Argentina court to investigate Myanmar war crimes against Rohingya Muslims As we approach International Genocide Prevention Day (December 9) this latest court ruling offers the suffering Rohingya people of Burma new hope for justice. Having suffered from severe human rights abuses in past generations, Argentina has embraced the principle of universal jurisdiction to hold war…

Today, over a week after the murder of the Rohingya leader Mohibullah, a diverse group of US and international civil society organizations have signed on to a statement linked here demanding a credible and complete investigation by the Bangladesh Government, along with honest monitoring of the investigation by the international community..

Today, 242 Burmese diaspora groups, local CSOs in Burma, community-based organizations, and civil society organizations in the U.S..

Burma Task Force deplores today’s murder of Rohingya leader Mohibullah and urges the Bangladeshi authorities to conduct a credible investigation into these tragic events. International community organizations should also work to advocate for refugee camp security that protects all Rohingya from such violence..

A memo has been submitted by Burma Task Force to USAID asking for educational access for the Rohingya refugees. The text of the memo submitted is below: ====== September 9, 2021 Ms. Kathryn Stevens, Mission Director USAID/Bangladesh Madani Avenue Dhaka, Bangladesh CC: to Ms. Mackenzie Keller, Bangladesh Desk Officer A MEMO FOR INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY…

For Immediate Release Contact: Hena Zuberi: hena@justiceforall.org 202-922-JUST August 25, 2021, MEDIA ADVISORY: “LET THEM LEARN” In Commemoration of Genocide Anniversary, Burma Task Force Calls for Rohingya Refugee Education Today, on the occasion of the 4th anniversary of Burma’s genocidal mass expulsion of the Rohingya, Burma Task Force (BTF), a program of the Human Rights…

The Tokyo Olympic Games currently underway remind us of the potential for friendly competition on a global scale. However multilateralism is slowing down the US government from taking some actions like the MOGE sanctions. France and others are making it difficult. Please ask President Biden to simply pick up the phone and call President Macron,…

On August 13, 2021, Burma Task Force convened a zoom meeting with UN Special Envoy Christine Schraner Burgener, bringing Rohingya leaders, ethnic communities and democracy activists together. Participants engaged in a rich discussion of the many challenges faced by the diverse people of Burma/Myanmar. The Special Envoy was appointed by the UN Secretary General in…

Watch here: JOIN US: Let us together make a difference for the Rohingya. We need to get them access to education, and have the United States declare it a genocide. Aug. 28 event for Rohingya, Watch recording above Call your lawmakers and ask to meet with them or their staff. We will provide all support.…

Burma Task Force commends Human Rights Council for deciding not to delay hearings on Burma, despite efforts of China, Russia and some other nations.

The Burma Bill is much anticipated but much delayed. Please contact the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Ask: 1) Recognize the National Unity Government, 2) recognize the Rohingya Genocide, and 3) respond to the crisis in Burma with sanctions on the military-dominated MOGE oil and gas sector! On Twitter: Tweet At Rep Meeks and House Foreign…

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/arts/design/rohingya-survivors-art-bangladesh.html?smid=em-share

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/30/us/politics/biden-genocide-rohingya-myanmar.html#click=https://t.co/crOff99dtY

Thank you for willing to volunteer for the Let Rohingya Learn campaign. You must be as outraged as we are that Rohingyas are not allowed to study beyond 3rd grade.  Thanks to volunteers like you, the Burma Task Force was able to get the US government to donate 1.3 billion dollars of our tax money…

Let Rohingya LearnRohingya Education MattersJoin the event

Representing Burma Task Force and other NGOs, Adem Carroll organized and introduced a vigil of constituents in front of the local office of Congressman Gregory Meeks, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urging him to introduce a strong Burma Bill without further delay. This action went viral in Burma, with over 228,000 views, and…

On Friday, June 18 the UN General Assembly (UNGA) voted to condemn the coup in Burma and to support an arms embargo. Even though the vote is not fully binding, it is a significant message from the world body that we at Burma Task Force helped to push with our NGO colleagues, convening a meeting…

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT DOWNLOAD THE REPORT - BENGALI Burma Task Force Publishes Report on Rohingya Education Crisis On Monday June 21, 2021, Burma Task Force, a program of the Human Rights Advocacy NGO Justice for All, is launching its report “Let Them Learn: Confronting the Need for Rohingya Education.” Examining the extreme lack of educational…

DOWNLOAD THIS ARTICLE Apartheid Before Genocide By Abdul Malik Mujahid Draft 0.8 May 20, 2018 © Justice For All Amnesty International calls it apartheid. Human Rights Watch has noted a number of “crimes against humanity.” Fortify Rights speaks of the “mounting evidence of genocide.” Similarly, the United Nations human rights chief has called for a…

This week, Burma Task Force hired a new part-time Program Associate, Imran Mohammad Fazak Hoque, a Rohingya refugee affiliated with the Rohingya Cultural Center of Chicago. On Wednesday, June 2, Imran  spoke to the President of the United Nations Security Council about the need for education and internet access in refugee camps, as well as…

In the United Nations, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations have worked to weaken the current resolution in the UN General Assembly calling for an arms embargo on Myanmar. In addition, ASEAN leaders have announced plans to visit Myanmar in the coming week. If this visit goes through, it is crucial that ASEAN also…

Living in a refugee camp is like being in limbo. In jail, at least a prisoner has a release date to look forward to. To refugees, there is no future in sight. I was detained repeatedly as I tried to save my life by seeking safety in another nation. Despite having an ancestral homeland, I…

News: This past week, reports indicated how the Burmese military terrorizes the people of Myanmar/Burma, by torturing those arrested and often mutilating bodies. Meanwhile the military continues to assert absolute control, threatening to ban the party that won in the last elections and calling the leaders of the National Unity Government (NUG) terrorists.  Of course,…

On April 24, the heads of ASEAN governments met to discuss the Burma crisis, inviting coup leader (and Rohingya Genocide Perpetrator) General Hlaing –but not officially inviting the opposition National Unity Government. ASEAN leaders called for de-escalation but failed to call for prisoner release. Despite Burmese promises to de-escalate, the Tatmadaw continues to murder and…

Last week, several senators led by Senator Ed Markey, re-introduced the Rohingya Genocide Determination Act (S.1142). The bill would require the State Department to make a genocide determination in the case of the Rohingya. Now that Mitch McConnell is no longer Senate Speaker, he cannot block this bill. Please show your senator you care.

Letter to the National Unity Government: In a letter we organized, Burmese leaders of North America show support but demand inclusion of Rohingya in the new government.

ASEAN leaders invite General Hlaing to a special meeting; the National UnityGovernment demands to be invited too. Does ASEAN violate its own charter?

Chevron Oil has been lobbying to defeat activist calls to stop paying hundreds of millions of dollars into the pockets of the Burmese generals. Even Burma’s new national unity government supports these sanctions, asking for monies to be paid into escrow accounts, instead of funding the military coup.

Please  sign this letter to President Biden  and it will be sent to the White House.

As leaders and activists from diverse ethnic communities we affirm that we stand in solidarity with all the people of Burma at this time of existential struggle. We recognize Burma’s 2020 democratic election results, and we support the civil disobedience movement (CDM), while condemning the illegitimate military junta for its systematic violence directed towards peaceful…

Shocking news reports indicate that on March 27, both Bangladesh and Pakistan sent dignitaries to attend the Tatmadaw’s Armed Forces Day festivities, along with India and Russia, while other nations stayed away. While the Military Generals awarded each other medals at lavish parties, their soldiers killed over 100 nonviolent protesters and innocent bystanders. And the…

In the wake of the recent coup in Burma, the difficult and risky struggle for democracy is not simply a struggle to return Aung San Suu Kyi to power. It is a struggle against the actual perpetrator of genocide, the brutal Burmese military. In new ways we see the diverse people of Burma finally coming…

Call The White House and US State Department and urge them not to forget the importance of a Genocide determination for Rohingya.Support House Resolution 134 and Senate Resolution 35 Against the Coup Call The White House and US State Department and urge them not to forget the importance of a Genocide determination for Rohingya.Call The…

Effort led by Human Rights Watch We, the undersigned organizations, call on the United Nations Security Council and UN member states to urgently institute a coordinated, global arms embargo on Myanmar in response to the February 1, 2021 military coup that has deprived the people of Myanmar of the right to democratically elect their government.…

February 24, 2020 For More Information, Contact: Ariba Khan Ariba@justiceforall.org (Washington, D.C.) Today, as Burmese protesters rallied at the Indonesian embassy in Yangon, the Indonesian Government announced that Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi had cancelled his plans to meet with Myanmar’s military leaders, while holding open the possibility of future talks. The leaked plan by Indonesia…

For More Information, Contact: Ariba Khan Ariba@justiceforall.org (Washington, D.C.) Today, as Burmese protesters rallied at the Indonesian embassy in Yangon, the Indonesian Government announced that Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi had cancelled his plans to meet with Myanmar’s military leaders, while holding open the possibility of future talks. The leaked plan by Indonesia appears to award…

Two hundred and eighteen civil society organizations from Burma (Myanmar) and globally have urgedInternational Financial Institutions (IFIs) to immediately freeze loans and other financialassistance to the country amounting to an estimated US$11Billion. In a joint letter led by 120civil society groups in Burma (Myanmar), signatory organizations demanded that IFIs recall loanslinked to the junta and…

Download Letter from CSOs to IFIs_FINAL Download Letter_from_CSOs_to_IFIs_Burmese Download Press Release Burma_Coup_and_IFI_Statement To the international community, and in particular, IFIs and States, We urge you, in the strongest terms, to immediately freeze and comprehensively reassess your lending relationship with Myanmar, in light of the 1 February 2021 coup d’état by the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw). The coup was illegal,…

A timely choice to highlight universal rights, oppose genocide Now, at a dramatic moment of crisis when the Burmese military has once again halted democracy in its tracks, and other nations evade their responsibilities under the UN Charter, the nomination of Abubacarr Tambadou for the Nobel Peace Prize this year reminds us all that the…

January 31, 2020 Rep. Gregory Meeks, HFAC 2310 Rayburn HOB Washington DC 20510 Dear Rep. Meeks: Hours ago, the Burmese military arrested State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and a number of her colleagues, carrying out their refusal to accept the results of the November 2020 elections. Burma Task Force condemns the military detention of…

Short Statement on Preventing Genocide in Myanmar and China February 8, 2021 Along with other UN agencies, the Human Rights Council has a responsibility to prevent genocide. Sharing that mission, our NGO Justice for All1 is accredited with the UN Department of Global Communications to support the principles and critique the work of the United…

Memo: BRIEF OBSERVATIONS ON MYANMAR’S HUMAN RIGHTS CRISIS To: Ambassadors and Staff, Human Rights Council From: Burma Task Force, Justice for All, New York Office Date: January 2021 For those who are formulating questions and responses to the UPR for Myanmar (Burma), our NGO would now like to offer some observations, since pandemic-related schedule delays…

https://youtu.be/TQJFjbAlMsA Volunteer Take Action

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — The coup that brought an end to democracy in Myanmar has the Burmese community in Chicago calling on the U.S. government to take firm action. Forty-three-year-old Nasir Zakaria became a U-S citizen last year. He came to Chicago in 2013 — as a refugee, originally from Myanmar, or Burma as it was…

Members of Australia’s Burmese community have been left in a state of shock and disbelief after the military detained Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The news of the pre-dawn arrest of Ms Suu Kyi and the military seizing power in a potential coup resurrected memories of life under military rule for many…

For Immediate Release Contact: Adem Carroll Adem@justiceforall.org  (Washington D.C., January 31, 2020) In the early hours, the Burmese military arrested State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and a number of her colleagues, carrying out their refusal to accept the results of the November 2020 elections. Burma Task Force condemns the military detention of Aung San…

Please thank Mr. Blinken via Twitter: https://thediplomat.com/2021/01/biden-administration-to-probe-rohingya-genocide-claim/

Burma has arrested 99 Rohingya seeking to travel within the country outside Rakhine State. Though this lack of freedom is deplorable, we note that at least during the pandemic that those arrested have generally been sent back to Rakhine, instead of being held in prison for long periods. This is a small improvement. However, we…

Press Release: 31 December 2020  Contact: Shafiur Rahman | shafiur@gmail.com | Twitter Summary: Well known Bangladeshi and international human rights figures, lawyers, academics, filmmakers, photographers, journalists and human rights focussed organisations are calling for the release of talented, young Rohingya photographer Abul Kalam.   On the morning of 28th December 2020, Abul Kalam, an award-winning…

File photo of Rohingyas board one of the ships at Chittagong Boat Club to travel to Bhashan Char on Friday, December 4, 2020 Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan/Dhaka Tribune Recently, Sesame Street announced two Rohingya puppet characters, demonstrating how the world is embracing these Muslim genocide survivors North American imams and Muslim leaders have demanded Bangladesh government…

Contact: Adem Caroll Adem@justiceforall.org +1 (646) 251-0402 For immediate release  (Washington D.C., 12/23/2020) The Muslim North American leadership has found a united voice on human rights. A diverse group of  120 imams, chaplains, scholars and other leaders in the USA and Canada has signed onto a letter to the Foreign Minister of Bangladesh. Their demands:…

H.E. Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen, MP    12/21/2020 Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs Segunbagicha, Dhaka 1000 Bangladesh Dear Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen:  Assalamualaikum, Honorable Foreign Minister, we admire Bangladesh’s remarkable generosity in allowing over a million Rohingya temporary safe haven. However, we request you stop the displacement to Bhasan Char. We…

Please tweet: Write to the State Department at: @StateDRL US Embassy @USEmbassyBurma and  Please add: #Rohingya and #TomVajda (the new Ambassador) Leave a comment on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/usembassy.rangoon/photos/a.127051360710025/3537053179709809/ or write to the embassy her: http://mm.usembassy.gov/

Burma Task Force demands that the government of Bangladesh must immediately cease its plans to move the Rohingya refugee population to the floating, seasonally submerged island of Bhasan Char. This controversial plan was announced years ago and is now being implemented. Bangladesh plans to send 100,000 Rohingya to this facility.  Human Rights Watch reports that…

https://youtu.be/fl2jTWHvpes UN This Week: A Crisis of Democracy: Confronting the Unfair Elections in Burma This Week. A conversation with Marlene Spoerri, Director of Inclusive Democracy and Systems Change at the NGO Independent Diplomat.

