wide powers, including the ability to appoint cabinet members, take control in a state of emergency and occupy a quarter of seats in parliament.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was in Myanmar this week for talks with government leaders and Suu Kyi, praised the president as a visionary leader and welcomed Suu Kyi's decision to take her assembly seat.
European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who met Suu Kyi last week, also welcomed the NLD's decision and said it could now get to work on the country's problems.
"The important aspect from our point of view is to have her and other parliamentarians from the NLD in parliament," Ashton told a news conference in Bangkok on Tuesday.
"In terms of the constitution, I think this is for them to work out now that Aung San Suu Kyi has come in to parliament."

UN chief holds talks with Suu Kyi in Myanmar

Ban Ki-moon praises pro-democracy leader's decision to join country's parliament after agreeing to swear oath of office

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, left, met with Myanmar president Thein Sein on Monday

 

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has met with Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi for talks about the country's political future after a surprise climb down by the Nobel laureate in her boycott of parliament.

The discussions at the opposition leader's lakeside mansion in Yangon on Tuesday, where she was locked up by the former military junta for much of the past two decades, came a day after Ban became the first visiting foreign dignitary to address Myanmar's legislature.

It is the first meeting between Suu Kyi and Ban, who left frustrated after a previous visit in 2009 when the generals who ruled the nation for decades refused to allow him to see the veteran activist while in detention.
On Monday, Suu Kyi decided that she and other politicians in her National League for Democracy (NLD) party would attend the country's parliament on Wednesday for the first time to take the oath of office.
NLD politicians had refused to pledge to "safeguard" the constitution, stating they wanted that word replaced with "respect," a change made in other Myanmar laws.
"We have decided to comply at this juncture, because we do not want a political problem or tension," Suu Kyi said, ending the first rift with the government since she won a parliamentary seat in historic April 1 by-elections.

"The reason we accept it, firstly is the desire of the people," she said. "Our voters voted for us because they want to see us in parliament."
Ban welcomed Suu Kyi's announcement and told reporters he respected her decision.
"She is a strong and dedicated leader of this country," he said, standing by Suu Kyi's side at a newsconference after their meeting. "I'm sure that she'll play a very constructive and active role as a parliamentarian."
The UN chief said he had invited Suu Kyi to visit the UN headquarters in New York.
Suu Kyi has said one of her priorities as a politician is to push for an amendment of the 2008 constitution, under which one quarter of the seats in parliament are reserved for unelected military officials.
'Leadership and courage'

On Monday, following talks with President Thein Sein, the UN chief had paid tribute to Suu Kyi and the NLD for participating in the recent by-elections during a landmark speech to parliament.
"For many years you displayed resilience and fortitude that for generations have distinguished the Myanmar people," he said.

Aung San Suu Kyi and Ban Ki-moon met in the democracy activist's home in Yangon

Ban also hailed the "vision, leadership and courage" of Thein Sein, who has ushered in a slew of reforms in the last year including welcoming Suu Kyi's party into the mainstream and freeing political prisoners.
Ban is the latest in a string of top foreign visitors to Myanmar amid a thaw in the army-dominated nation's relations with the West.
The UN chief welcomed moves by the international community to reward sweeping changes in the country since the end of direct army rule last year, and called for the West to go further in easing or lifting sanctions.

Last week, the European Union responded to what it said were "historic changes" by suspending for one year a wide range of trade, economic and individual sanctions, although it left intact an arms embargo.

Canada and Australia have also recently eased punitive measures and Japan waived $3.7bn of Myanmar's debt.

But the US last week ruled out an immediate end to its main sanctions on Myanmar, saying it wanted to preserve leverage to push the leadership on an end to ethnic violence, which has marred the country's reform image.

Rohingya kills a Nasaka collaborator in Maungdaw south

Maungdaw, Arakan State: Rohingya villagers from Oo Doung in Maungdaw south killed a Burmese border security force (Nasaka)’s collaborator and a member of village administration member on April 25 at about 7:30pm, according to a village elder from village.

“U Assawdullah, the member of village administration and also a collaborator who is working under village administration officer U Tin Maung and area Nasaka out post.”

“U Assawdullah is a notorious and harassing villagers in the name tolls for Nasaka and other official.”

In the period of Buddhist water festival, he and his master village administration officer had collected money for are Nasaka post for water festival. The collaborator ordered with the power of Nasaka to pay 2500 kyats from each home. But, some poor villagers had not able to demand money.  The collaborator called Nasaka personnel and had been beating the villagers and harassment going on to the villagers, said a trader from the village.

