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CAIRO — Fleeing oppression at their homeland for a better life, Muslim refugees from Myanmar are tasting abuses and mistreatment in neighboring Bangladesh, reported The New York Times on Friday, February 19
“Over the last few months we have treated victims of violence, people who claim to have been beaten by the police, claim to have been beaten by members of the host population,” said Paul Critchley, head of mission in Bangladesh for the aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres.
Myanmarese Muslim refugees, known as Rohingya, are complaining of daily abuses and mistreatment at the hands of police and locals.
Citing beatings and assaults, many of the refugees say that the police had forced many of them into river to swim back to Myanmar.
“We have treated patients for beatings, for machete wounds and for rape,” said Critchley.
“This is continuing today.”
Every year, thousands of minority Muslim Rohingyas flee Myanmar in wooden boats, embarking on a hazardous journey to Thailand or Malaysia in search of a better life.
While some find work as illegal laborers, others are arrested, detained and "repatriated" to a military-ruled country that washed its hands of them decades ago.
Rohingyas say they are deprived of free movement, education and employment in their homeland.
They are not recognized as an ethnic minority by Myanmar and say they suffer human rights abuses at the hands of government officials.
Many have sought refuge in neighboring Bangladesh, living in mud huts covered in plastic sheets and tree branches, which provide poor shelter during monsoon rains that cause mudslides and expose them to waterborne diseases.
Bangladesh says there are about 28,000 registered Rohingya refugees in two UN camps near the southeastern resort of Cox's Bazaar.
No Life
Packed into UN-run camps, thousands of Rohingyas are lacking almost everything.
“They cannot receive general food distribution,” Critchley said.
“It is illegal for them to work. All they can legally do in Bangladesh is starve to death.”
Struggling to survive, most Rohingyas work mostly as day laborers, servants or pedicab drivers.
They lack almost everything, from rights, education to other government services.
“We cannot move around to find work,” said Hasan, 40, a day laborer who lives with his wife and three children in a dirt-floored hovel made of sticks, scrap wood and plastic sheeting.
Hasan says he had no way to feed his family.
“There is a checkpoint nearby where they’re catching people and arresting them,” he said.
“We aren’t receiving any help. No one can borrow money from each other. Everybody’s in crisis now.”
David Mathieson, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said Rohingyas had been victims of a "pattern of abuses" in Bangladesh for more than 30 years and the government had made it clear it wanted rid of them.
"It's not as if these incidents came out of the blue,” he said.
“They're part of a very long-running brutal process of making life so uncomfortable for the people in the camp that they'll return to Burma," he said, referring to Myanmar by its formername.
"They fled some absolutely horrific human rights violations in their own country. They're justifiably too frightened to return."
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Afghanistan Brings Dutch Govt Down
IslamOnline.net & News Agencies
AMSTERDAM – The Dutch government collapsed Saturday, February 20, over a dispute between coalition parties on extending the Netherlands’ military mission in Afghanistan.
"Later today, I will offer to her majesty the Queen the resignations of the ministers and deputy ministers of the (Labour Party) PvdA," Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told reporters, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The centre-left government cracked after the PvdA rejected a NATO request to extend the mandate of the Dutch mission in Afghanistan until August 2011, a year later than originally planned.
Balkenende’s centre-right Christian Democrats party wanted to keep the Dutch troops until 2001, a move rejected by the PvdA.
More than 15 hours of talks between the two parties and acrimonious exchanges failed to resolve the standoff.
"As the leader of the cabinet, I came to the conclusion that there is no fruitful path for the CDA, PvdA and Christian Union to take into the future," Balkenende said.
"For days we have seen that unity has been affected by ... statements that clash with recent cabinet decisions. These statements place a political mortgage on collegial deliberation."
This was Balkenende's fourth government in a row in eight years. All have collapsed before their mandate expired.
Around 1,950 Dutch troops are deployed in Afghanistan under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
The Dutch mission, which started in 2006, has already once been extended by two years and has cost 21 soldiers' lives.
Recrimination
The PvdA said that keeping the Dutch troops for more one year in Afghanistan goes against the will of the Dutch public.
"No good reason" for an extension of the mission has been forthcoming, Deputy Prime Minister, who leads the PvdA, said.
"Under the circumstances, the PvdA could no longer credibly form part of this cabinet.
"The PvdA remains committed to the cabinet decision of 2007 to end the Dutch contribution to the military mission in Uruzgan in December 2010."
The government collapse comes amid rising recriminations across Europe over the open-ended conflict in Afghanistan.
Nine years after the US invasion, the country is plagued by a deadly violence between the Taliban and US-led foreign troops.
Nearly 15,000 US-led troops launched last week a major offensive into Taliban stronghold of Helmand.