Burma Task Force (BTF) works to stop genocide in Burma. It is a coalition of 18 Muslim organizations which came together in 2012 at the invitation of Sound Vision in response to systematic attacks by the ultra-nationalist Buddhists upported by government military and security forces in the August of 2012 against the Rohingya. The Coalition…

Assalamu Alaikum Our world has become a painful place for Rohingya women. The Rohingya rape victims often suffer in silence and isolation, as their pain is very personal, especially for the pious religious teenagers who observe hijab. And the Burmese military knows it. So they take scores of Hijabis to a village masjid and gang…

The Burmese government has refused to allow the Rohingya Muslim minority to vote since 2015, and we ask that these voting rights be restored. Democracy cannot be based on oppression or exclusion of minority populations. Despite these serious concerns, the international community has helped fund the Burmese election, for example with the mVoter2020 app, launched last…

Needs in Bangladesh During the COVID 19 Crisis Moderator, Asima Silva, Justice for All Dr Ranit Mishori, Senior Medical Advisor, Physicians for Human Rights Human Rights Violations against the Rohingya, from Myanmar to Bangladesh, and Health Worker Insights Sharifah Shakirah, Rohingya Leader, Rohingya Women Development Network Xenophobic Treatment of Migrants and Other Vulnerable Communities @USCIRF…

Challenges & Signs of Hope; Possible Roadmaps for Rohingya Advocates Hena Zuberi, Moderator Rohingya Leader and Former MP Schwe Maung Facing the Upcoming Elections in Burma and the USA: Andrea Gittleman, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Educating Policymakers and the Public on Genocide Prevention Matthew Smith, Executive Director, Fortify Rights Next Steps for Rights and…

Building Partnerships, Building Solidarity Adem Carroll, Justice for All, Moderator Dr Wakar Uddin, Arakan Rohingya Union:  Building coalitions to Garner Support for the ICJ court case Nadira Kourt, Global Center for Responsibility to Protect Strengthening the UN Process in Behalf of the Rohingya Simon Billenness, International Coalition for the Rohingya Confronting Corporate Complicity & Restrictions…

WASHINGTON DC—Prominent Muslim American groups have come together to launch Burma Task Force USA with the objective of raising the profile of the Rohingya issue while speaking out against alleged atrocities and human rights violations which have forced thousands to flee and seek refuge in neighboring Bangladesh. “We demand that those responsible for the mass…

On Saturday, three human rights experts and student advocates gathered over Zoom to call the Yale community’s attention to the Rohingya Genocide in Myanmar. “Justice for Burma,” moderated by Yale Genocide Studies Program Director David Simon, aimed to educate the public on the origins of Rohingya prejudice in Myanmar, the approaches the international community has…

Thank you @StateDept @SecPompeo #StephenBiegun but Rohingya need a future, not just food #RohingyaRefugeesDonors https://www.justiceforall.org/burma-task-force/burma-task-force-rohingya-require-a-future-not-just-food/Tweet Thank you @USAIDMarkGreen  #JohnBarsa #RohingyaNeeds @EUatUN @OlofBSkoog but Rohingya need a future, not just food #RohingyaRefugeesDonors https://www.justiceforall.org/burma-task-force/burma-task-force-rohingya-require-a-future-not-just-food/Tweet

How to get involved in strategically ending the genocide. The Repatriation Plan drawn without consulting Rohingya refugees envisions 100,000 Rohingya be repatriated beginning January 22, 2018, with thousands of Rohingya, women, men, and children alike, now facing forced deportation from Bangladesh back to Myanmar and into the hands of their abusers and oppressors. It is imperative that all actions…

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Despite decades of state sanctioned Islamophobic propaganda and attacks on the Rohingya community, there are still a few places in Burma’s western Rakhine state where intercommunal friendship and peaceful coexistence exist. “Sin Tet Maw and the surrounding Buddhist fishing villages in Pauktaw township are very remote. With mountains on one side and sea on the…

Writing in the Islamic Monthly, author Azeem Ibrahim discusses the reality of the genocide beign perpetrated against the Rohingya people. “This magazine has published at length articles about the situation of the Rohingya people of Myanmar. According to the U.N., they are the most persecuted minority in the world at the moment. But awareness of…

Interfaith student youth activists took to the streets of Burma to protest against recent Islamophobic hate crimes that have been perpetrated by extremist Buddhist nationalists against the minority Muslim population of Burma. “We are marching together within every religion! Everyone can join with us!” If you were out in Yangon on Saturday you may have…

The sanctions that are in place against Burma are set to expire next week. Human rights groups, including Burma Task Force, have called on the US government to renew its sanctions, since the government of Burma has not changed its repressive policies against minorities. U.S. lawmakers of both parties have also urged Obama to renew…

Myanmar has no Rohingyas and will not accept the term, Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing told a press conference held at his offices on May 13. The Union Daily asked about unrest in Rakhine State in relation to the Rohingya issue and asked about the remarks about the Rohingya made by the US embassy.…

The ruling NLD party and its leader Aung San Suu Kyi inspired a lot of excitement in a new future when it swept elections this past November. For many of Burma’s long suffering ethnic minorities, including the Rohingya Muslims, her victory provided them with a ray of hope that their future could be greatly improved,…

Extremists are never satisfied when you capitulate to one of their demands, they will always follow it up by asking for more. By caving to extremists, Suu Kyi has set herself up for more hatemongering demands from the Ma Ba Tha.: Myanmar nationalists announced Wednesday that a series of protests were planned across major cities…

The three-hour demonstration in the heat of the afternoon brought hundreds to Shwe Maw Taw Pagoda in Pathein. Over 90 monks and nuns also participated, according to demonstration organisers and locals. The nationalist camp has been in a fervour over the official terminology for a Muslim group in Rakhine State that self-identifies as Rohingya since…

Secretary of State John Kerry met with Aung San Suu Kyi on May 22 and both held talks about US-Burma cooperation, including pressing issues relating to human rights, the persecution of the Rohingya and of course economic development and investment. Burma Task Force and its supporters called on Secretary of State John Kerry to emphasize the importance…

AlJazeera English has published a heartbreaking profile story of a Rohingya Muslim refugee who endured horrific violence and witnessed the brutal murders of family members including four of his own children.: “For decades, Rohingya Muslims have been fleeing Myanmar, a Buddhist majority country where they are forced to live in apartheid-like conditions and denied access…

Only 4,000 Rohingya remain in the Aung Mingalar quarter in Sittwe, a neighborhood in which 15,000 Rohingya used to live in relative peace and comfort until the pogroms against their community turned their lives upside down. Aung Mingalar has since been described by visitors and observers as a “Muslim ghetto,” “an open-air prison” with Rohingya…

Suu Kyi, during her meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry stated that the name “Rohingya” and “Bengali” should not be used to refer to the persecuted ethnic Muslim minority because they are divisive and “emotive” terms that don’t help to resolve the conflict. Once again Suu Kyi is addressing the issue without actually offering…

It is remarkable that such a diverse nation as Burma did not have a Cardinal until February 15, when Pope Francis consecrated Charles Maung Bo as Cardinal, making him the first Catholic Cardinal of Burma. Cardinal Bo is heading the Burmese Catholic Church at a crucial moment in time: at the same time that a…

The ultra-nationalist Ma Ba Tha organization is expanding its operations into the educational sector. The hate group best known for its Islamophobic and anti-Rohingya campaigns of violence and intimidation will now be in the poisition of indoctrinating youth into their extremist theological and nationalist ideologies.: RANGOON — Buddhist monks of the ultra-nationalist Association for the…

Extremist monks gathered at a monastery in Insein township in Yangon on Saturday for their annual summit and to mark the three-year anniversary of their organization, the Ma Ba Tha. “The monks vowed to continue protecting race and religion under the new government, while also maintaining the fight against citizenship for those who self-identify as…

In a recent press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Aung San Suu Kyi, was forced to address the Rohingya issue. Up until then she had been conspicuously silent on the matter, her views were ambiguous and punctuated by an advisory sent from the Burmese Foreign Ministry she leads to foreign ambassadors “not…

The project, which began on June 7, is largely carrying on with the citizenship verification project the last government had launched to address the large stateless community. Immigration officials are counting residents who had been handed light-blue “green cards” last year, and is providing the cards to those who qualify but lack them. The project is promising later scrutiny…

RANGOON — A citizenship verification exercise aimed at stateless Muslims in Arakan State, which resumed last month, has been temporarily suspended in Ponnagyun Township, where residents of a small Rohingya village have refused to cooperate. The Rohingya Muslim residents of Tarle village have refused to accept National Verification Certificates (NVCs) being handed out because the…

Same Islam, Different Colors: a Portrait of the Southeast Asian Muslim by Jennifer Sawicz, Media Relations Director, Burma Task Force USA 13 June 2016 This Ramadan, it is intriguing to see how Islam is different in Southeast Asia, how it is the same as elsewhere in the world, and what that means for our understanding…

by Jennifer Sawicz, Media Relations Director 17 June 2016. Everyone loves a good story. The very existence of film festivals around the world is testament to that. But at the fourth annual Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma), the good story being promoted is nowhere on the program. It is…

UN Says Myanmar’s Muslim Minority Group Is Being Subjected To Forced Labour, Sexual Violence And Denied Of Citizenship. Widespread and ongoing violations against Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority, including denial of citizenship, forced labour and sexual violence, could amount to “crimes against humanity”, the United Nations has said. Some 125,000 Rohingya remain displaced and face severe…

In a conference held in Los Angeles on Saturday by the Burmese American Muslims Association (BAMA), an international panel of speakers condemned the ongoing persecution of Burma’s Rohingya minority, placing it within the framework of genocide, and calling on the country’s current government to restore the marginalized group’s rights. The event, entitled Myanmar Muslims Genocide…

Written By: Maung Zarni “Never again!”??? @drzarni The slow-burning #Genocide of #Myanmar‘s #Rohingya“. UN, US, UK, EU, ASEAN culpable. Have we no human norms? — maung zarni (@drzarni) February 21, 2014 #Myanmar‘s slow-burning #Rohingya #genocide @FCCThai 25Feb 1030 hr Come see, & hear about #genocidal INTENT @nslwin pic.twitter.com/NPpx41AmA8 — maung zarni (@drzarni) February 21, 2014 Matt Smith, formerly Human Rights Watch researcher and author of the HRW report on the Rohingya ethnic…

Josh Kurlantzick writes of the situation in Burma on businessweek.com, November 6th, 2014.  “The argument that Myanmar’s location makes it of critical strategic importance has not been borne out over the past five years, either. Myanmar remains a country with a tiny economy and one with little to contribute to regional defense.” “The idea that…

“The most controversial aspect of the census recently held in Burma has been the denial of the large Muslim population in Arakan to identify themselves as Rohingya, the term of their choice. The government ban means as many as one million people remain uncounted in Arakan. That is scarcely surprising, as the Burmese government, Rakhine…

“America has the power and only America can stop the genocide,” said Karim Yakub, a Rohingya refugee who has lived in the US since 2015 Article from Voa News Michael Bowman WASHINGTON — With no end in sight to the Rohingya refugee crisis, faith leaders and advocacy groups fanned out across Capitol Hill on Wednesday to…

Burma’s civilian government is holding water for the military. By Robin Emmott | BRUSSELS The European Union clashed on Tuesday with the visiting leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, by publicly supporting an international mission to look into alleged human rights abuses by the country’s security forces against Rohingya Muslims. The EU’s top diplomat…

By Sally Kantar Irrawady News Activists and refugees demonstrated as State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was presented with the Freedom of the City of London award on Monday, calling the recognition “disappointing” in light of ongoing abuses against ethnic and religious minorities, journalists and rights activists in Burma. “I’m so disappointed. She needs…

In a new announcement, Aung San Suu Kyi has established an advisory commission to find lasting solutions to the issues affecting Rakhine state. In a welcome move she has appointed former UN Security-General Kofi Annan to head the commission. Kofi Annan has previously regretted that he was unable to halt the Rwandan genocide before it was too late, now…

