Facing Disaster: The Muslim Rohingya of Myanmar

Facing Disaster: The Muslim Rohingya of Myanmar

The plight of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority from Myanmar, mirrors the struggle of the Palestinians, the Sahrawi and other oppressed Muslim groups which have suffered from decades of relentless state-backed persecution Farouk’s restrained manner contrasted unsettlingly with the slow creep of tears along the fringes of his cheeks. A fine-featured, skeletal middle-aged man, (his…

Rohingya Insurgency Heralds Wider War in Myanmar

Rohingya Insurgency Heralds Wider War in Myanmar

Since Rohingya militant attacks on Myanmar border police last October and the a retaliatory security force crackdown, an uneasy lull has descended over northern Rakhine State. Major military-led “area clearance operations” have given way to occasional arrests of suspected militants. On February 9, an earlier 11 hour evening to early morning curfew was reduced to…

‘Hundreds of Rohingyas’ Killed in Myanmar Crackdown

‘Hundreds of Rohingyas’ Killed in Myanmar Crackdown

Myanmar’s security forces have committed mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya Muslims and burned down villages since October in a campaign that likely amounts to crimes against humanity and possibly ethnic cleansing, according to the United Nations. “The ‘area clearance operations’ have likely resulted in hundreds of deaths,” a report from the UN’s human…

Is the US Positioning Itself for Military Presence in Myanmar?

Is the US Positioning Itself for Military Presence in Myanmar?

The governments of the United States and United Kingdom have spent decades and millions of dollars creating the political opposition fronts that constitute support for Myanmar’s new (and first ever) State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. This support includes backing Suu Kyi’s saffron-clad street fronts who make up a nationwide network of “monk” alliances and associations….