"We've been talking about Marjah for months and at no point did we say anything but it's going to be a tough fight," said US Marines Captain Abraham Sipe, spokesman at Taskforce Leatherneck in Helmand.
"There are pockets throughout the city where stiffer resistance has been met. But there was never any doubt there would be a significant IED threat," he said, referring to improvised explosive devices.
At least 22 foreign troops were killed last week, including 12 in Helmand.
The new casualties bring to 85 the number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan this year, according to the icasualties.org website.
AMSTERDAM – The Dutch government collapsed Saturday, February 20, over a dispute between coalition parties on extending the Netherlands’ military mission in Afghanistan.
"Later today, I will offer to her majesty the Queen the resignations of the ministers and deputy ministers of the (Labour Party) PvdA," Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende told reporters, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The centre-left government cracked after the PvdA rejected a NATO request to extend the mandate of the Dutch mission in Afghanistan until August 2011, a year later than originally planned.
Balkenende’s centre-right Christian Democrats party wanted to keep the Dutch troops until 2001, a move rejected by the PvdA.
More than 15 hours of talks between the two parties and acrimonious exchanges failed to resolve the standoff.
"As the leader of the cabinet, I came to the conclusion that there is no fruitful path for the CDA, PvdA and Christian Union to take into the future," Balkenende said.
"For days we have seen that unity has been affected by ... statements that clash with recent cabinet decisions. These statements place a political mortgage on collegial deliberation."
This was Balkenende's fourth government in a row in eight years. All have collapsed before their mandate expired.
Around 1,950 Dutch troops are deployed in Afghanistan under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
The Dutch mission, which started in 2006, has already once been extended by two years and has cost 21 soldiers' lives.
Recrimination
The PvdA said that keeping the Dutch troops for more one year in Afghanistan goes against the will of the Dutch public.
"No good reason" for an extension of the mission has been forthcoming, Deputy Prime Minister, who leads the PvdA, said.
"Under the circumstances, the PvdA could no longer credibly form part of this cabinet.
"The PvdA remains committed to the cabinet decision of 2007 to end the Dutch contribution to the military mission in Uruzgan in December 2010."
The government collapse comes amid rising recriminations across Europe over the open-ended conflict in Afghanistan.
Nine years after the US invasion, the country is plagued by a deadly violence between the Taliban and US-led foreign troops.
Nearly 15,000 US-led troops launched last week a major offensive into Taliban stronghold of Helmand.
"We've been talking about Marjah for months and at no point did we say anything but it's going to be a tough fight," said US Marines Captain Abraham Sipe, spokesman at Taskforce Leatherneck in Helmand.
"There are pockets throughout the city where stiffer resistance has been met. But there was never any doubt there would be a significant IED threat," he said, referring to improvised explosive devices.
At least 22 foreign troops were killed last week, including 12 in Helmand.
The new casualties bring to 85 the number of foreign troops killed in Afghanistan this year, according to the icasualties.org website.
Friday, February 19, 2010
76 trafficked children return home in northeast
By IANS,
Imphal : Seventy-six children, who were rescued after being allegedly forced into child labour in Tamil Nadu, were brought back to their homes in Manipur and Assam Friday, officials said.
The children, aged between 12 and 14, had been rescued by the Tamil Nadu police from Chennai and Kanyakumari last month. They arrived in Guwahati Thursday evening.
Of the 76 children, 52 were from Manipur and 24 from Haflong in north Cachar hills district in southern Assam.
"The children from a poor background had been lured away two to three years ago by an unregistered NGO that promised their families better education in the southern metropolis. But they were allegedly forced into child labour and sexual exploitation," a police spokesman told reporters.
"The Assam police and social welfare department of Assam and Manipur in association with the Tamil Nadu police had rescued the children and brought them back to their homes," the official said.
POlice officials in Assam and Manipur will talk to the children later to know more about their captivity in Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil Nadu police have arrested three people in connection with the child trafficking and are looking for others involved in the racket.
Imphal : Seventy-six children, who were rescued after being allegedly forced into child labour in Tamil Nadu, were brought back to their homes in Manipur and Assam Friday, officials said.
The children, aged between 12 and 14, had been rescued by the Tamil Nadu police from Chennai and Kanyakumari last month. They arrived in Guwahati Thursday evening.
Of the 76 children, 52 were from Manipur and 24 from Haflong in north Cachar hills district in southern Assam.
"The children from a poor background had been lured away two to three years ago by an unregistered NGO that promised their families better education in the southern metropolis. But they were allegedly forced into child labour and sexual exploitation," a police spokesman told reporters.
"The Assam police and social welfare department of Assam and Manipur in association with the Tamil Nadu police had rescued the children and brought them back to their homes," the official said.