Burma Task Force USA is the only organized advocacy effort putting pressure on Burmese and international governments to end the genocide against the Rohingya and restore their rights as full citizens in their homeland. Every dollar you give goes to helping the Rohingya secure their rights: DONATE TODAY. By Burma Task Force USA Ramadan is a…

BANGKOK —  The U.N.’s top official for refugee affairs said Friday that granting citizenship to members of Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority is crucial for achieving peace in the country’s western state of Rakhine, but economic development is also necessary. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi spoke in Bangkok after an official visit to…

New York Times Five years after a genocidal wave of anti-Muslim violence forced more than 120,000 Rohingya Muslims into camps in the primarily Buddhist nation of Myanmar, the recently-elected government of Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi appears to have given up any pretense of trying to protect the Muslim minority. Among the victims…

The Foreign Minister of Canada, Chrystia Freeland whose office Burma Task Force Canada has met with several times, spoke out against the persecution and continued suffering of Rohingya. On July 10, 2017, she tweeted “The #Rohingya have suffered for too long. @UN @RefugeesChief is standing-up for #humanrights in #Rakhine.” Both Freeland and the US Ambassador to the…

David Sim, writing for the International Business Times has reported on the first access journalists have gotten to interview and document the stories of Rohingya villagers. The access was restricted to only one village out of the three initially promised, and was ‘heavily supervised’ by military and security personnel. Despite the presence of the security forces, Rohingya villagers related…

We already knew that the levels of malnutrition and risk of starvation for the Rohingya were high, and now we are getting a clearer picture of the full extent of the devastation wrought by the Burmese military’s “Clearance Operation” against the Rohingya. The focus of most reports has been on the thousands of Rohingya killed, detained, raped,…

The situation for the Rohingya is not improving but instead is worsening. This is despite the election of Suu Kyi in 2015 and her promises of reform and inclusion. Genocide is being accelerated as the military and civilian politicians, along with extremist elements of society continue to apply draconian measures against the Rohingya. The following…

Journalists Peter Oborne, Emmanuel Stoakes and Alastair Sloan published a must read critical piece that questions whether or not the UN has failed the Rohingya in Burma. The reporters investigated how the UN has been operating in Rakhine state and the internal divisions between and within various agencies. It notes glaring failures, inadequate responses, a…

A home owned by a Buddhist, in a town that we are told prides itself on being completely Buddhist has demolished a house on the rumor that a mosque was being built. The origin of the rumor is unknown but it was enough to create a frenzied mob and spur local authorities into action. “Although…

(Washington, D.C.) – House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-NY) and Representative Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), along with 22 bipartisan members of Congress, sent a letter today to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson calling on the United States to develop a “strong, meaningful” response to the unfolding violent crisis in Burma. In the letter, which comes as…

The historic Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal with 7 international Judges using international law just declared Rohingya are facing genocide. This strengthens the consensus of charging Myanmar with the genocide of Rohingyas. French President called it genocide. The Bangladesh Foreign Minister called it genocide. 7 Nobel Laureates signed a statement I wrote two years ago calling it a genocide.…

The world’s inaction is deafening. The United Nations says that it expects most of the remaining 500,000 Rohingya outside of IDP camps in Burma to cross the border to Bangladesh, seeking safety from the genocidal Burmese military in the coming weeks. And the Burmese military’s response is a belief that their actions will have no repercussions. That…

Dr. Maung Zarni, a Burmese scholar and democracy activist, has translated a portion of a speech on his blog by Sitagu Sayadaw, one of Burma’s most popular monks, that was delivered to packed hall of soldiers from the Burmese military. Sitagu, tells the soldiers that “Genocidal killing is OK in Buddhism.” Sitagu has a long trackrecord of such statements and positions. In the…

“The ethnic cleansing of Rohingya from Myanmar continues,” said the UN’s assistant secretary-general for human rights, Andrew Gilmour. (Image: @Getty) Article from The Hill By Mike Lillis Some Democrats are wondering whether Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese human rights advocate and Nobel laureate, should be stripped of her Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian…

“Myanmar has only been able to verify 374 Rohingya Muslim refugees for possible repatriation from Bangladesh” Written By: Thu Thu Aung and Shoon Naing (Image: Reuters/Andrew RC Marshall)  Article from Reuters Myanmar has only been able to verify 374 Rohingya Muslim refugees for possible repatriation from Bangladesh, officials said on Wednesday, blaming their neighbor for not providing…

“Aung San Suu Kyi cannot face prosecution for crimes against humanity while in Australia because she has immunity” Written By: Ben Doherty Article from The Guardian Aung San Suu Kyi cannot face prosecution for crimes against humanity while in Australia because she has immunity, the attorney general Christian Porter has said. The Guardian reported on Saturday morning that five…

“Malaysia’s Prime Minister has reproached Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi by criticising her nation’s treatment of Rohingya Muslims” Written By: Stephen Dziedzic (Image: ABC News/Tayrn Southcombe) Article from ABC Malaysia’s Prime Minister has reproached Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi by criticising her nation’s treatment of Rohingya Muslims. Najib Razak made the deliberate intervention…

The UN Secretary General expressed shock and disapproval over comments made by Burma’s top general Written By: Reuters Staff Photo by: REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed “shock” at comments by Myanmar’s military chief in which he said the Rohingya minority shared nothing in common with the rest of the population and that their demand…

“They dubbed the Myanmar army’s massacre of Rohingyas genocide and emphasized the importance of setting up a safe zone for them in Rakhine state.” Written By: Nawaz Farhin (Image:Nawaz Farhin/Dhaka Tribune) The ‘Interfaith Coalition to Stop Genocide in Burma’ organized a 14-member delegation to visit Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh on March 26 and 27. According…

“Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday (April 5) “genocide” was taking place in Myanmar” Written By: Reuters Staff Photo by:AFP Article from Reuters: MANILA (REUTERS) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Thursday (April 5) “genocide” was taking place in Myanmar and he was willing to accept Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing from it, though Europe should…

” The Rakhine State Parliament on Friday approved a proposal to urge the union government not to resettle non-citizen Muslim refugees “ Written By: Min Aung Khine Photo by:Min Aung Khine / The Irrawaddy Article from the Irrawaddy: The Rakhine State Parliament on Friday approved a proposal to urge the union government not to resettle non-citizen Muslim refugees…

“one may ask about his company’s role in spreading hate speech in a country that’s been beset by ethnic conflict” Written By: Ryan Mac Photo by:AFP / Getty Images Article by BuzzFeed: A group of six nongovernmental organizations in Myanmar said on Monday that Facebook’s handling of hate speech in their country has been “grossly insufficient,” after receiving a…

“The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has asked it to rule on whether it has jurisdiction over the deportations of Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh” Written By: Reuters Staff Photo by:REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain Reporting by: Toby Sterling Editing by:Kevin Liffey Article from Reuters: AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has…

“Almost a million Rohingyas have been forced to flee to Bangladesh after facing waves after waves of attacks, often spurred by campaigns on Facebook” Written By: Imam Malik Mujahid Photo by:AP Photo/ Gemunu Amarasinghe  Article from Washington Examiner: When lawmakers question Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg tomorrow, they should ask him about more than just the data leaks…

Even Fox News has begun to report on Rohingya suffering, thanks to the involvement of interfaith allies Written By: Nicolee Ambrose Photo by:REUTERS/Jorge Silva Op-Ed from Fox News:  “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This call to action by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. rang true when I was visiting the largest refugee camp…

“The photography staff of Reuters won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for its coverage of the Rohingya refugee crisis” Written By: The New York Times Photo by:Damir Sagolj/Reuters Article from New York Times:  The photography staff of Reuters won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for its coverage of the Rohingya refugee crisis Ivor Prickett, a freelance photographer…

” in the UN’s annual report detailing acts of violence carried out by armed forces in 2017, the Myanmar military was listed for the first time” Written By: Joshua Carroll Photo: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters In the UN’s annual report on global military violence in 2017, the Myanmar military has been listed for the first time. The report, presented…

“The family of a Myanmar policeman who testified in court that two Reuters reporters had been set up was evicted from their police housing a day after his evidence” Written By: AFP News Photo: Sai Aung Main/Getty Images One day after a Burmese policeman testified in court that two Reuters reporters had been “framed” his family…

More than a thousand Buddhist leaders, teachers and practitioners from 45 countries have signed an international appeal to the governing body of all Buddhist monastics in Myanmar. The appeal calls on the monastic leadership to take a strong stand against hate speech and the extreme violence that has been unleashed against the Rohingya. The appeal…

(Washington DC August 27, 2018) Hundreds of supporters of Rohingya, Rohingya former refugees, elected officials, interfaith partners gathered on the grounds of the Congress, near the aptly named Peace Circle for the Save Rohingya Day Rally, on August 25, 2018.  This rally was a call by the Rohingya in the diaspora and the refugee camps in…

Written By: Globe & Mail More than 100 legal experts, civil society organizations and human-rights advocates are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government to declare the violent campaign against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar genocide. In a letter to Mr. Trudeau on Monday, the signatories called on the Liberal government to “live up to Canada’s…

Humanitarian and civil society agencies working in Rakhine State in Myanmar and in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh are deeply concerned that the repatriation of refugees will commence in mid-November, according to an announcement of the Joint Working Group of the Governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar on 30th October. The Governments of Myanmar and…

Submitted by Aqsa Tahir on November 09, 2018 Facebook has long promoted itself as a tool for bringing people together to make the world a better place. Now the social media giant has acknowledged that in Myanmar it did the opposite, and human rights groups say it has a lot of work to do to fix that.…

The US House overwhelmingly passed H.Resolution 90 condemning Burma. This sets the stage for the final push to pass two companion bills: Senate Bill 2060: Bill To Promote Democracy and Human Rights in Burma and House Resolution 4223: Burma Act of 2017.  Here is what you can do Call your Senator and Representative. Simply call…

Al-salamu ‘Alaikum, Our world has become a painful place for Rohingya women. Rohingya rape victims often suffer in silence and isolation, as their pain is very personal. It is the worst trauma possible, with lifelong consequences. And the Burmese military knows it. So they take scores of Hijabis to a village Masjid and gang rape them, including girls as…

Aye Maung, a leader of the ANP or Arakan National Party is a virulently anti-Rohingya genocidalist who has been implicated in the 2012 pogroms and riots targeting the Rohingya Muslims. Maung won recent elections that were held on April 1st on an avowedly anti-Rohingya platform: “Most of Aye Maung’s campaign speeches spoke about the history Rakhine State…

Myanmar’s military chief on Monday denounced the claim to citizenship by Rohingya Muslims and defended the government’s crackdown on them. “We have already let the world know that we don’t have Rohingya in our country,” army chief Min Aung Hlaing said in a speech marking Myanmar’s Armed Forces Day. “Bengalis in Rakhine state are not Myanmar citizens…

A Myanmar monk infamous for his bilious anti-Muslim tirades has been banned from giving sermons for a year by the country’s top Buddhist body, an unprecedented slapdown on a man whose hate speech has galvanised religious tensions.     Wirathu, a monk once dubbed the “face of Buddhist terror”, has led calls for restrictions on Myanmar’s Muslim…

The United Nations’ Special Rapporteur to Burma, Yanghee Lee, has told the UN Rights Council, that the evidence “indicates the government may be trying to expel the Rohingya population from the country altogether.” Lee’s call for a Commission of Inquiry has been hindred by the non-support of the EU, UK and Australia.: The council could set…

The Rome-based International Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT), will hold hearings in London on March 6-8 at Queen Mary University (LIVE Feed)  where evidence will be presented, and expert testimony heard on crimes committed by the Myanmar (Burma) state against persecuted Rohingya and Kachin minorities.  The Tribunal was formed in 1979 as a continuation of the earlier Russell Tribunal…

The United Nation Special Rapporteur, Yanghee Lee, has just wrapped up her investigative tour to Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh where she and her team interviewed recently displaced Rohingya fleeing Burma-Myanmar’s “Clearance Operation.” DHAKA — Rohingya refugees who fled violence in Myanmar have told how government forces gang-raped women, slit people’s throats and threw children into burning…

A documentary by ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) “investigates the network that has trafficked tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar into Thailand, through eye-witness accounts as well as video and audio recordings. Reporter Mark Davis travelled undercover into Myanmar to find out. It’s a story the government there does not want told. More than 100,000…

#Riseagainstrape INTRODUCTION “Rape is used in my country as a weapon of war. It is used as a weapon by armed forces to intimidate the ethnic nationalities and to divide our country.” (Aung San Suu Kyi, speaking at a conference of the Nobel Women’s Initiative in 2011) In Burma, rape is used with total impunity by…

Tribunal Indictment  Final Judgement  Live Stream  Judges  Volunteer  Donate The 2nd Tribunal Session: September 18-22, 2017 – University Of Malaya-KL At the opening proceedings of the PPT in Malaysia, the prosecutors’ presented the final indictment that charges Myanmar’s military and political leaders with war crimes, and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya, Kachin, and Karen people.…

