DHAKA: Rohingya refugees have told Arab News they fear going back to Myanmar after a government minister made derogatory remarks about Islam.
Myanmar’s Minister for Religious Affairs and Culture Thura Aung Ko also made comments about the Muslim minority group, which has been subjected to a military crackdown described by the United Nations as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.
Ko alleged that Rohingya youths in refugee camps across the border in Bangladesh were being brainwashed to “truly march toward Myanmar” and referred to the Rohingya as Bengalis, a term used by Naypyidaw to paint the group as illegal immigrants.
In another video, released by Radio Free Asia, Ko alleged that Myanmar’s Buddhist population was under threat.
“While we Buddhists practice monogamy and have only one or two children, an extreme religion encourages having three or four wives and giving birth to 15 to 20 children. After three, four, five decades in this Buddhist country, the Buddhist community will certainly become the minority,” he said in the video.
The Rohingya have faced severe discrimination in Myanmar and been the target of violence for years, notably in 2017.
Thousands were killed and more than 720,000 fled their homes following a Myanmar military crackdown purportedly aimed at militants, according to rights group.
Myanmar refuses to recognize the Rohingya as a legitimate native ethnic minority and they are denied citizenship and other rights.
“We were living in a highly hostile environment, in many cases that were backed by the state. Now the world witnessed it once again after the religious affairs minister’s comments,” Daud Ali told Arab News, a 47-year-old living in the Kutapalang refugee camp in the southeastern city of Cox’s Bazar.
Another refugee at the same camp, 27-year-old Sayed Alam, said the Rohingya had always been treated as second class citizens.
“Our movements were highly restricted even in Rakhine,” he told Arab News, referring to the western Myanmar state where the majority of the Rohingya live, “so it’s no wonder that a minister of (Aung) Suu Kyi’s government makes derogatory remarks about Muslims.”
Bangladesh protested Ko’s remarks, summoning Myanmar’s Ambassador Lwin Oo to the Foreign Ministry in Dhaka on Wednesday.
Delwar Hossain, from the Foreign Ministry, said Bangladesh had conveyed its displeasure.
“We consider that these types of comments are unacceptable and disgraceful. Bangladesh has strongly objected and made its position clear. In the entire conversation, Myanmar’s envoy did not utter any words in defense of his country and only assured to convey Dhaka’s message to Naypyidaw,” Hossain told Arab News.
Ko, a former Myanmar army general, was appointed in 2016 by Suu Kyi after her party came to power in a general election landslide victory.
“Myanmar does not seem interested in Rohingya [refugees] repatriation,” former Bangladesh Ambassador to the United States Humayun Kabir told Arab News.
Myanmar would not be making negative remarks about Bangladesh if it were genuinely interested in creating a conducive environment for repatriation, he added.
“Actually Bangladesh has no other option to move forward with the repatriation issue except for creating more diplomatic pressure from the international community.”
An attempt to repatriate Rohingya refugees last month failed because of their refusal to go of their own accord.
They had a list of demands before any repatriation including safety and security in Rakhine, citizenship guarantee and freedom of movement.
The UNHCR is helping Bangladesh with the repatriation process to ensure it is voluntary.
One official report from humanitarian agencies said more than 15,000 Rohingyas had entered Bangladesh since January 2018.
“It is very clear that Myanmar’s government is not willing to repatriate us and that’s why they are constantly spreading negative comments about Rohingyas,” said Mohammad Ashraf, a 38-year refugee from Balukhali camp. “How can we return to Myanmar amid such an unpleasant situation and hatred?”
Rohingya refugees wary after Myanmar minister’s hostile remarks
Rohingya refugees wary after Myanmar minister’s hostile remarks
- Myanmar ambassador summoned by Dhaka
- Crackdown on Rohingya was ‘ethnic cleansing’ said UN
US President holds separate calls with leaders from Qatar, Egypt over Gaza ceasefire talks
- The danger of a military escalation in Rafah was also stressed, in how it would add catastrophe to an already worsening humanitarian crisis that would impact stability and security in the region, the statement said
CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received a phone call on Monday from US President Joe Biden to discuss the latest developments in negotiations over a ceasefire in Gaza and the dangers of a military escalation in Rafah, a statement from Egypt’s presidency said.
The spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency said the call also touched on the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, a main sticking point in any comprehensive ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
A Hamas delegation is currently in Cairo to deliberate on Israel’s response to a ceasefire deal.
The danger of a military escalation in Rafah was also stressed, in how it would add catastrophe to an already worsening humanitarian crisis that would impact stability and security in the region, the statement said.
“President El-Sisi stressed the necessity of full and adequate access to humanitarian aid, reviewing the intensive Egyptian efforts in this regard.
The two presidents also stressed the necessity of working to prevent the expansion of the conflict and reaffirmed the importance of the two-state solution as the means to achieve security, peace, and stability in the region,” the Egyptian presidency statement said.
Biden also held a phone call late on Monday with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, whose country has also played a role as mediator to the conflict.
“During the call, they discussed developments in the situation in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories, and efforts of the two countries to reach an immediate and permanent ceasefire agreement in Gaza,” Qatar’s Emiri Diwan said in a statement.
India protests separatist slogans allowed at Toronto event
- Bilateral relations soured last year after Canada linked Indian agents to June 2023 murder of its national
- Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, which has a large Sikh population
NEW DELHI: India summoned the Canadian Deputy High Commissioner on Monday and expressed “deep concern and strong protest” after separatist slogans in support of a Sikh homeland were raised at an event addressed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Bilateral diplomatic relations soured last year after Trudeau said Canada was “actively pursuing credible allegations” that Indian agents were potentially linked to the June 2023 murder of a Canadian citizen.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple on June 18 in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. Nijjar supported a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent Khalistani state and was designated by India as a “terrorist” in July 2020.
