Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono conveyed serious concern over Myanmar&#39;s Rohingya Muslims to the country&#39;s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in a meeting on Friday in the capital Naypyidaw, Japan&#39;s Kyodo news agency reported.

Separately, the Japanese government announced emergency grant aid of 330 million yen ($2.97 million) to Myanmar to help members of the minority who return to Myanmar from Bangladesh.

Myanmar&#39;s army launched a sweeping offensive in the north of the western state of Rakhine in response to Rohingya militant attacks on Aug. 25, triggering an exodus of more than 650,000 Rohingya villagers to Bangladesh.

Separately, the Japanese government announced emergency grant aid of 330 million yen ($2.97 million) to Myanmar to help members of the minority.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono conveyed serious concern over Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims to the country's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in a meeting on Friday in the capital Naypyidaw, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported. Separately, the Japanese government announced emergency grant aid of 330 million yen ($2.97 million) to Myanmar to help members of the minority who return to Myanmar from Bangladesh. Myanmar's army launched a sweeping offensive in the north of the western state of Rakhine in response to Rohingya militant attacks on Aug. 25, triggering an exodus of more than 650,000 Rohingya villagers to Bangladesh.

Japan conveys concern over Rohingya to Myanmar's Suu Kyi

The detention of two Reuters journalists in Myanmar was extended for two more weeks, a court said Wednesday, in the pair`s first public appearance since their December 12 arrest under a draconian colonial-era secrecy law.

Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27 - Myanmar nationals who had been reporting on a military-led crackdown on Rohingya Muslims - were arrested after being invited to meet police for dinner on the outskirts of Yangon.

They face up to 14 years in jail under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly possessing documents related to the army crackdown in Rakhine state - a highly sensitive issue in Myanmar.

The UN says the army is likely guilty of ethnic cleansing and may have committed genocide against the Muslim minority, some 655,000 of whom have fled the country since the military launched a crackdown on Rohingya rebels in late August.

Myanmar denies the allegations and has tightly controlled media and UN access to the conflict area.

Myanmar officials have refused to comment on where the Reuters journalists were being detained or when they would be released.

On Wednesday, the pair appeared in public for the first time in a court on the outskirts of Yangon, where they were embraced by tearful relatives who have been denied any contact with the two men.

&quot;They have not mistreated me,&quot; Wa Lone told AFP inside the courthouse.

The other reporter, Kyaw Soe Oo, urged other journalists to be cautious in brief comments to AFP.

&quot;Please tell journalist friends to be careful. It&#39;s really scary. We didn&#39;t do anything wrong,&quot; he said.

Judge Ohn Myint extended their remand period until January 10, telling the court &quot;the interrogation is still ongoing.&quot;

The arrests have been widely condemned as the latest sign of eroding press freedoms in Myanmar, which is still shedding a 50-year legacy of brutal junta rule.

The emerging democracy is now led by former democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, who was swept into office in the 2015 elections.

But her civilian administration must share power with an army that retains firm control of security policy and other key levers of government.

At least 11 journalists have been arrested in Myanmar in 2017.

They face up to 14 years in jail under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly possessing documents related to the army crackdown in Rakhine state - a highly sensitive issue in Myanmar.

The detention of two Reuters journalists in Myanmar was extended for two more weeks, a court said Wednesday, in the pair`s first public appearance since their December 12 arrest under a draconian colonial-era secrecy law. Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27 - Myanmar nationals who had been reporting on a military-led crackdown on Rohingya Muslims - were arrested after being invited to meet police for dinner on the outskirts of Yangon. They face up to 14 years in jail under the Official Secrets Act for allegedly possessing documents related to the army crackdown in Rakhine state - a highly sensitive issue in Myanmar. The UN says the army is likely guilty of ethnic cleansing and may have committed genocide against the Muslim minority, some 655,000 of whom have fled the country since the military launched a crackdown on Rohingya rebels in late August. Myanmar denies the allegations and has tightly controlled media and UN access to the conflict area. Myanmar officials have refused to comment on where the Reuters journalists were being detained or when they would be released. On Wednesday, the pair appeared in public for the first time in a court on the outskirts of Yangon, where they were embraced by tearful relatives who have been denied any contact with the two men. "They have not mistreated me," Wa Lone told AFP inside the courthouse. The other reporter, Kyaw Soe Oo, urged other journalists to be cautious in brief comments to AFP. "Please tell journalist friends to be careful. It's really scary. We didn't do anything wrong," he said. Judge Ohn Myint extended their remand period until January 10, telling the court "the interrogation is still ongoing." The arrests have been widely condemned as the latest sign of eroding press freedoms in Myanmar, which is still shedding a 50-year legacy of brutal junta rule. The emerging democracy is now led by former democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi, who was swept into office in the 2015 elections. But her civilian administration must share power with an army that retains firm control of security policy and other key levers of government. At least 11 journalists have been arrested in Myanmar in 2017.