Describe the situation • In the last couple of weeks 125,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh whereas 400,000 are uprooted within Burma and the UN is prevented from providing them water and food. • Rohingyas are indigenous people of Burma living in their ancestral lands. They were always citizens until 1982 when their citizenship…

Oct. 29: Worldwide Silent Demonstration For Rohingyas As the UN general assembly is reconvened in October, Burma Task Force is calling for a day of worldwide silent demonstrations to protest the genocide of Rohingyas. The demonstrations will be held on Saturday, October 29. On this page you will find the resources necessary to organize or…

UN Security Council Ambassadors: France Ambassador: Francois Delattre: @FDelattre China Ambassador: Liu Jieyi: +1 (212) 655-6141 Russia Ambassador: Vasily Nebenzya: @RuassiaUN UK Ambassador: Matthew Rycroft: @MatthewRycroft1 US Ambassador: Nikki Haley: @nikkihaley Bolivia Ambassador: Sacha Llorenty: @SachaLlorenti Egypt Ambassador: Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta: +1 (212) 5030300 | +1 (212) 5030338 Ethiopia Ambassador: Tekeda Alemu: @AlemuZtekeda Italy Ambassador:…

OUR CURRENT BILL IS SENATE BILL 1186 (S.1186), THE “BURMA HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM ACT OF 2019.” THE SENATE BILL WILL: Mandate the U.S. government take steps to end the persecution against the Rohingya, and other ethnic peoples of Burma. Facilitate continued U.S. humanitarian assistance to the affected people. Implement targeted sanctions against Burmese military officials…

Using the word Genocide is important. Politicians and world leaders are careful saying it, preferring to use ‘ethnic cleansing’ instead. Why? Because it is a legally specific and a politically charged word that requires action by the U.N. Once you say ‘Genocide’, it’s an accusation of human rights violations and the world community is responsible for…

Frequently Asked QuestionsHow can one justify that Myanmar/Burma is, in fact, the Rohingya people’s ancestral land? All history books across the board agree that there were several dynasties in Arakan areas which for centuries extended on both sides of the Naf river. Today this area is marked by the coastal regions around the Burmese and Bangladesh border.  At the…

A list of embassies and ambassadors you should reach out to: Brunei DarussalamDato Paduka Haji Serbini bin Haji Ali(202) 237-1838info@bruneiembassy.org3520 International Court, NW, Washington DC 20008 CambodiaH.E. Ambassador Mr. Chum, Sounry(202) 726-7742camemb.usa@mfa.gov.kh4530 16th Street, NW, Washington DC 20011 The Embassy of the Republic of IndonesiaBudi Bowoleksono(202) 775-52002020 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington DC 20036@KBRIWashDC The Embassy…

Ancestral Roots Present-day Rakhine state (also known as Arakan), is the ancient, ancestral homeland of the Rohingya. The Rohingya are a distinct ethnicity, predominantly Muslim, with their own language. The Rohingya trace back their presence in Rakhine state, on the Burma-Bangladesh borders, as far back as the 8th century. Evidence for the long, historical and…

This is the chance for you to start your own activism. We have gathered a few resources on this page to help you organize events and actions towards ending the genocide taking place in Burma against the Rohingya people. Here you can find sample letters, presentations, templates, and other helpful distributional material for your local…

ACCESS THE FORM HERE

Stop Rohingya Genocide A Two Month Campaign Guide: Feb-March 2018 Goals of the Campaign: Passage of Senate Bill S 2060 and House Res. 4223 to impose sanctions on almost all leaders of Burmese military and facilitate a path to determine it as a genocide Demanding no repatriation of Rohingyas without security and citizenship.

As a constituent whose voice makes a difference, ask your candidates to move beyond their normal talking points and start conversations about issues that matter to you, like the Rohingya Genocide. Your United States Senators and Members of the United States House of Representatives (Members of Congress -MoCs) elected in November will be making policy…

Published Oct. 4, 2012 in Advisor & Source NewspapersBy Sean Delaney Calling for greater media coverage of atrocities being committed against Rohingya Muslims in Burma (Myanmar), a group of about a dozen protesters marched Sept. 28 with signs held high outside the Detroit News/Detroit Free Press facility on 16 Mile and Mound roads in Sterling…

(A MAN TAKES PHOTOS WITH A MOBILE PHONE OF THE DEAD BODIES IN YEBAWKYA VILLAGE, MAUNGDAW ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2017. MYANMAR’S ARMY SAID ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2017 IT HAD DISCOVERED A MASS GRAVE CONTAINING THE BODIES OF 28 HINDUS, INCLUDING WOMEN AND CHILDREN, IN VIOLENCE-WRACKED RAKHINE STATE, BLAMING THE KILLINGS ON MUSLIM ROHINGYA INSURGENTS. CREDIT:…

(A reception point for Rohingya refugees at Haria Khali Primary School in Sabrang Union of Teknaf Upazila, in Bangladesh.) Article from Clicklancashire.com Lawrence Kim In her briefing, Lee described her visit to refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh and various other areas, where almost 700,000 Rohingya have fled to escape the Myanmar military’s operations against them.  UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee held a…

Burma Task Force USA’s UN Programs Director, Adem Carroll was interviewed by Asima Silva, host of WCRN’s radio program “The Perspective” on World Refugee Day. Adem, spoke on the history of Burma and how the Rohingya fit into the region and the nation’s history. Adem, also touched on Buddhist nationalism and how it contributes to…

(CNN)Face down in the mud, a baby boy lies still after washing up on a river bank. His name is Mohammed Shohayet, a 16-month-old Rohingya refugee whose family fled their home for Bangladesh to escape the violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, only to drown during the journey along with his mother, uncle and three-year-old brother.…

We live in an age when reality and truth are blatantly subverted and most do not care, since truth in their eyes is subordinate to their interests. In Burma, when it comes to ethnic minorities, both the military and Suu Kyi’s civilian administration continues policies of persecution and oppression. For more than two months the…

In the past two months, the government has repeatedly insisted that their security operations are aimed at apprehending “violent attackers” and are being conducted “in accordance with the law”. However, the evidence presented in this report suggests that security forces in their response to the 9 October attacks, have perpetrated widespread and systematic human rights…

According to Human Rights Watch, over 1,500 Rohingya (likely more) homes have been detroyed since the Burmese military undertook its so-called “clearance” operations against militants. The Burmese military is collectively punishing the entire Rohingya population for attacks on the border posts it claims were carried out by a new militant organization. This operation is dangerous…

Written By: Maung Zarni Reproduced with consent of author. The Irrawaddy is a disputable anti-Rohingya racist platform run by a group of anti-Rohingya Burmese, which published this racist cartoon. Why would a well-respected Swedish journalist based in Chiang Mai, Thailand for over several decades make facts-up on the Rohingya and the Burmese politics surrounding the Rohingyas while choosing…

The BBC, especially reporter Jonah Fisher have done great work covering the persecution of the stateless Rohingya. However, a recent BBC news report gives credence to a faulty and dangerous Burmese military talking point when it states “in the past the Rohingya have exaggerated alleged atrocities.” Which Rohingya have done this? It is a fact that there…

High-definition satellite images show 820 newly identified structures destroyed in five Rohingya Muslim villages in the Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state this month where the military is carrying out counter-insurgency operations, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). In a statement released on Monday, the US-based group urged the government to invite the United Nations  to assist…

The situation in Rakhine state is dire and urgent action is required to stem the worst state-led violence the Rohingya have faced since 2012. The facts: i. 24 people were killed on Monday ii. In Maungdaw 7 villagers were shot and killed by military forces. iii. A curfew has been placed in the area where…

Please join us for a town hall conversation regarding the emergency situation of Rohingyas.  This call will take place on May 23, 2015 at 10:00 AM Central time and will be led by Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid.  Official registration is closed, but you may still join the Town Hall by calling (855) 756-7520 (ext. 28789)…

Myanmar’s President Thein Sein recently signed into law four bills, proposed by radical Buddhists, that are considered by many human rights groups to be anti-Muslim.       According to an article on Yahoo News, “President Thein Sein signed the Monogamy Bill after it was passed by parliament on August 21, Zaw Htay, a senior official…

Even after negotiations with US diplomats, Myanmar’s President Thein Sein still signed into law a bill that calls for controlling the population of ethnic minorities.       According to an article in the Manila Times, “Myanmar’s leaders have repeatedly rebuffed US appeals this year despite a public commitment to reform that led the White House…

According to an article in Radio Free Asia, 17 out of 18 members of the Democracy and Human Rights Party, an Islamic party, were rejected by Myanmar’s Union Election Commission. This could cause the party to disband, since law requires that at least three candidates be sent forth from a party.       The party…

Saeedah Abubakar, a Rohingya Muslim, left her homeland with her husband, a Buddhist, in order to escape religious persecution, and ended up in Omaha, Nebraska, in the heartland of the United States.        According to WOWT News, Abubakar and her children attend Omaha Yates School, “a unique Pre-K program which helps young children and…

Perhaps the U.S. should rethink it’s self-acclaimed “diplomatic victory” in Myanmar.       According to Mizzima, the instigators of the anti-Muslim campaign, radical Buddhist groups, are rejoicing over the fact that discriminating bills have been signed by the president and Rohingya Muslims have been excluded from the polls.       U Wirathu, the main…

According to BBC, sources within Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, National League for Democracy (NLD), have informed that there are no Muslim candidates among their total of 1,151.       Though she is considered a champion of human rights, her strategies now seem to stem out of fear of angering constituents.      …

 In an article written on New Straits Times Online by Ferooze Ali, the author discusses the reasons why Myanmar has close to zero motivation for allowing Rohingya representation in the elections.       “First is the population ratio between Buddhists and Muslims. Between 89 percent and 90 percent of the population consist of Bamar Buddhists, while…

6th Oct 2015 Protest Rally at the ICC (International Criminal Court), The Hague, Netherlands Call for International Solidarity Where: International Criminal court Maanweg 174, 2516 AB Den Haag, Netherlands When: Tuesday 6 October 2015 Time: 1:00 to 3:00 pm       The 6th Oct protest is aimed at raising awareness within EU countries and…

*Download PDF file below for instructions on how to participate on World Rohingya Day* Life is continuing to worsen for the Rohingya Muslims in Burma. At the same time, international news media outlets only pay attention to their suffering when sensational events such as killings or violence breaks out against the Rohingya. Aung San Suu Kyi, officially…

Al-salamu ‘alaikum, The U.N. refugee agency says that 123,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh in the last 10 days after the latest Burmese military attacks against the Rohingya. There are another 400,000 Rohingya Muslims estimated to be trapped in forests and mountains as the military continues its attacks from the ground and the air.…

Rally Taking place in Washington, D.C.

Freelance photojournalist Andrew Day’s photo exhibit, “Testimony” sponsored by the Burma Task Force ran from May 8-14 in Toronto, Canada. The opening reception of the event was a success. Ahmed Ramadan, Outreach Coordinator for Burma Task Force-Canada also spoke at the reception about the work that BTF is doing to end the genocide against the…

As the UN general assembly is reconvened in mid-September, Burma Task Force is calling for a day of worldwide silent demonstrations to protest the genocide of Rohingyas. The demonstrations will be held on Saturday, September 16. CHICAGO RALLY TO SAVE ROHINGYA Where: FEDERAL PLAZA: 230 South Dearborn Street. Chicago, IL. 60604When: Saturday, September 16. 2pm-4pm (CST) Burma…

World Save Rohingya Day – August 25th Brothers and sisters, we are approaching the 1-year anniversary of the massive, brutal attack on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine that caused hundreds of thousands to flee for their lives into the refugee camps of Bangladesh. Burma Task Force is organizing a national day of action for the Rohingya, in both…

As the Burmese military “clearance operation” continues to collectively punish the Rohingya through its: mass arrests, murders, rapes, illegal detention and the denial of food aid to thousands, many around the world are raising their voice against the oppressive Burmese regime and the silence of civilian leader Suu Kyi. In New York this past week,…

D.C. Vigil and Ministerial Conference on Religious Freedom As you know, religious freedoms of Muslims and other minorities are constantly under attack around the world. However, in Burma, Rohingya Muslims and Kachin Christians both together have lost at least 1,000 Masjids and Churches. Both have lost 300-plus each villages as well. 40 Foreign Ministers and…

One year ago, 12,000 Burmese soldiers descended on Rohingya neighborhoods in Burma. What followed was a brutal wave of state-sponsored terror, explicitly aimed at driving the Rohingya out of the country. To briefly recap the events of August, 2017: the Burmese army carved a vicious, bloody path of murder and sexual assault through Rakhine State,…

Sept. 16: Worldwide Silent Demonstration For Rohingyas As the UN general assembly is reconvened in mid-September, Burma Task Force is calling for a day of worldwide silent demonstrations to protest the genocide of Rohingyas. The demonstrations will be held on Saturday, September 16. On this page you will find the resources needed to organize or…

Call 202-224-3121 or find your local representative at whoismyrepresentative.com Feb 1 – Feb 28 Contact your Senator here and ask them to support Senate Resolution 2060. Contact your Representative here and ask them to support House Resolution 4223. Talking Points The Rohingya are an indigenous people who are being killed and forced out of their ancestral lands in huge numbers…

