Kayin formed the Unity Committee for ethnic Kayin armed groups with the purpose of avoiding skirmishes among them and seeking a peaceful solution in case of conflicts.
The move came from the meeting of ethnic Kayin armed groups held at the headquarters of Karen National Union (KNU) on May 28.
The ethnic Kayin armed groups included the KNU, the KNU, the BGF, the DKBA, the KPF and the Phayagyigone peace organization.
The unity committee was formed with 17 members—three from the KNU led by General Johny, three from the KNU/KNLA (PC) by Brigadier-General Yin Nu, three from the BGF by Colonel Saw Chit, three from the DKBA by Brigadier-General Kyaw Thet, three from the KPF by Major Phartadar and two from the Phayagyigone peace organization by Phado Saw Myint Than.
The committee is aimed at seeking a peaceful solution instead of arm in the face of clashes among the Kayin armed groups and combating nartotic drugs spreading in the Kayin State.
The committee will hold a press conference in the near future.
Ethnic Rakhine leaders demand the election commission to deny voting rights to immigrant Bengalis with temporary identity cards (white cards) in the upcoming 2015 Election.
Aye Thar Aung, chairman of the Arkan League for Democracy, said temporary card holders should be denied citizenship and voting rights according to the 1982 Citizenship Law and the 2008 Constitution.
“A complaint letter will be submitted to the election commission based on the 1982 Citizenship Law to prevent these card holders from voting in the 2015 Election,” said Aye Thar Aung.
Dr Aye Maung, chairman of Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, said the temporary identity cards were not included in the 1982 Citizenship Law and the authorities should investigate the rights given to temporary card holders.
Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice President of the Commission, announced today the appointment of Roland Kobia as Head of the EU Delegation to Myanmar/Burma.
Thank you everyone for giving me an opportunity to be here. It’s an honour.
When I was informed about this Award – I was really surprised. I never expected to be recognized for my profession, and for my work.
To be honest, I have previously only heard of this Award. I didn’t know what it meant or who were the recepients. After investigation, I realize that this is a very prestigious Award.
I understand that many journalists and writers who received this Award – had made numerous sacrifices and had to face up to a lot of challenges.
Although I have given a lot to journalism, freedom of the press, and freedom of my people – I ask myself whether I had made the same extent of sacrifices as past recepients of this Award.
Myanmar’s Two Child Policy and the Human Rights Paradoxes
By: Dr.Tun Kyaw Nyein
The local authorities in Rakhine State reaffirmed a 2005 regulation
imposing a two child policy for Bengali Muslims in Buthidaung and
Maungdaw townships. This policy evoked thunderous howls of protest from
human rights organizations as well as the international media that
slammed it as a violation of human rights.
Several countries in Asia have child restriction policies. Such policies are either already in place, in planning stage or contemplated as population growth poses a challenge to the general welfare of their citizens. China’s one-child policy is a well known example. Vietnam has had a two-child policy since 1960, which is now relaxed; India has a two-child policy for a specific defined group; and the Phillipines is giving serious thought to child restriction policies.
If we take a look at these policies from the perspective of global
basic human rights as formulated in the United Nations Declaration of
Human Rights, the picture is ambiguous.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) encompasses political,
social, economic and cultural rights, positive and negative rights.
These rights have been specified and amended in the past decades in
several UN conferences and Covenants. For instance, a covenant of 1968
has specified with regard to our topic that “parents have a basic human
right to determine freely and responsibly the number and the spacing of
their children.” However, the UDHR has also formulated social and
economic rights such as the right to have work, the right to social
security or like in Article 25 “the right to a standard of living
adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family,
including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social Continue reading “Myanmar’s Two Child Policy and the Human Rights Paradoxes By: Dr. Tun Kyaw Nyein”→
Two Rohingya leaders travelled to Indonesia recently to meet hardline groups in the hope of enlisting their support and assistance. The militants were in the market for more fighters, guns, cash and bomb-making instructors.
The pair were identified as cleric Abu Arif and militant commander Abu Shafiyah, linked to the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO).
They reportedly said that some 300 Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar have been undergoing military training in Rakhine state to step up retaliatory attacks against Buddhists who had been persecuting them.
The visit, announced on the radical Ar Rahmah Media Network website, http://www.arrahmah.com/ is another sign that Myanmar’s sectarian clashes are spilling beyond its borders.
Sympathy for the Rohingyas runs high in Indonesia, where the authorities have managed to prevent large-scale terror attacks in recent years, but extremist militancy remains a concern.
Indonesian counter-terror officers foiled a home-grown plot to attack the Myanmar Embassy here in May.
In India on Sunday, nine bombs went off at a Buddhist temple.
Yesterday, the Ar Rahmah website founded by Jemaah Islamiah (JI) member Muhammad Jibril Abdul Rahman also uploaded 28 photos of Rohingyas undergoing military training in Rakhine state, billing it a “Ramadan gift” and hoping it would “encourage Muslims around the world to reignite jihad in Arakan”. Arakan is the former name of Rakhine state.