New Delhi has denied any formal government role in Nijjar’s murder.
India’s foreign affairs ministry said on Monday it had conveyed “deep concern and strong protest” at such actions “being allowed to continue unchecked at the event.”
Slogans supporting the rise of a separatist state were raised at an event in Toronto, according to ANI news agency, in which Reuters has a minority stake.
“We will always be there to protect your rights and your freedoms, and we will always defend your community against hatred and discrimination,” ANI reported Trudeau as saying.
Canada has the highest population of Sikhs outside their home state of Punjab in India, and the country has been the scene of many demonstrations that have irked India.
The Canadian foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
UN asks South Sudan to remove new taxes that led to a pause in food airdrops
- UN said that pausing of airdrops in March had deprived of food 60,000 people who live in areas that are inaccessible by road
JUBA: The United Nations has urged South Sudan to remove newly imposed taxes and charges that led to the suspension of UN food airdrops for thousands of people who depend on outside aid.
The UN Humanitarian Affairs Agency said Monday in a statement that the pausing of airdrops in March had deprived of food 60,000 people who live in areas that are inaccessible by road, and their number is expected to rise to 135,000 by the end of May.
The UN said the new charges would have increased operational costs to $339,000 monthly, which it says is enough to feed over 16,300 people. The new charges introduced in February are related to electronic cargo tracking, security escort fees and new taxes on fuel.
“Our limited funds are spent on saving lives and not bureaucratic impediments,” Anita Kiki Gbeho, the UN humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, said.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in New York that the taxes and charges are also impacting the nearly 20,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, “which is reviewing all of its activities, including patrols, the construction of police stations, schools and health care centers, as well as educational support.”
The UN says the South Sudan government had said it would remove the new charges and taxes but had not committed to it in writing since February.
An estimated 9 million people out of 12.5 million people in South Sudan need protection and humanitarian assistance, according to the UN The country has also seen an increase in the number of people fleeing the war in neighboring Sudan, further complicating humanitarian assistance to those affected by the internal conflict.
French police remove pro-Palestinian students from the courtyard of Sorbonne university in Paris
- About 50 protesters set up tents at midday Monday at the elite university’s courtyard
PARIS: French police removed dozens of students from the Sorbonne university after pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the main courtyard of the elite institution in Paris on Monday.
About 50 protesters set up tents at midday Monday at the Sorbonne university courtyard in support of Palestinians, echoing similar encampments and solidarity demonstrations across the United States.
Protesters unveiled a giant Palestinian flag and chanted slogans in support of Palestinians in Gaza, as Israel continues its offensive following the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack that triggered the Israeli-Hamas war. Police entered the university grounds in the early afternoon and removed them.
About 100 demonstrators took part in the protest near the prestigious university amid heavy police presence that were also guarding the university entrance to prevent students from setting up camp inside again.
Lorelia Frejo, a graduate student at the Sorbonne who joined a protest outside the university, said police used force to remove her peers from the courtyard. “They were peaceful and police took them out with no explanation,” Frejo said. Students in Paris were inspired by the protests at New York’s Columbia University who remain steadfast despite police pressure, she added.
“They (Columbia protesters) are very strong and want to fight for justice and for peace in Palestine,” Frejo said.
The Sorbonne occupies a unique place at the heart of French public and intellectual life. Last week, President Emmanuel Macron chose it as the venue to deliver a speech on his vision of Europe ahead of elections for the European Parliament in June.
Last week protests broke out at another elite university in the French capital region, the Paris Institute of Political Studies, known as Sciences Po, which counts Macron and Prime Minister Gabriel Attal among its many famous alumni.
Tensions had broken out on campus as pro-Palestinian students inspired by Gaza solidarity encampments at campuses in the United States sought to occupy an amphitheater.
On Friday, pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators faced each other in a tense standoff in the street outside the school. Riot police stepped in to separate the opposing groups.
The protest ended peacefully, when students agreed to evacuate the building late on Friday. The head of Sciences Po said an agreement with students had been reached.
Afghan Taliban’s treatment of women under scrutiny at UN rights meeting
- The Taliban say they respect rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law
- Taliban have barred girls from high school and women from universities and jobs
GENEVA: Afghanistan’s Taliban face criticism over their human rights record at a UN meeting on Monday, with Washington accusing them of systematically depriving women and girls of their human rights.
However, in an awkward first for the UN Human Rights Council, the concerned country’s current rulers will not be present because they are not recognized by the global body.
Afghanistan will instead be represented by an ambassador appointed by the previous US-backed government, which the Taliban ousted in 2021.
In a series of questions compiled in a UN document ahead of the review, the United States asked how authorities would hold perpetrators to account for abuses against civilians, “particularly women and girls who are being systematically deprived of their human rights“?
Britain and Belgium also raised questions about the Taliban’s treatment of women. In total, 76 countries have asked to take the floor at the meeting.
The Taliban say they respect rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law.
Since they swept back into power, most girls have been barred from high school and women from universities. The Taliban have also stopped most Afghan female staff from working at aid agencies, closed beauty salons, barred women from parks and curtailed travel for women in the absence of a male guardian.
Under the US system, states’ human rights records are subject to peer review in public meetings of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, resulting in a series of recommendations.
While non-binding, these can draw scrutiny of policies and add to pressure for reform.
The UN Human Rights Council, the only intergovernmental global body designed to protect human rights worldwide, can also mandate investigations whose evidence is sometimes used before national and international courts.