The 2nd Tribunal Session: September 18-22, 2017 – University Of Malaya-KL The concluding session of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) will be held at the University of Malaya Law Faculty Moot Court in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from September 18-22. It will pick up where the inaugural March session ended. The indictment from the London sessions will be buttressed by further…

Register for Advocacy Day Click Here To Register Today WHAT: Rohingya Advocacy Day 2019 WHERE: Capitol Hill. Washington D.C. WHEN: March 12, 2019 at 9:00 AM CLICK HERE TO REGISTER TODAY The second annual Rohingya Advocacy Day is on March 12, 2019 in Washington DC. Last year we held over 60 meetings with elected officials.…

BTF assisted United Nation’s Panel with speakers Arun Jain, UNHCR, Moderator Eva Richter, NGO Committee on Migration, Myra Dahgaypaw, US Campaign for Burma, Adem Carroll Burma Task Force Adem Carroll from Burma Task Force took part in a United Nation’s Panel where he exposed the complexities of the Rohingya genocide taking place in Burma so…

friends and family over for tea or coffee during the daytime (when Embassies and UN Missions are open) and go through the lists of UN Missions and embassies and State Department numbers together. Host a Callathon in your place of worship.  Please ask permission (Jummah is a good time for masajid). You will need a flyer and for them to…

Purchase your tickets here  1+ million Rohingya in refugee camps. 52.3 % of women raped. Thousands of orphans. Waiting for aid and justice.  Hundreds of thousands in concentration camps in Burma. Help stop the genocide. Join us December 2, 2018 in support of the Rohingya.  Featuring Imam Suhaib Webb, Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid Since 2012, Burma Task Force…

Burma Task Force USA Chair Abdul Malik Mujahid will speak on the current reality and plight of the Rohingya in Burma-Myanmar. The event is being held by Amnesty International in conjunction with BTF at St. Louis University: Tuesday, April 4, 2017. 6pm-7pm. BSC Wool Ballrooms 171/172 Burma Task Force Canada will also be updating the Canadian Subcommittee…

Click Here to Register Today WHAT: Capitol Hill Advocacy Day 2019 WHERE: Capitol Hill. Washington D.C. WHEN: June 18-19, 2019 at 9:00 AM Click Here to Register Today Capitol Hill Advocacy Day is on June 19, 2019 in Washington DC. Uighur Advocacy We are going to the Hill to advocate for Uyghurs and other minorities…

World Rohingya Day August 19th; 3 Month Action Plan

BTF is consistently speaking out and advocating for an end to the genocide against the Rohingya. Recently, Malik Mujahid presented expert evidence of war crimes committed by the Burmese government against Rohingya at the Peoples’ Tribunal. Mujahid, also spoke to a packed house at the University of Colorado-Boulder Asia series on why the Rohingya are…

Burma Task Force’s Jennifer Sawicz, addresses the crowd at a Rohingya Rally in Chicago, IL on Nov 11th 2016.

On Sunday, October 30, over one hundred demonstrators gathered in the West Rogers Park neighborhood on Chicago’s northside to rally for #Rohingya rights, and against the on-going military operation that has targeted their communities in their ancient homeland of Burma. After two-weeks of almost a complete media blackout news reports for the past week have…

On August 19, 2016, rallies were held across the globe to show support and bring awareness to the plight of the Rohingya, an oppressed muslim minority indigenous to Burma’s Rahkine State.

Mark your calendars: on March 27, Burma Task Force Canada representatives, Ahmed Ramadan and Taha Ghayyur will be discussing the Rohingya crisis on a panel with RAC founder Anwar Arakani, Mississauga MP Iqra Khalid, and Chaplain Amjad Tarsin. This is an important event that needs your support. If you are in the Toronto area please join!

BTF will be present at the largest Muslim American Convention in North America, ISNA 2016. We will be located near the West entrance at Booth #410 in the Bazaar. From September 2-5, BTF will be raising awareness and interacting with ISNA convention-goers to highlight the persecution faced by the Rohingya. This is a unique opportunity…

On Friday, 19 August 2016, the first World Rohingya Day demonstrations took place around the world. Thanks to all who organized, participated, and publicized these rallies. Rallies and demonstrations took place in London, UK; Washington DC, Toronto, Canada, New York, Chicago; Stockholm, Sweden; Boston; Los Angeles; and many other places. The speakers demanded end to the ongoing…

Buy Tickets here https://www.burmataskforce.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=4 For Sponsorship opportunities contact Anika Rahman at anika@justiceforall.org

Most of Myanmar’s 1.1 million Rohingyas already live in apartheid-like conditions in western Rakhine, where deadly clashes with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in 2012 displaced 140,000 people, mostly Rohingyas. Now they are offering them a bleak choice: accept reclassification and prospect citizenship or be detained.

A British Muslim reporter who traveled to Meiktila talked to people involved in the violence against Muslims in the central Burmese town. One sister said she was forced to prostrate to monks after they burned her husband alive. “They beat them in front of me. I was watching. I can still see it.” Noor Bi…

Decades of Rohingya persecution and destruction by Myanmar, a UN member state, are well-documented and well-known to all 5 permanent members of the Security Council. The OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) and its member states including Malaysia and Indonesia have repeatedly expressed grave concerns about the plight of Rohingya. But beyond rhetoric there has not…

Popular perception of a genocide is about dramatic spikes of mass killings as in Cambodia of Khmer Rouge days (1975-79) or 1994 Rwanda. But a genocide is not simply about media-genic scenes of mass killings. The single most influential – and one and only – universally accepted legal definition of a genocide as spelled out…

Virtually all human rights reports on the situation of Rohingya, including reports of the UN Human Rights Rapporteurs on Myanmar have noted both direct and indirect involvement of Myanmar’s security forces, which are centrally – not locally from Rakhine state administration based in Sittwe – commanded from the Ministry of Defence in the violence towards…

No, absolutely not. Again as explained above, it is in fact Myanmar nationalists acting irrationally towards the manufactured enemy of Buddhist faith and Myanmar race, Muslims of all ethnic backgrounds. Because Rohingya are concentrated in the pockets in Northern Rakhine State, unlike other Muslim communities that are scattered across the country, Rohingya Muslims have become…

A slow burning genocide of 36-years with periodic spikes of violence and killings followed by waves of exoduses of fleeing Refugees to nearby Bangladesh, as well as Thailand, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Australia and other Western countries. Myanmar’s genocidal treatment of Rohingya over the past 36 years calls into question the legitimacy, moral authority and effectiveness…

Buddhist leaders from around the world issued a statement that urged Buddhists in Burma to show compassion and respect to the Muslims in Rakhine State. Many Buddhists in that state have been complicit in holding demonstrations and acting violently toward the Rohingya Muslims.  “We are concerned about the growing ethnic violence and the targeting of…

In the last few months, Jack Kornfield has organized a group of concerned Buddhist elders, including the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh, to publish a full-page letter in Burmese newspapers encouraging the Burmese to stand up for their noble tradition of respect and nonviolence. The following is the full text of that letter. Following that…

Amnesty International’s Kristian Hulaas Sunde conducted an interview with U Kyaw Hla Aung, a 75-year old attorney, who has been repeatedly jailed by Burma for his peaceful political work. Mr. Aung states that his work is for everyone, and therefore he is not a hero for the Rohingya.  Certainly, the credo that “injustice anywhere is…

We must stop lying, as a people of Burma or Myanmar.  For nearly 40 years – since 1979, the country’s successive military leaderships from Ne Win (1962-88), Khin Nyunt-Than Shwe (1988-2004) and ThanShwe-TheinSein (2004-present) – have as a matter of national policy attempted to erase Rohingya from the country’s official history.  Apparently, some university researchers…

The ID depicts Myanmar President Thein Sein, and was apparently issued in 1970.  His ethnicity is described in this official government document as “Rohingya,” and his religion as “Islam.”  This would directly contradict the words and actions of the current government, who have claimed that the word “Rohingya,” does not exist in Burmese culture.  You…

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Early Warning project has identified Burma as the #1 country at risk of state-led mass killing. Statistics from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Hundreds have been killed, tens of thousands have fled under the most hazardous conditions, and 140,000 have been forced into horrible, overcrowded camps where they face severe…

Inter-ethnic solidarity for the Rohingya/Muslims of Arakan – dated 17 May 1978   “We, the Representatives of the peoples of Kachin, Karen, Palaung, Lahu, Shan and Wa, in deep sorrow, hereby express our heart-felt sympathy to the defenceless Muslims who fled to escape the compound racial and religious persecution by the Rangoon Government armed forces.”  Read…

Downloand below transcripts from important messages of support for the Oslo Conference and for Rohingya rights! Nobel Peace laureates, former heads of state, and international leaders in peace and human rights issues send their messages of support for the Rohingya cause. Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace laureate), Mairead Maguire (Nobel Peace laureate), George Soros (Open…

This month marks the three year anniversary of the mass genocidal expulsion of the Rohingya people from their homeland. However, this atrocity is not one of the past. The Burmese military has a monopoly on political power, and it operates as a fascist organization—their grand strategy is to transform all ethnic minorities into Burman under…

Assalamu Alaikum, The Ummah is alive and well. Yes. We don’t hear that often. Do we? There are struggles and challenges. But, then, there are those stepping up to surmount these obstacles. I started writing this note at a Rohingya refugee camp in Indonesia and I finalized it on a roadside motel in East Aceh,…

Al-Salamu ‘Alaikum Why did this young ‎Rohingya girl leave ‎Burma on her own?  Why would parents sell everything they own and put their beloved daughter onto a wooden boat to travel at the mercy of treacherous seas and an uncertain future.  This morning, Fatimah told me her story.  She shared with me her real name,…

Ayesha is a Rohingya woman who lived with her husband in the Arakan area of Burma, until her husband was killed by extremist Buddhists. Not much more is known about the death of Ayesha’s husband, but we know it left her alone.  Without anyone to care for her, Ayesha was forced to join other desperate…

BTF is also offering a $5,000 USD reward to any person who is able to deliver the US Federal Court of Southern New York’s summons to Burma’s foreign minister, U Wunna Maung Lwin. The reward will be given to the person who serves the summons and brings a pictorial and video proof that the summons…

Associate Operations Manager This is a full-time, salaried position located in Chicago. Justice for All is a non-profit organization that advocates for human rights causes that do not currently receive mainstream attention.  This position relates to Burma Task Force, a project of Justice for All focusing on the rights of the oppressed Rohingya Muslims minority.…

by Jennifer Sawicz Media Relations Director, Burma Task Force This story is adapted from the transcript of an interview taken in May 2016 at the ICNA relief center in Chicago. To protect her privacy, the Rohingya refugee woman’s name has been changed. When I first met forty-one-year-old Maryam, she was very shy. She refused the…

In an important and positive development the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee has sent a letter to Ambassador Samantha Powers, requesting an urgent UN Council meeting to address the plight of the Rohingya. The following is the text of the letter that Rep. Ed Royce of California sent to Ambassador Powers.: Washington, D.C. –…

Dear Your Excellency, We, the undersigned, call on States, including the United States, United Kingdom and the member states of the European Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to strongly encourage the Myanmar government to fully cooperate with the forthcoming Fact-Finding Mission into the human rights situation in Rakhine…

The first day of hearings at the International Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal in London saw testimony by expert witnesses from across the world who are intimately familiar with the plight of the #Rohingya, as well as first-hand testimony from Rohingya who have been persecuted for decades. Among the expert witnesses were Tun Khin, Dr. Maung Zarni,…

The following are the confirmed judges who will be present at the Second Peoples’ Tribunal on Burma’s Crimes Against Humanity: Bellur Narayanaswamy Srikrishna (India) An Indian jurist and a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. From 1993–98, he headed the “Srikrishna Commission” that investigated causes and apportioned blame for the Bombay Riots of 1992–93. He is currently the…

16 February 2017 H.E. Mr. António GuterresSecretary-General of the United NationsExecutive Office of the Secretary-GeneralS-3800, United Nations Secretariat BldgNew York, NY 10017 Re: Joint NGO Letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres about the situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State Your Excellency, The Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group in Myanmar, have been systematically disenfranchised and increasingly…

AN ORGANIZATIONAL LETTER REGARDING MYANMAR’S MILITARY CAMPAIGN TARGETING ROHINGYA CIVILIANS IN MYANMAR September 5, 2017 On August 25, 2017, the Myanmar Military bombed 25 Rohingya villages reportedly using six gunship helicopters, navy ships and tanks as Rohingya families slept. Reports indicated that soldiers have been shooting at fleeing Rohingya civilians. This has clearly been an…

Story Updates Donors As of now,  according to the UN estimates, 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh. Human Right Watch reports that villages on a 100-kilometer stretch were set on fire. Killing is still ongoing. The UN is being blocked by Burma to provide water, food and medicine to another 400,000 Rohingyas sheltering in forests…

“War ends only when people love each other.” -Buddha Buddhism has a well-deserved reputation in the popular imagination as a non-violent, peaceful religion that rejects hatred and teaches compassion. Images of the self-immolation of Buddhist monks protesting the US invasion and support of an oppressive South Vietnamese government are seared into the memories of people across…