International Crisis Group senior adviser Sidney Jones told The Straits Times: “There’s a long history between the JI and RSO that goes back to Afghanistan.”
Indonesian Muhammad Jibril was a member of the JI’s Karachi- based Al-Ghuraba cell, had links to Al-Qaeda and Taleban staff, and was put on a sanctions list by the United States in 2011.
The RSO was founded in 1982 as a rebel group and its members trained in South Asia alongside other militant groups.
Those links now appear to have been rekindled, aided by widespread sympathy for the plight of some 800,000 Rohingya Muslims, many of whom continue to flee persecution by Buddhist hardliners.
On their visit to Jakarta late last month, the Rohingya leaders called on established radical groups such as the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, Islamic Community Forum and Islamic Defenders Front. Security analyst Harry Purwanto told The Straits Times that the choice could be because these groups have been most sympathetic to their cause, even threatening to attack Myanmar interests in Indonesia.
Terrorism analyst Rohan Gunaratna told The Straits Times that while extremist Rohingya groups are reviving regional links, they have never had much support at home.
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Fearing militant attacks, law enforcers have kept close and constant surveillance on at least 40 Islamist groups in the country.
According to the intelligence department, supporters of those Islamist outfits are plotting to launch militant attacks by whipping up the masses through anti-government propaganda.
The members of law enforcing agencies were asked to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious by those Islamist organisations.
International Khatme Nabuat Movement, Arakan Rohingya Force, Islamic Solidarity Font, Arakan People’s Army, Liberation Myanmar Force, Arakan Mujahid Party,Rohingya Independence Force,Rohingya Independence Army, Rohingya Patriotic Front Al-Harat-Al Islamia, Tauhidi Janata, World Islami Front, Jumaatul Al Sadat, Sahadat-e-Nabuat, Allahar Dal, Islamic Front, Jamaat As Sadat, Al-Khidmat, Hizbullah Islami Samaj, Muslim Millat, Sharia Council, Ahle Hadis Andolan Bangladesh, Dawati Kafela, Hizbul Mahdi, Bangladesh Anti-terrorist Party, Al Islam Martians Brigade, Jommiat Ahle Hadis Andolon, Jommiatul Ehzia Utraz, Hayatur Ilaha, Sattabad, Anjumane Talamize Islamia, Kalemar Jamaat, Tazir Bangladesh, Forkan Movement, Sahaba Parishad, Ketal Bahini, Eshar Bahini, Al Fahad, Horkatul Mujahidin, Mujahidin-e-Tazim, Jadid Al-Kayda, Al Markajul Al Islami and Jamatul Falaiya.
Intelligence sources said the parties are mainly active in the Baitul Mukarram Mosque area and Chittagong district. They recently joined the Hefazat-e-Islami demonstrations and protest programmes, which first gained momentum in Chittagong.
Hefazat activists set fire on nayapaltan during the Dhaka siege on Sunday
Aside from these, Ansarullah Bangla Team, another militant outfit that has recently come under the spotlight, is planning to launch attacks. This organisation is a prototype of al-Qaeda.
Five members of the group were recently arrested after they killed blogger Rajib Hayder in the capital following Ganojagaran Mancha protest programmes demanding capital punishment for war criminals.
Members of the law enforcement first came to know about the militant group from the three North South University students arrested in connection with the murder of Rajib.
AKM Shahidul Haque, additional inspector general of police, said the intelligence agencies constantly watch the activities of the Islamist groups.
In a recent meeting with President U Thein Sein, Arakan Army (AA) leaders welcomed the request made by the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) to
welcomed the request made by the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) to have the AA permanently reside in Rakhine land. The news was reported by AA’s Chief of Staff, Brigadier Tun Myat Naing.
“This is a demand made by the Rakhine people and the RNDP is merely trying to follow through; it needs for the AA to settle down. This is part of the agreement the RNDP made with the government after discussing the political issue. The AA is ready to protect the Rakhine people,” he said.
In the May 5th meeting, held in the capital city of Naypyitaw, the RNDP petitioned the president and the political parties to assist the AA in ‘settling down’ in the Rakhine State border area.
Currently based in Kachin State, the AA is part of the Rakhine Army group – which is equipped with about 2000 forces. The AA was established on April 10th of 2009, with the objective of assisting in the Rakhine people in obtaining self-administration and self-determination.
The RNDP is a party which works to support Myanmar’s Rakhine people. It last held party elections in 2010.
Reported in the May 8th issue of the Myanmar Post, the RNDP’s chairman U Aye Maung requested the government and the AA discuss the convenience of the relocation arrangement as well as the expectations and the feasibility of meeting the demands of the Rakhine people.
The Arakan Army is in full support of the RNDP’s request for the AA to reside in Rakhine State.
“We are receptive to the RNDP’s demand and will have to live in Kachin State according to the stipulations. With permission from the government, the AA will settle down in Rakhine State only,” said Brigadier Tun Myat Naing..
The Arakan Army has not provisionally decided whether they will serve under the Rakhine Party.
democracy for burma 
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