Myanmar court remands detained journalists for two more weeks

Myanmar&#39;s security forces have committed mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya Muslims and burned their villages since October in a campaign that probably amounts to crimes against humanity and possibly &quot;ethnic cleansing&quot;, the UN human rights office said on Friday.\

&ldquo;The devastating cruelty to which these Rohingya children have been subjected is unbearable,&quot; UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra&#39;ad al Hussein said in a statement.

Witnesses testified to &quot;the killing of babies, toddlers, children, women and elderly; opening fire at people fleeing; burning of entire villages; massive detention; massive and systematic rape and sexual violence; deliberate destruction of food and sources of food&quot;, the report said.

A top UN human rights official told Reuters that Myanmar&#39;s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has promised to investigate the allegations.

&quot;I did speak to Aung San Suu Kyi about an hour and a half ago. I called upon her to use every means available to exert pressure on the military and the security services to end this operation,&quot; Zeid Ra&#39;ad al-Hussein, whose office issued the report said. &quot;She informed me that an investigation will be launched. She said that they would require further information.&quot;

One woman told UN investigators how her eight-month baby boy had had his throat slit. Another was raped by soldiers and saw her five-year-old daughter killed as she tried to stop them.

Around 66,000 people have fled from the Muslim-majority northern part of Rakhine State to Bangladesh since Myanmar&#39;s military launched a security operation in response to attacks on police border posts on October 9, the UN report said. The UN humanitarian office has recently put the figure at 69,000.

&quot;The &#39;area clearance operations&#39; have likely resulted in hundreds of deaths,&quot; some of them through helicopters shooting at villages and dropping grenades on them, the report said.

Four UN investigators gathered testimony last month from 220 Rohingya victims and witnesses who fled the &quot;lockdown area&quot; in Maungdaw in Rakhine for the Cox&#39;s Bazar district in Bangladesh.

Nearly half reported a family member had been killed or disappeared while 101 women reported having been raped or subjected to sexual violence, it said.

Testimonies pointed to &quot;a persecution on ethnic grounds which is similar to what has been, in other contexts, described as &#39;ethnic cleansing&#39;,&quot; UN mission leader Linnea Arvidsson told a news briefing.

Referral to Security Council?

&quot;The findings and gravity of the situation are really so stark that something needs to be done -- for accountability, but primarily for the violence to stop.&quot;

She said the UN Human Rights Council could refer the issue to the UN Security Council, which in turn had the power to pass it to the International Criminal Court.

The investigators took evidence including photographs of bullet and knife wounds, burns, and injuries resulting from beatings with rifle butts or bamboo sticks.

The plight of the stateless Rohingya, of whom some 1.1 million live in apartheid-like conditions in Rakhine, has long been a source of friction between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Myanmar, a mostly Buddhist country where Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is de facto leader, has denied almost all allegations of human rights abuses in northern Rakhine and says a lawful counter-insurgency campaign is under way.

In Yangon, the spokesman for President Htin Kyaw&rsquo;s office said the government had not yet seen the report.

&quot;We will review the report from the UN and we will respond, either in an official statement or in an individual response (to questions),&quot; Zaw Htay said.

While denying observers and independent journalists access to the conflict area, officials have accused Rohingya residents and refugees of fabricating stories of killings, beatings, mass rape and arson in collaboration with insurgents who they say are Rohingya terrorists with links to Islamists overseas.

Zeid called for a robust reaction from the international community and said Myanmar must accept responsibility for committing grave human rights violations against its own people.

The report said the attacks on the Rohingya &quot;seem to have been widespread as well as systematic, indicating the very likely commission of crimes against humanity&quot;.

(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

The 'area clearance operations' in October have likely resulted in hundreds of deaths and may amount to ethnic cleansing, the UN report said