“How many Rohingya have to die; how many Rohingya women will be raped; how many communities will be razed before you raise your voice?” (Countercurrents)

Silence has been the most effective tool again Rohingya. False information or lack of political support help breed the systematic violence that is forcing them to flee once again. The Rohingya need your help. Speak for Rohingya

“Over the last several years I have repeatedly condemned this tragic and shameful treatment [of Rohingya].I am still waiting for my fellow Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to do the same. The world is waiting and the Rohingya Muslims are waiting.” (NPR)

Letter circulated at the request of the Burma Task Force  To: The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, PC, MP Prime Minister of Canada The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, PC, MP Minister of Foreign Affairs The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, PC, MP Minister of International Development Dear Prime Minister and Ministers,           Since the intensification of Myanmar’s violence against…

Ramadan has past. It was an especially hard one for many of our Rohingya brothers and sisters, who are suffering in camps with little food and water. They’ve been hit by cyclones and als continue to face the persecution of Burmese military and government authorities. Yet, this does not stop them from enjoying this day as well.…

We have reached a pivotal point in our efforts to deliver justice for the Rohingya. Your 5 minutes today and tomorrow will make a huge difference. The U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, is on the verge of making a major decision to officially call the actions of the Burmese army a ‘genocide.’ If he officially calls…

Written By: Megan Hirst & James Kirk Introduction We represent a group of Rohingya victims from the village of Tula Toli. In proceedings at the International Criminal Court (ICC or “the Court”) concerning the Court’s jurisdiction, we made submissions on behalf of these victims. In doing so we received financial support from Burma Task Force.  We…

Call these Embassies to stop the genocide: https://www.burmataskforce.org/alert/call-campaign-list-embassies-you-must-contact Call these United Nations Missions to stop the genocide: https://www.burmataskforce.org/UN Next 7-10 days are the most critical days for Rohingya. Iron is hot not to strike to get it declared a genocide Your phone calls and prayers are making a difference. This month is quite critical for Rohingyas. Major…

ACHIEVEMENTS 1.   House resolution declaring genocide in Burma 2.   Stronger partnerships with and between Burmese leaders & ethnic groups 3.   Helped create broader environment of public pressure that contributed to the State Department’s comprehensive report on atrocities in Burma 4.   Major increases in aid to Rohingya refugees: $400 million in the U.S., $300 million in…

Germany and Austria are hosting the head of the Burmese military, Min Aung Hlaing. Min Aung Hlaing, presided over war crimes against the Rohingya and Kachin peoples. According to the UN, the Burmese military killed and raped thousands of Rohingya, and forcibly displaced over 80,000 by burning their villages down. The Burma Campaign UK are…

Only 11 Years Old Imagine an 11-year old. May be your daughter, your sister, or imagine you were 11 years old. Then read the testimony of an 11-year old Rohingya Muslim girl as told to Ilona Alexander of the United Nations. “Her father went into hiding from the military and took her two older sisters…

Assalamu Alaikum Ramadan Mubarak Penniless and homeless Rohingyas started their Ramadan as well. The last Ramadan they could not even enter a mosque in Burma. All mosques were shut down in their area since 2012. Friday prayers and Eid were both illegal. About 129,000 Rohingyas began Ramadan in the concentration camps of Burma. The military marched them to…

A Rohingya woman in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Photo credit: Burma Task Force As-Salamu Alaykum. Over the last four days our attorney was in Hague, Netherlands, at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Today she and our team are flying to Bangladesh meeting the survivors of genocide and rape that we represent. It is an…

AsSalamu Alaykum. We need you to make just a couple of calls today. These may be the most important calls to stop the genocide of Rohingyas in Burma. We are facing a major fork in the road in our campaign to save our Rohingya brothers and sisters. The government of Bangladesh might refuse to cooperate…

Photo credit: Burma Task ForceJUNE 2018 AsSalamu Alaykum. Hopefully the blessed final days of Ramadan are filling you with serenity and gratitude. Request for Dua: Please remember our Rohingya brothers and sisters. Monsoon rains are currently pounding Rohingya camps. These rains are leading to floods, triggering landslides and blowing away the little huts Rohingyas are forced…

Major developments have taken place in the last 48 hours. I normally request 10 minutes of your time. But today I would appreciate it if you will take several ten minutes breaks today and tomorrow in support of Rohingya. The iron is hot! We must strike now! Twitter and phone messaging is our power. Please use it…

Please Call Ambassadors Of Muslim-Majority Countries To The United Nations  Ask them to: 1) Push the UN Security Council to call it genocide and put full sanctions on Burma until it takes back all Rohingya giving them citizenship and security.  2) Ask China to stop its anti-Muslim attitude: after supporting Rohingya genocide China has detained…

Here is a list of Embassies and Ambassadors you should get in touch with to advocate for the Rohingya: ASEAN States Brunei Darussalam H.E. Ambassador Dato Paduka Haji Serbini bin Haji Ali (202) 237-1838 info@bruneiembassy.org 3520 International Court, NW, Washington DC 20008 Cambodia H.E. Ambassador Mr. Chum, Sounry (202) 726-7742 Email: camemb.usa@mfa.gov.kh 4530 16th Street,…

The UN General Assembly has begun. It happens once a year.The UN Security Council will meet.All the world’s leaders will gather in New York at this time. This week the UN has issued a 440-page report calling the persecution and displacement of Rohingya a genocide. But the Rohingya people don’t need any more reports. The UN must follow all…

SIGN & SHARE A LOVE LETTER TO NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern came out with one of the most forceful denunciations of Islamophobia on record, and has called for a global campaign against hate. Please sign a love letter to her and then share it with others to do the same. Add your name to…

A wave of anti-Rohingya violence sends the beleagured people fleeing.  Many attempted escape on their fishing boats. persecution ethnic cleansing genocide refugees Log in to post comments

Aung San Suu Kyi has not only maintained a willful silence over the persecution of Rohingya but she has categorically denied that the ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Rohingya is taking place. Extremist Rakhine leaders who are her fellow parliamentarians are on the record stating that they have told her never to utter the word ‘Rohingya’, or…

Al-Jazeera ran a report this weekend called “The Hidden Genocide,” about the massacre of Rohingya Muslims in Burma. The piece includes interviews with several Rohingya refugees who watched family members and friends die in the violence that took place over the summer in Rakhine state. The story also chronicles the events leading up to the…

President Obama stopped in Burma for 6 hours on Monday, Nov. 19 and spoke at University of Yangon. In that speech, Obama made a mention of the violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in the western state of Rakhine that has left hundreds dead and thousands homeless. “For too long, the people of this state,…

Ko Ko Naing, a member of the California branch of the Burma Task Force, was interviewed during the Oct. 2 rally in Los Angeles, held while Aung San Suu Kyi was speaking inside. “Ms. Suu Kyi should focus on the human rights first, then we can talk about cooperating with Mr.Thein Sein, Burma’s current president,”…

Several rallies organized by the Burma Task Force were covered by the local news.  More information on the New York rally can be found here.The San Francisco demonstration, held outside the War Memorial Gym while Aung San Suu Kyi was speaking inside, was also covered by local media. Watch a video here from CBS news.…

The Burma Task Force rally held in Morgantown, WV, gained news coverage by its local CBS affiliate. Watch the news video below. coverage Log in to post comments

The Canadian branch of the Burma Task Force had major success over the weekend. The Kitchener, Canada rally was covered by Canada TV, and an MP plans to talk about the Rohingya situation in front of the government. Watch the video here. Burma Task Force USA announces nationwide rallies on September 22 — The Siasat…

In this video, Nicholas Kristoff explores the camps where many Rohingya are forced to live in Burma. concentrationcamp genocide human rights Log in to post comments

Nobel Peace laureates, former heads of state, and international leaders in peace and human rights issues send their messages of support for the Rohingya cause.  Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace laureate), Mairead Maguire (Nobel Peace laureate), George Soros (Open Society Foundation), Tun Mahathir Mohamad (former Prime Minister of Malaysia), and Jose Ramos-Horta (former Primer Minister…

Speakers answer questions at the Q & A Session from the Research Plenary at the Oslo Conference to end Myanmar’s Persecution of Rohingyas in May 2015, and begin the Policy Plenary Part I. “Myanmar’s government doesn’t seem to be interested at all in partnership,” said Sarnata Reynolds, Senior Adviser on Human Rights, Refugees International. She…

Sarnata Reynolds, Senior Adviser on Human Rights, Refugees International, USA, and General Azhumi, former chief of Malaysian army, speak at the Oslo Conference, Policy Plenary Part II. General Azhumi speaks about the dangerous silence of ASEAN while thousands of Burmese Muslims suffer. Log in to post comments

Dr. Gianni Tognani, The Secretary General, Permanent People’s Tribunal, Rome, Italy Extra-UN Tribunal Approaches to Dealing with Mass Atrocities, spoke at the Policy Plenary in the Oslo Conference about the plight of Rohingyas and their victimization under the Myanmar government. He said victims don’t want to be further victimized – rather they want to look…

Retired General Azhumi, former Chief of Malaysian Army, Former UN Peacekeeper and current Trustee of the Perdana Global Peace Foundation, spoke of the complacency of ASEAN and other organizations who fail to lend a hand to the Rohingya and/or make an effort to call the Myanmar government out for committing atrocities against the Burmese minorities.…

Forty percent of Burma consists of ethnic minorities. There are Muslims among many of these ethnic minorities; Rohingya Muslims are one of these minorities who live in the southwest region of Burma near the border with Bangladesh. ROHINGYA MUSLIMS ARE CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST PERSECUTED PEOPLE IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO THE UNITED NATIONS.…

While Buddhism as a philosophical system is about universal loving kindness, accepting impermanence through a non-essentializable or solid ego, some of Myanmar’s Buddhism and Buddhist monks are contaminated with the country’s racist nationalism. Monks’ involvement in anti-Muslim deeds and words is more to do with racism and nationalism than with Buddhism as a spiritual philosophy.…

In the midst of violence against the Rohingya Muslims in his country, Burmese President Thein Sein will be given a peace award by the International Crisis Group. The group said the award was being given because: “Myanmar has initiated a remarkable and unprecedented set of reforms since President Thein Sein’s government took over in March…

Statement by Ms Yanghee, Lee Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar – 28th session of the Human Rights Council Item 4 (16 March 2015, Geneva) Read the full statement here: http://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/statement-ms-yanghee-lee-special-rapporteur-situation-human-rights-myanmar-28th Photo by Eric Bridiers

“The borderland region of pre-nation state Western Burma has been recognised as “Islamic” since 1500 AD, according to the TIMES (2011). Similarly, Myanmar Encyclopaedia (1964) recorded Northern Rakhine or Arakan as predominantly Islam in religion and Rohingya in ethnic background and group identity. .  By saying Northern Rakhine has been ‘invaded’ by “Bengali economic migrant labourers”…

Burma Task Force / Justice for All is co-organizing a conference in Oslo, Norway on May 26-28, 2015, to address the continuing persecution of Rohingyas by the Burma/Myanmar government.  Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, and people of other faiths will come together to condemn this persecution and discuss actions the international community can take.  Multiple Nobel laureates…

Members of the United States Congress have sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry urging him to take action to ensure that those Rohingya stranded at sea “are brought to safety, including through search and rescue missions, and provided medical and other care without delay.” These members of Congress insisted that “more must…

Leaders of Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian faiths urged President Obama to take “immediate action … to save the lives of thousands stranded at sea in Southeast Asia.”  The interfaith leaders called for the President to influence regional nations to embark on search and rescue missions to save the Rohingya refugees. They also noted that…

Since May of this year, the Rohingyas- or “boat people” as the media has dubbed them- have been plunged into the international spotlight. Almost every news website, ranging from BBC to The Phuket News, to The Sydney Morning Herald has at least one article, if not more about them. However, not all of these articles…

The undersigned Rohingya Organizations in Europe have strongly denounced the undemocratic actions of the Election Commission against Rohingya parliamentary candidates under the government’s ‘policy of exclusion’ of the Rohingya, debarring them from contesting in the upcoming crucial election scheduled on November 8, 2015, on a false and fabricated charge that their parents were not citizens.…

JOINT STATEMENT Ref: BR.000101 DATE. 29.09.2015 We, the undersigned Rohingya organizations demand to the United Nations, ASEAN, Organization of Islamic Conference, European Union, United States of America, Canada, United Kingdom, Observers and stakeholders to condemn the decision of Myanmar’s Union Election Commission (UEC)’s rejection to the Rohingya applicants on the false grounds that are unacceptable and totally undemocratic.…

We at Burma Task Force are striving hard every day to end the genocide and persecution against the Rohingya. But what happens when, God willing, we are successful? Chances are that a population who hasn’t been allowed to participate meaningfully in society since 1982 will not just merrily reintegrate & become productive citizens. In a…

Submitted by Aqsa Tahir on August 18, 2018 Senator Cantwell Calls on Social Media Companies to Confront Hate, Better Protect Minority Rights WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) called on social media companies to confront hate and better protect minority rights and vulnerable communities on their platforms: “We cannot let social media platforms be hijacked…