“Rashid Ullah ,a villager who is main victim of Assawdullah, the collaborator  was beaten severely as the collaborator accused him as leader of village not to give toll for Nasaka.  Nasaka  took him to the outpost and kept there for one day and released after taking 10,000 kyat.”

The Nasaka and the collaborator always harassing and beaten Rashid Ullah where he lost so many money and some of his property. On the sunset of April 25, Rashid Ullah and other two villagers forcefully picked up the collaborator from his house to near the jungle where he was hanged there until dead, according to administration office member.

The police and Nasaka are looking Rashid Ullah, but he escaped from the village and hiding somewhere.  Police file a case against Rashid Ullah, according to an officer from Police.

The villagers said they will be sleep well now as the collaborator is no more and no one can do same as collaborator.

MSF special treatment for suffering ill students from unregistered refugee camp

Kutupalong, Bangladesh: Médecins Sans Frontières(MSF) had given special treatment program for suffering  ill students from  Home  Education program of unregistered refugee camp on April 26, at about 12:00pm, said a school teacher from the camp.

The refugee child has been suffering chicken pox

“Recently, most of the refugee children including the Home Education program students have been suffering from chicken pox, pneumonia and measles and fever.”

“We are facing problem to teach the students in the program, so we had requested to the officer of MSF which is providing health care to refugee and local, to give us a special treatment program for students. The MSF officer had given a program for students where the MSF staffs checked the students and given the medicines. We thanks to MSF from our Home Education program.”

We are providing health care for refugee and local in Kutupalong and it is our duty to give special treatment program for students when the teachers requested to us, said an officer from MSF.


Refugee child with skin diseases 

We thanks to MSF and school teachers for special treatment program to our children – who have been suffering from chicken pox, pneumonia and measles and fever- where we haven’t able to take them to the clinic as we have no money, said  Abdul Amin, an old refugee from camp.

“We also thanks to our young refugees who have been teaching our children in the camp where around 1000 children are going to Home Education program. It is first time our children are getting education in the camp since we are living here.”

Suu Kyi hopes for Myanmar crisis resolution

 

Suu Kyi, right, met Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi in Yangon on Thursday,

 

Opposition leader reaffirms support for president and hopes parliamentary oath dispute will be resolved swiftly.

 

Aung San Suu Kyi has reaffirmed her support for Myanmar's reformist president and says that she hopes for a swift resolution to a dispute that has delayed her debut in the country's parliament.
The opposition leader and other newly elected members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party cancelled plans to attend a new session of the legislature over a dispute regarding the oath of office.
NLD politicians refused to swear to "safeguard" the constitution, which was was created by the army and which the party has opposed.
"We hope the present problem will be smoothed over without too much difficulty before too long," Suu Kyi said at a press conference with Giulio Terzi, Italian foreign minister, in Yangon on Thursday.
She pledged to continue to try and work "in collaboration with the government particularly because we believe that President U Thein Sein is sincere in his reform efforts".
U is a term of respect in Myanmar.
Array of reforms
Thein Sein, a former army general, has implemented an array of changes since coming to power last year, including allowing the NLD to operate more freely, and the freeing of political prisoners.
In her remarks, Aung San Suu Kyi also expressed hope that her party would be able to serve Myanmar "not just outside the parliament as we have been doing for the last 20-odd years, but also from within the national assembly".
"With regard to the obstacles in the way of our taking our places in the national assembly, we would like to think that these are purely technical ones," she said.
"We would not like to expand them to the point that they become a political issue."
The NLD's decision not to attend the parliamentary session on Monday was seen as a sign of friction with the government.
It came on the same day as the European Union suspended most of its sanctions against Myanmar, to reward political reforms.
The party had asked that the swearing-in oath be changed from having members of parliament pledging to "safeguard" the constitution to having them pledge to "respect" it.
A quarter of the seats in the parliament are currently reserved for unelected military officials, under the current constitution.
'Public interest'
Thein Sein said on Monday the oath could be revised "if it serves the public's interest".
Aung San Suu Kyi won a parliamentary seat in April 1 by-elections for the first time since a landslide NLD victory in 1990 elections was annulled.
The NLD won 43 out of a total 44 seats up for grabs during the by-elections.
In addition to the EU, Canada has also suspended sanctions this week, and Japan has waived $3.7bn of Myanmar's debt.
Terzi, the Italian foreign minister, said that he had met Thein Sein, and that the president was "fully aware" that sanctions were only suspended for a year, and had not been lifted entirely.
He said that the EU wanted to be sure the Southeast Asian nation's reforms "do not stop or even slow down".
The US has ruled out an immediate end to its main sanctions on Myanmar.