POlice officials in Assam and Manipur will talk to the children later to know more about their captivity in Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil Nadu police have arrested three people in connection with the child trafficking and are looking for others involved in the racket.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Malaysia prefers workers from Nepal, not Bangladesh
By IANS,
Dhaka : Malaysia is hiring over 100,000 workers from Nepal, "sidelining" 55,000 Bangladeshi workers whose visas were cancelled in March last year, a newspaper has reported.
Malaysia banned foreign workers in manufacturing and service sectors after a report forecast that 45,000 Malaysians were at risk of losing their jobs.
In March the same year the Malaysian government imposed a freeze on hiring 55,000 Bangladeshi workers, citing the global economic meltdown.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago in November, told his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina that they would maintain the freeze on hiring Bangladeshi workers.
The decision came "as a smack for Bangladesh", The Daily Star said Wednesday.
The Malaysian government has already approved around 100,000 visas for Nepali workers. These workers will get entry in six months.
This is far more than the estimated 25,000 visas that Nepal used to get in the past, it quoted Kumud Khanal, co-coordinator of Nepalese manpower agencies, as saying.
This is partly because the Nepalese manpower agencies have brought down the migration cost to around Nepali Rs.40,000 from Rs.80,000 in a bid to send more workers, a recent report of Republica, a Nepalese online newspaper, quoted him as saying.
Bangladesh's recruiting agencies have expressed grievances over such a decision by Malaysia.
"Sidelining 55,000 Bangladeshi workers is inhuman," said Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) president Ghulam Mustafa, adding that the workers who had spent a lot of money for visas have been in trouble for long.
Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Elias Ahmed, however, said the government was yet to learn about the details of Malaysia's hiring of workers from Nepal.
Dhaka : Malaysia is hiring over 100,000 workers from Nepal, "sidelining" 55,000 Bangladeshi workers whose visas were cancelled in March last year, a newspaper has reported.
Malaysia banned foreign workers in manufacturing and service sectors after a report forecast that 45,000 Malaysians were at risk of losing their jobs.
In March the same year the Malaysian government imposed a freeze on hiring 55,000 Bangladeshi workers, citing the global economic meltdown.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago in November, told his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina that they would maintain the freeze on hiring Bangladeshi workers.
The decision came "as a smack for Bangladesh", The Daily Star said Wednesday.
The Malaysian government has already approved around 100,000 visas for Nepali workers. These workers will get entry in six months.
This is far more than the estimated 25,000 visas that Nepal used to get in the past, it quoted Kumud Khanal, co-coordinator of Nepalese manpower agencies, as saying.
This is partly because the Nepalese manpower agencies have brought down the migration cost to around Nepali Rs.40,000 from Rs.80,000 in a bid to send more workers, a recent report of Republica, a Nepalese online newspaper, quoted him as saying.
Bangladesh's recruiting agencies have expressed grievances over such a decision by Malaysia.
"Sidelining 55,000 Bangladeshi workers is inhuman," said Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) president Ghulam Mustafa, adding that the workers who had spent a lot of money for visas have been in trouble for long.
Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Secretary Elias Ahmed, however, said the government was yet to learn about the details of Malaysia's hiring of workers from Nepal.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Muslim reservation: WB move welcome, AP HC ruling unfortunate: PFI
By TCN News,
Bangalore: While welcoming the West Bengal government’s decision to give 10% reservation to Muslims in the OBC category the Popular Front of India has demanded that the state Muslims should have at least 20% quota given their population there. PFI has termed the decision of Andhra Pradesh High Court to quash the 4% reservation to Muslims there as unfortunate and one revealing communal bias.
“Popular Front of India welcomes the decision of the West Bengal state government to earmark 10% for ‘Backward Muslims’, even though a specific reaction to the issue is not possible now because an executive order is still awaited. However we learn that the government plan is to include much more Muslims occupational groups to the list of Other Backward Classes who enjoy at present 7% reservation in employment. So far only 2% share of OBC reservation is enjoyed by Muslims who constitute 26% of the state population. It is not clear whether the new quota will be over and above the existing 7% raising the total OBC quota into 17% and also whether the new 10% quota will be separately reserved for Muslims,” said OMA Salam, party secretary.
PFI has urged the West Bengal government to follow the Kerala model.
“According to the available official statistics, the present share of Muslims in state government is below 4%. Hence in order to achieve the target of adequate representation on par with population strength, the new quota of 10% is not sufficient. We demand the state government to make the Muslim quota minimum 20%. The Misra Commission has recommended 10% in the central service and education based on the all India Muslim population of 13.4%. It is also worth notice that Kerala Muslims are entitled to get 12% reservation, even though their population percentage is less than that in West Bengal. Let the West Bengal take the model from Kerala which is also being ruled by CPI (M) led Left Front.”