Jinghpaw Wunpawng Amyu Sha HpungKachin National OrganizationEmail: info@kachinland.org, Website: www.kachinland.org KACHIN NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF UNITED STATES (KNO-US) CALLS TO SUPPORT THE PLIGHT OFROHINGYA REFUGEES (August 25, 2018):Today marks the first anniversary of the start of the violence committed by the government of Burma and its army, Tatmadaw, on the people of Rohingya which resulted in…

Unilever’s CEO, Paul Polman expressed his personal support for the rights of the Rohingya and after a week of tweets, contacts and the campaign by #WeAreAllRohingya Unilever has officially stated, through a tweet that it “stands firm” with the two dozen Nobel Laureates who have pressed for Burma to end atrocities against the Rohingya and restore their…

Chicago, IL—The Burma Task Force welcomes the news from the International Criminal Court (ICC) that the court holds jurisdiction over the alleged deportation of the Rohingya people from Burma to Bangladesh. The Chamber considers that the victims’ personal interests are affected as they were linked to their alleged deportations from Myanmar to Bangladesh in August…

Joint Appeal to the UN Security Council to Act on Myanmar’s Rohingya Crisis In advance of the United Nations Security Council’s December 12 meeting on the situation in Myanmar, we, a global coalition of 69 human rights, faith-based and humanitarian organizations, urgently call on the Council to take immediate action to address the campaign of…

Written By: admin Burma Task Force welcomes the State Department’s publication of the report on “Atrocities in Northern Rakhine State.” Human rights groups and Congressional leaders have been urging the public release of this report, describing the genocidal actions perpetrated against the Rohingya minority of Burma. While the new report does not explicitly state that genocide…

We, the undersigned Rohingya leaders, seek referral of Burma to the International Criminal Court (ICC), ideally by the UN Security Council, but potentially by any UN member state that supports the ICC. We demand justice and want those responsible for this genocide to be punished to the maximum extent of the law. Support for international human rights…

The month of May will mark nine months since the Burmese army drove 700,000 Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh. Aid workers noticed the high number of pregnant women in the refugee camps, due to the mass rape of Rohingya women as a tool of genocide and ethnic cleansing. In the next several weeks, thousands of babies…

https://youtu.be/kyJrhyYBRu0 Streamed live on 9 Aug 2020

AsSalamu Alaikum. Hopefully the blessed final days of Ramadan are filling you with serenity and gratitude. These are theholiest days of the holy month, when good deeds carry great weight, and actions speak much louder thanwords. It is with this in mind that Burma Task Force has condemned the recently signed Memorandum ofUnderstanding between the…

One Year Anniversary of Rohingya Genocide Shows Existential Crisis Burma Task Force commends the United Nations investigators for their report today that makes quite clear that the violent repression of the Rohingya minority has reached to the level of genocide, and requires referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC). The United Nations Security Council must…

The United Nations Human Rights Council has officially established a mechanism for systematically gathering and archiving evidence for the future prosecution of Burmese war criminals. The UNHCR’s resolution represents a major step toward accountability and justice for the Rohingya, and provides an important step towards a real resolution of the crisis. “We welcome the UN…

We, the undersigned Rohingya leaders, seek referral of Burma to the International Criminal Court (ICC), ideally by the UN Security Council, but potentially by any UN member state that supports the ICC. We demand justice and want those responsible for this genocide to be punished to the maximum extent of the law. Support for international…

On the second anniversary of the genocidal expulsion of the Rohingya minority from Burma, the Governments of Bangladesh and Burma have announced plans to immediately repatriate over 3500 Rohingya. These plans are premature and doomed to fail. It is clear to everyone that conditions in Rakhine State are not conducive to refugees’ return.  Burmese authorities…

Burma Task Force USA presents ROHINGYA: VICTIMS OF BURMESE MILITARY RAPE. This is a film about young Rohingya women, some as young as 14, who share their stories of murder and rape with acclaimed filmmaker Shafiur Rhaman. Shot in Teknaf region near the Myanmar/Bangladesh border. December 2016 & January 2017. A SHAFIUR RHAMAN FILM For…

Petition: Break the Silence! End the Genocide! A genocide in the 21st century is a failure of our collective humanity! There is a lot of hope that Aung San Suu Kyi, the long time democracy advocate and Nobel Prize winner, whose party won recent elections will alter the status quo. You can make a difference,…

Download the action alert attached below and urge your Senator to support Resolution 250 condemning Myanmar and Amendment 607 to the NDAA stopping all military assistance to Myanmar.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Thousands of Rohingyas are stranded on boats at the shores of Thailand. Burmese officials continue their genocide by taking Rohingya papers and money from their relatives abroad and letting Rohingya leave Burma in collusion with the Thai human traffickers. All this happens, while no country (Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia) is letting them in their country…

While the Rohingya crisis is off the media radar, the genocide of Rohingyas continues. Every day, Burmese government is pushing 500 or so Rohingyas off the shores of Burma. This is an ongoing crisis for years now. It is a part of their stated policy. Burmese Muslims need your urgent and consistent help. Why is…

Heavy rains from a tropical depression in the Bay of Bengal have triggered massive flooding in Rakhine State, causing a rising death toll of at least 20, with thousands of people affected. Thousands of homes have been affected, forcing some to relocate. The flooding has also damaged roads and bridges.       The flooding has…

DOWNLOAD and DISTRIBUTE [PDF] Assalamu Alaikum I am personally appealing to you to please pick up your phone and start calling NOW. You can save lives. Three Rohingya villages are surrounded right now by armed extremists. We need your help now to stop imminent attacks! Your calls in the past have at stopped at least…

The new Burmese minister of religion, Aung Ko (former member of the military regime), has in the span of two days created a storm of controversy. Yesterday, Burma Task Force confirmed with the Burmese Voice of America service that Ko described Muslims as “associate citizens,” implying they are not “full citizens.” This is inconsistent with…

January 2018   Al-Salamu ‘Alaykum,  One million Rohingya Muslims are fearful that they will be forced to go back to the genocide zones and killing fields from which refugees are still fleeing.  That must not happen.  Please join our public webinar, only two days away to learn about “Action Plan 2018 for Rohingyas.”  An Important Webinar on January 11:What: Plan 2018:…

Salam, Thank you for your calls. Some sanctions on Burma are now a part of NDAA. The amendment passed with an impressive margin of 382 to 30 votes. Your activism matters. The united efforts of Burma Task Force truly matter. Please donate today generously. Donate your zakat this Ramadan to stop genocide of Rohingyas. Because…

SUGGESTED PHONE SCRIPT: Good morning! We are calling on behalf of Burma Task Force and your organization to encourage the (XXX) Mission to oppose genocide and to support human rights protections at the United Nations and in your foreign policy. Who should we be speaking to on staff about human rights protections in Burma? Can…

“Never Again” is “happening again,” was the chant of demonstrators across the world, who called for sanctions against Burma/Myanmar for its modern-day genocide against our Rohingya sisters and brothers. Now there is momentum to force Myanmar’s military to change its violent course or face repercussions. Two new Congressional bills, one in the Senate and another in the…

The Atlantic published an intimate pictorial essay of Rohingya in a camp for internally displaced persons in Burma communicating with relatives who left Burma as refugees. The Rohingya are forced to conduct these personal and emotional conversations in the company of everyone else in the “Internet hut.” See the images here. See the Action Item…

Thousands of Rohingyas are stranded at sea near Thailand. Burmese officials, after stripping the Rohingya of their papers and confiscating money sent to them by relatives, are colluding with Thai human traffickers to allow these Rohingya to leave Burma. This is a continuation of Burma’s genocidal campaign against Rohingya. Thailand, however, is barring these Rohingya…

On March 3, 2015, the Rakhine State Divisional Court sentenced Rohingya Leaders Ba Thar, Kyaw Myint and his son Hla Myint to 8-year sentences and Kyaw Khin to a 5-year sentence. Amnesty International calls them prisoners of conscience and is demanding their immediate release. We need your help to get them released. These leaders have…

The Bay of Bengal has been hit by heavy rains from a tropical depression [UPDATE: This became Cyclone Komen]. While this is affecting all countries in the region, the Rohingya in Rakhine state are particularly vulnerable. Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps, 21st Century concentration camps according to a New York Times report, are flooding and…

Burma Task Force is urging the public to call the offices of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the US Ambassador to Burma Scot Marciel among others. You can help us reach our goal of 10,000 calls this week. The Rohingya are in the crossfires of the Burmese military which has initiated yet ANOTHER military…

In less than two weeks, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Burma is a member, will meet with President Obama in Sunnylands, California for a two day summit. This is an important opportunity for the President of our country to express the urgency with which ASEAN must act to end the genocide…

Despite all the hopes, the new Burmese government is following the same old hateful genocidal lines. The new Burmese minister of religion, Aung Ko (former member of the military regime), has described Muslims with the fictitious category of “associate citizens,” implying they are not “full citizens” with the same rights as their Buddhist neighbors. While…

Download the PDF link by pressing the button at the bottom of the page. What happened: • A boat carrying Rohingya camp residents capsized, killing 22 passengers. • Using the name Rohingya, a practice adopted by President Obama thanks to Burma Task Force and your efforts, the US embassy in Burma released a statement expressing…

Yesterday one mosque, a Muslim school and a graveyard were destroyed close to Yangon, the largest city of Burma. At least 4 times your phone calls to the President Obama, Secretary Kerry, and the U.S. Ambassador to Burma Scot Marciel have forced the military to intervene to fend off the extremists attacks. Please call. In 10 minutes…

Harvard will honor Aung San Suu Kyi as its “Humanitarian of the Year–2016” on September, 17! This is the same Suu Kyi who remained silent on the persecution of the Rohingya. Since achieving power, she has been condemned in editorials, in leading newspapers from around the world, and by human rights organizations, for the inhumane way…

Action Item: #Unilever: Live Up To Your Commitment For Socially Responsible Investment. Pakistan Petition: Don’t Sell Jets To Burma Until It Ends Genocide Vs. Rohingya It only takes a few minutes, please take the following actions: a. Rohingya activists have developed a campaign targeting corporations investing in Burma to live up to their proclaimed standards of…

In the past President Barack Obama has affirmed the Rohingya identity  and their basic right to “self-identify” in numerous world fora and in meetings with Burmese officials and dignitaries. We are at a critical moment in which the violence against the Rohingya has escalated and they need your help more than ever. After an attack…

One of the outcomes of the wave of genocidal violence that the Rohingya have endured for decades, and ever more intensely since 2012 has been heightened levels of food insecurity and malnutrition for hundreds of thousands who depend on food aid from international agencies. For the past two weeks however that food aid has been…

Life is being made into a living hell for the #Rohingya in Maungdaw. Download the action item below to help end the continued violence against them.

The government is attempting to hide its war crimes. Let’s make sure they will not! Download the action alert below.

Calling on the Ambassadors of the United States and Canada to visit Northern Rakhine where Rohingya are being slaughtered. Such visits have been shown to calm tensions and stop attacks. Download action alert below.:

As you know, the military of Burma has been committing atrocities in the name of cracking down on terrorism in Rakhine State. They’ve been raping civilians, killing suspects without trying them in court & burning whole villages. The only reason we know about this is because of the brave people who report the news for…

Last week the Malaysian government spoke out clearly and forcefully for Rohingya rights in Burma. Prime Minister Najib Razak participated in mass demonstrations, summoned Myanmar’s ambassador last week over the harsh recent crackdown on Rohingya and even canceled the national soccer team’s friendly under-22 matches with Myanmar in protest. This response is very welcome news.…

Please Download action item below.

Action Items: BJP: Condemn & Charge Rakesh Gupta For Threatening To Kill Rohingya India has only settled 14,000 Rohingya refugees out of the 1.2 million who are displaced throughout the region and is now poised to deport 10,000 to Burma where they face persecution. Contact a. Indian Ambassador to the US: H.E. Navtej Sarna. Tel:…

Action Items: India: Do Not Deport Vulnerable Rohingya! India has only settled 14,000 Rohingya refugees out of the 1.2 million who are displaced throughout the region and is now poised to deport 10,000 to Burma where they face persecution. Contact a. Indian Ambassador to the US: H.E. Navtej Sarna. Tel: 202 939 7010. Email: ambassadoroffice@indiagov.org. Facebook:Click here.Twitter:  Click here. b.…

#FreeMamedullah Salam, Arbitrary arrest and detention is a hallmark of the Burmese military and Border Police. In the recent “clearance operation” six Rohingya have died in custody, raising concerns of torture.  Mamedullah, an innocent Rohingya man was beaten and detained, a picture of him and three other men was posted to Facebook by the Burmese President’s Office…

b. Tweet and post to Facebook messages to Telenor.  Ask them to take a public stand for the protection of the Rohingya and a return of their citizenship. Contact: Twitter accounts: @TelenorGroup; @Telenor_mm;@Telenor_TGS; @Sigve_telenor; @ABrodtkorb; @MaiOldgard; @ehbok.  Facebook: TeleNor Group; Telenor Myanmar Talking Points: It is Telenor’s responsibility, and in their interest to speak out against the ongoing genocide of the Rohingya. Sign…

Salam, An urgent 10-minute action is needed today, right now. Just a couple of calls will do. One should go to your representative’s DC office and another to his/her local office. And then forward this message to someone who cares for you. First Step: Click here to find out is your Congressperson’s local and DC office phone.…

A coalition of Rohingya Muslim groups in Burma/Myanmar have condemned the directive to demolish Muslim religious structures in Arakan State. The joint statement from the coalition states that the “demolition project is part of their long-drawn-out annihilation and ethnic cleansing policy of the defenceless Rohingya people.” “It is surprising that this sinister design was announced…

Since the advent of the War on Terror in 2001 the Burmese military has presented Muslims as a terrorist threat to the nation. In fact, the government has even stooped so low as to create an imaginary, fictional terrorist group to achieve this purpose as documented by The Intercept. This trackrecord is the backdrop for the claim made…

The WFP has announced that it is slashing food rations in Rakhine state. Rakhine state is one of Burma’s poorest and suffers from endemic malnutrition. The Rohingya Muslims there have suffered the most. In IDP camps they were only getting enough food to survive: an allotment of food that is 200 calories less than what…

Harvar Universities wrongheaded decision to honor Aung San Suu KYi has surprised many and made many of us ask the question, “what has she done to deserve such an award?” It seems no one cares for the Rohingya! President Obama decided to lift all sanctions at the urging of Suu Kyi, essentially rewarding her government…

President Barack Obama has been quite open in his support for the Rohingya peoples who face erasure of their identity and an on-going, slow-burning genocide. He has continuously used the name “Rohingya” even when Suu Kyi and others have refused or even asked governments not to, and for that him and his administration should be…

Download the file below on urgent action to stop the killing of Rohingya going on NOW in Rakhine.

Salam, Thank you for your calls. Some sanctions on Burma are now a part of NDAA. The amendment passed with an impressive margin of 382 to 30 votes. Your activism matters. The united efforts of Burma Task Force truly matter. Please donate today generously. Donate your zakat this Ramadan to stop genocide of Rohingyas. Because…

“The pre-colonial concepts of identity and the subsequent Burmanisation of the  national identity paved the way for discriminatory legislation as well as state-sponsored and  civilian human rights abuses. “ “Citizenship as a legal status, in and of itself, is not the answer to the Rohingya crisis,  unless these accompanying issues are also taken into consideration.…

A Buddhist monk has made some outrageous claims in order to justify the ongoing ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Rohingya.  “… claiming themselves as Rohingars, they are trying to demand a separate home land. They also burned their houses by themselves as if it was done by Burmese Buddhists.”- Sitagu Monk Nyanneisaya, 21 Aug…

The document describes how the government will deal with what it describes as “Bengalis who reject the ethnicity defined by Myanmar laws.” http://live-burmamuslimsorg.pantheon.io/sites/default/files/Action%20Plan_Eng_07072014.pdf

Tim Frewer, a phD candidate at the University of Sydney has written a must read comprehensive essay on Burma that tackles a number of issues related to state sovereignity, colonialism, post-colonialism, the role of neo-liberal capitalism and the plight of the Rohingya. As hordes of experts and analysts fumble through the politics of the Rohingya…

Amnesty International’s 2016 country report for Burma noted the failure of Burmese authorities to address or put an end to “rising religious intolerance,” particularly against Muslims. The report highlighted discriminatory laws and legislation passed under the regime of President Thein Sein and also the generally deplorable and regressive state of affairs for minorities who face…

3 February 2017 – In a report issued today, the United Nations human rights arm said that the widespread human rights violations against the Rohingya population by Myanmar’s security forces in the country’s northern Rakhine state indicate the very likely commission of crimes against humanity. The flash report – released today by the Office of the UN High…

https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/FFM-Myanmar/A_HRC_39_64.pdf

“The first census in over thirty years began in Burma on 29 March. The UK is contributing £10 million to the census as a critical step in Burma’s development process. It will provide the authorities with much-needed information on where services and infrastructure, such as schools, roads and hospitals, are most required. We were, however,…

“The continuing humanitarian and human rights crisis in Rakhine State was the most troubling exception – and threat – to the country’s progress during the year. Although the government provided some short-term humanitarian support to affected populations, it did little to address the root causes of the violence or to fulfill its 2012 pledge to…

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom released its troubling new update on Burma Written By: Tina L. Mufford, Senior Policy Analyst United States Commision on International Religious Freedom (Introduction to the Report):   In November 2017, USCIRF Commissioners and staff traveled to Burma (also known as Myanmar) to meet with government officials, civil society, and religious representatives…

Maung Zarni and Alice Cowley  |University of Washington  | June 2014  Abstract: Since 1978, the Rohingya, a Muslim minority of Western Burma, have been subject to a state-sponsored process of destruction. The Rohingya have deep historical roots in the borderlands of Rakhine State, Myanmar, and were recognized officially both as citizens and as an ethnic group…

Harvard Gazette | November 7, 2014 | By Alvin Powell, Harvard Staff Writer Burma’s Rohingya people are being slowly squeezed from their homeland by decades-long government policies that critics say deny them citizenship, health care, work, and schooling, with such tactics punctuated by killings, destroyed homes, and tens of thousands sent to camps.That was the picture painted…

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has made a number of recommendations regarding Burma for the US government. The Burma Task Force (USA) is involved in presenting and engaging the USCIRF regarding these critical issues as it relates to Burma. • Continue to designate Burma as a CPC under IRFA; • Enter into a binding…

Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School  | October 2015  |  by Alina Lindblom, Elizabeth Marsh, Tasnim Motala, & Katherine Munyan This legal analysis considers whether the ongoing attacks on and persecution of the Rohingya Muslim population in Myanmar constitute genocide, as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the…

Find the full report here. The Myanmar (Burma) section of a recent report on sexual violence is quite explicit about how entrenched rape culture is within the Burmese military. The Rohingyas, along with other vulnerable ethnic minorities have faced the brunt of such violence. MyanmarSexual violence continues to be underreported in Myanmar owing to entrenched…

Written By: Maung Zarni and Natalie Brinham An important essay by Dr. Maung Zarni and Natalie Brinham, published in the Brown Journal on World Affairs which looks at the history and re-working of old racist tropes and motifs into new ones by the state of Myanmar as it sanctions oppression against Rohingyas and other Muslims. Those who…

FORTIFY RIGHTS | July 19, 2018 Report finds “reasonable grounds” for ICC arrest warrants, identifies 22 military and police officials. (BANGKOK and COX’S BAZAR, July 19, 2018)—The Myanmar authorities made “extensive and systematic preparations” for attacks against Rohingya civilians during the weeks and months before militants attacked police on August 25, 2017, Fortify Rights said in…

Last year, several distinguished institutions released reports/studies on the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims by the Burmese government. Two of the most prominent and well covered report were ones by Yale Law School-Fortify Rights and Queen Mary University’s State Crime Initiative Study. Both studies described the persecution of the Rohingya as fitting the process of…

https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/FFM-Myanmar/A_HRC_39_64.pdf

Written By: P. Adem Caroll The Safe Zone Concept Thoughts Towards a Creative and Effective Application in The Rohingya Crisis Burma Task Force White Paper Series “I thank the members of the Security Council and also, the Secretary-General for their proactive attempts to stop atrocities and bring in peace and stability in the Rakhine State of…

Published Oct. 4, 2012 in New American MediaBy Shwanika Narayan SAN FRANCISCO – Among the crowds gathered at the University of San Francisco to greet Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi last week was a small coterie of Muslim and Burmese activists. They were there not to celebrate the visit by the veteran…

Oslo, Norway, May 28, 2015 – A two-day conference focusing on ending the persecution of Burma’s Rohingyas concluded today, with a call from seven Nobel Peace Laureates to describe the Rohingya plight as nothing less than a genocide. In his pre-recorded address to the conference, Desmond Tutu, leader of South Africa’s anti-apartheid movement in the…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 1, 2015 New York City:       The US Federal Court for the Southern District of New York issued summonses against Burma/Myanmar President Thein Sein and government ministers in a lawsuit regarding their role in genocidal policies targeting the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Burma, to coincide with the government…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 9, 2015 Chicago, Illinois.  Yesterday Burma (Myanmar) finally held a national election. Even before the results are confirmed, news stories are already celebrating the movement towards democracy as a success. “However, with three quarters of a million human beings disenfranchised from the vote, is this really a free and fair election?”…

By Staff Writer On November 8th, many Burmese suffered long lines at polling booths across the nation to vote in elections that are being heralded by world media as “historic,” “fair” and “democratic.” Political leaders have been doing the same: President Barack Obama called them “free and fair,” PM David Cameron described them as a…

On January 14, Burma Task Force co-sponsored an event at the United Nations about last year’s November elections in Burma that brought victory to the National League for Democracy (NLD), which took its seats in parliament today, the 1st of February, 2016. The panel was titled, “Myanmar Elections: Illusory Victory or Hope for Human Rights?”…

Last year in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, President Barack Obama announced that he would convene a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Late in December the White House set the date for the summit, Feb.15-16 2016 at the “Camp David of the West Coast,” Sunnylands, California. President Thein Sein of Burma was among…

What do you think of when you hear the word “democracy”?  Voting, certainly – an activity which has been consuming Americans this primary election season. But voting is meaningless without basic rights and liberties. So despite the fact that Burma just democratically (well, mostly) elected a new President, they’re lagging far behind the world’s expectations…

World Rohingya Day to Raise Awareness of Rohingya Plight in Burma Mississauga, Ontario – Burma Task Force, a leading voice against genocide in Burma, invites all Canadians to a peaceful demonstration on World Rohingya Day, Friday, August 19th, 2016, from 5 PM to 7 PM at the Mississauga Celebration Square, 300 City Centre Drive, Mississauga,…

More Rohinyga who are desperately fleeing Burma by boat were found in the Aceh province of Indonesia.  Like others who were previously rescued by the Sri Lankan navy, this group said Thai officials sabotaged their boat and later shot at them while they were at sea.  “We want to stay in any country with Muslims.…

Written By: Maung Zarni I have followed this Inquiry Commission since its inception on 17 August.  I have done so not simply because it was presided over by my old history teacher at Mandalay University in 1982 or that its secretary was my beer-buddy when he was a fresh arrival at Cornell in the fall of…

Press Release 7 November 2017 Burma Task Force Asks the UN Security Council to do more to stop genocide of Rohingyas Chicago, IL. – November 7, 2017 – Burma Task Force  welcomes UN Security Council resolution 13055, condemning Myanmar in strong terms for widespread violence that has displaced over 600,000 Rohingya forced to flee to Bangladesh.…

Written By: Tauseef Akbar Burma has banned UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee from her January visit to “assess the human rights situation” across the country. Burma is shamelessly attempting to cover-up horrific war crimes against minorities, especially its genocide against the Rohingya. Just yesterday the government arrested two Reuters reporters who uncovered mass graves of Rohingya…

Written By: Raees TinMaungNu It was late evening at the refugee camps of Kutupalong and I was about to begin my last interview of the day. The room was tiny and cramped but so was the entire dwelling; one of the thousands of crammed mud dwellings at the camps. The air was dense and smoggy even…

The Myanmar government has repeatedly demonstrated its unwillingness to restore citizenship to over a million Rohingya Muslims. Without citizenship, basic rights to security, property, and livelihood are effectively non-existent. Rohingya refugees will not simply return to a situation in which their very lives are in jeopardy because of ethnic and religious hate that is directed at them.…

AsSalamu Alaykum, You will be pleased to know that the barrister retained by Burma Task Force has now filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on behalf of the Rohingya victims of Burmese genocide. Read the filings • Other ICC case documents This would not have been possible without your support. When we talk to Rohingya refugees…

House Resolution 1091 Declares Horrific Treatment of Rohingya a Genocide and Calls on State Department to Issue Legal Determination WASHINGTON, DC— Today, the Burma Task Force applauds U.S. House of Representatives for voting in favor of H.R. 1091, a bipartisan measure that declares the Burmese military’s atrocities against the Rohingya Muslim minority genocide. The House…

The Saffron-robed man Wirathu, whom Time magazine dubbed “The Face of Buddhist Terror” (in Burma), explained his view about the world’s Muslims in general and Muslims of Burma in particular at the congregation held at Moe Gaung Monastery, Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), on 6 July 2014. Wirathu’s worldview: In his own words from 00:00 till 02:45…

Here is a Buddhist monk who acts like one:  Out of compassion and courage U Wi Thode Da from Ra Da Na Oo Monastery in Meikhtila saved 800 Burmese Muslims who took refuge in his monastery when their community in Meikhtila was violently attacked and massacred by state-backed mercenaries in March 2013. 95% of the comments on the…

Press Release – September 20 Beginning on September 18, 2017 the Permanent People’s Tribunal on Burma has been meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to listen to testimonies regarding the Myanmar government’s responsibility for crimes against humanity against both Rohingya and Kachin minorities. The third day of the People’s  Tribunal on Myanmar’s ‘Crimes Against Humanity’ featured…

The Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce has consistently spoken out against Burma’s persecution of the Rohingya. A Press Release from his office on August 21st, reiterated the importance and priority of human rights as a precondition for improving US-Burmese relations, as well as highlighting Burma’s history of repression. Washington, D.C. –…