“We would like to bring to the notice of West Bengal government that a class of people is eligible for reservation based on their relative backwardness and the Muslim community in the state is proved to be more backward than all other communities including the Hindu OBCs who now enjoy reservation. Hence it is unjust to exclude any section of Muslim community from reservation and to limit the benefit to a few groups among them. As it prevails in Kerala and Karnataka since many years, there are no constitutional and legal constraints to declare the entire Muslim community as a backward class eligible for reservation.”
Also we urge the West Bengal government to extend the job reservation benefit to all quasi-government sections, cooperative sector, companies with government share and public sector undertakings. Separate quota of seats are to be reserved for Muslims in admission to educational institutions at all levels including all under -graduate, post graduate, technical and professional courses.
“The decision of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which once again quashed state government decision to earmark 4% reservation to Muslims is unfortunate and reveals the communal and casteist bias that governs a section of the judiciary. The observation that Andhra Pradesh act is religion-specific and potentially an encouragement to conversion, is baseless and highly prejudiced. This reference to conversion shows the influence of Hindutva mentality and is unwarranted,” said PFI secretary.
The developments in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are indications for the Muslim community to continue the struggle for the fulfillment of their right to equity and justice.
Popular Front of India has begun a two-month long National Campaign for Muslim Reservation from Pune on 31st January 2010. As part of this campaign, West Bengal state committee of PFI has started a caravan today from Kolkata which will conclude with a mass meeting in Musrshidabad on 20th February after covering all the Muslim dominated regions in the state. Similar programmes are being undertaken in other states also.
Bangalore: While welcoming the West Bengal government’s decision to give 10% reservation to Muslims in the OBC category the Popular Front of India has demanded that the state Muslims should have at least 20% quota given their population there. PFI has termed the decision of Andhra Pradesh High Court to quash the 4% reservation to Muslims there as unfortunate and one revealing communal bias.
“Popular Front of India welcomes the decision of the West Bengal state government to earmark 10% for ‘Backward Muslims’, even though a specific reaction to the issue is not possible now because an executive order is still awaited. However we learn that the government plan is to include much more Muslims occupational groups to the list of Other Backward Classes who enjoy at present 7% reservation in employment. So far only 2% share of OBC reservation is enjoyed by Muslims who constitute 26% of the state population. It is not clear whether the new quota will be over and above the existing 7% raising the total OBC quota into 17% and also whether the new 10% quota will be separately reserved for Muslims,” said OMA Salam, party secretary.
PFI has urged the West Bengal government to follow the Kerala model.
“According to the available official statistics, the present share of Muslims in state government is below 4%. Hence in order to achieve the target of adequate representation on par with population strength, the new quota of 10% is not sufficient. We demand the state government to make the Muslim quota minimum 20%. The Misra Commission has recommended 10% in the central service and education based on the all India Muslim population of 13.4%. It is also worth notice that Kerala Muslims are entitled to get 12% reservation, even though their population percentage is less than that in West Bengal. Let the West Bengal take the model from Kerala which is also being ruled by CPI (M) led Left Front.”
“We would like to bring to the notice of West Bengal government that a class of people is eligible for reservation based on their relative backwardness and the Muslim community in the state is proved to be more backward than all other communities including the Hindu OBCs who now enjoy reservation. Hence it is unjust to exclude any section of Muslim community from reservation and to limit the benefit to a few groups among them. As it prevails in Kerala and Karnataka since many years, there are no constitutional and legal constraints to declare the entire Muslim community as a backward class eligible for reservation.”
Also we urge the West Bengal government to extend the job reservation benefit to all quasi-government sections, cooperative sector, companies with government share and public sector undertakings. Separate quota of seats are to be reserved for Muslims in admission to educational institutions at all levels including all under -graduate, post graduate, technical and professional courses.
“The decision of the Andhra Pradesh High Court which once again quashed state government decision to earmark 4% reservation to Muslims is unfortunate and reveals the communal and casteist bias that governs a section of the judiciary. The observation that Andhra Pradesh act is religion-specific and potentially an encouragement to conversion, is baseless and highly prejudiced. This reference to conversion shows the influence of Hindutva mentality and is unwarranted,” said PFI secretary.
The developments in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are indications for the Muslim community to continue the struggle for the fulfillment of their right to equity and justice.
Popular Front of India has begun a two-month long National Campaign for Muslim Reservation from Pune on 31st January 2010. As part of this campaign, West Bengal state committee of PFI has started a caravan today from Kolkata which will conclude with a mass meeting in Musrshidabad on 20th February after covering all the Muslim dominated regions in the state. Similar programmes are being undertaken in other states also.
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