Myanmar's security forces have committed mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya Muslims and burned their villages since October in a campaign that probably amounts to crimes against humanity and possibly "ethnic cleansing", the UN human rights office said on Friday.\ “The devastating cruelty to which these Rohingya children have been subjected is unbearable," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein said in a statement. Witnesses testified to "the killing of babies, toddlers, children, women and elderly; opening fire at people fleeing; burning of entire villages; massive detention; massive and systematic rape and sexual violence; deliberate destruction of food and sources of food", the report said. A top UN human rights official told Reuters that Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has promised to investigate the allegations. "I did speak to Aung San Suu Kyi about an hour and a half ago. I called upon her to use every means available to exert pressure on the military and the security services to end this operation," Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, whose office issued the report said. "She informed me that an investigation will be launched. She said that they would require further information." One woman told UN investigators how her eight-month baby boy had had his throat slit. Another was raped by soldiers and saw her five-year-old daughter killed as she tried to stop them. Around 66,000 people have fled from the Muslim-majority northern part of Rakhine State to Bangladesh since Myanmar's military launched a security operation in response to attacks on police border posts on October 9, the UN report said. The UN humanitarian office has recently put the figure at 69,000. "The 'area clearance operations' have likely resulted in hundreds of deaths," some of them through helicopters shooting at villages and dropping grenades on them, the report said. Four UN investigators gathered testimony last month from 220 Rohingya victims and witnesses who fled the "lockdown area" in Maungdaw in Rakhine for the Cox's Bazar district in Bangladesh. Nearly half reported a family member had been killed or disappeared while 101 women reported having been raped or subjected to sexual violence, it said. Testimonies pointed to "a persecution on ethnic grounds which is similar to what has been, in other contexts, described as 'ethnic cleansing'," UN mission leader Linnea Arvidsson told a news briefing. Referral to Security Council? "The findings and gravity of the situation are really so stark that something needs to be done -- for accountability, but primarily for the violence to stop." She said the UN Human Rights Council could refer the issue to the UN Security Council, which in turn had the power to pass it to the International Criminal Court. The investigators took evidence including photographs of bullet and knife wounds, burns, and injuries resulting from beatings with rifle butts or bamboo sticks. The plight of the stateless Rohingya, of whom some 1.1 million live in apartheid-like conditions in Rakhine, has long been a source of friction between Myanmar and Bangladesh. Myanmar, a mostly Buddhist country where Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi is de facto leader, has denied almost all allegations of human rights abuses in northern Rakhine and says a lawful counter-insurgency campaign is under way. In Yangon, the spokesman for President Htin Kyaw’s office said the government had not yet seen the report. "We will review the report from the UN and we will respond, either in an official statement or in an individual response (to questions)," Zaw Htay said. While denying observers and independent journalists access to the conflict area, officials have accused Rohingya residents and refugees of fabricating stories of killings, beatings, mass rape and arson in collaboration with insurgents who they say are Rohingya terrorists with links to Islamists overseas. Zeid called for a robust reaction from the international community and said Myanmar must accept responsibility for committing grave human rights violations against its own people. The report said the attacks on the Rohingya "seem to have been widespread as well as systematic, indicating the very likely commission of crimes against humanity". (Reuters)

Myanmar army committed mass killings, gang-rapes in Rohingya 'ethnic cleansing': UN

Myanmar is carrying out &quot;ethnic cleansing&quot; of Rohingya Muslims, a UN official has reportedly said, as horrifying stories of gang rape, torture and murder emerge from among the thousands who have fled to Bangladesh.&nbsp;

Up to 30,000 of the impoverished ethnic group have abandoned their homes in Myanmar to escape the unfolding violence, the UN says, after troops poured into the narrow strip where they live earlier this month.

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John McKissick, head of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) in the Bangladeshi border town of Cox&#39;s Bazar, told the BBC that troops were &quot;killing men, shooting them, slaughtering children, raping women, burning and looting houses, forcing these people to cross the river&quot; into Bangladesh.

Dhaka has resisted urgent international appeals to open its border to avert a humanitarian crisis, instead telling Myanmar it must do more to prevent the stateless Rohingya minority from entering.

&quot;It&#39;s very difficult for the Bangladeshi government to say the border is open because this would further encourage the government of Myanmar to continue the atrocities and push them out until they have achieved their ultimate goal of ethnic cleansing of the Muslim minority in Myanmar,&quot; McKissick said.

A spokesman for Myanmar President Htin Kyaw slammed the comments. &nbsp;

&#39;&#39;I would like to question the professionalism and ethics which should be followed and respected by UN staff. He should speak based on concrete and true facts, he shouldn&#39;t make accusations,&quot; Zaw Htay told AFP.

It&#39;s not the first time such claims have been made against Myanmar.&nbsp;

In April 2013 Human Rights Watch said it was conducting a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya - an accusation rejected by then president Thein Sein as a &quot;smear campaign&quot;.

&#39;They shot my wife&#39;

But the scale of human suffering was becoming clear on Thursday, as desperate people like Mohammad Ayaz told how troops attacked his village and killed his pregnant wife.

Cradling his two-year-old son, he said troops killed at least 300 men in the village market and gang-raped dozens of women before setting fire to around 300 houses, Muslim-owned shops and the mosque where he served as imam.

&quot;They shot dead my wife, Jannatun Naim. She was 25 and seven months pregnant. I took refuge at a canal with my two-year-old son, who was hit by a rifle butt,&quot; Ayaz told AFP.&nbsp;

Ayaz sold his watch and shoes to pay for the journey and has taken shelter at a camp for unregistered Rohingya refugees.

Many of those seeking shelter say they walked for days and used rickety boats to cross into Bangladesh, where hundreds of thousands of registered Rohingya refugees have been living for decades.

The Rohingya are loathed by many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar who see them as illegal immigrants and call them &quot;Bengali&quot;, even though many have lived there for generations.

Most live in impoverished western Rakhine state, but are denied citizenship and smothered by restrictions on movement and work.

As the crisis deepened, Bangladesh said Wednesday it had summoned Myanmar&#39;s ambassador to express &quot;deep concern&quot;.

&quot;Despite our border guards&#39; sincere effort to prevent the influx, thousands of distressed Myanmar citizens including women, children and elderly people continue to cross (the) border into Bangladesh,&quot; it said. &nbsp;

&quot;Thousands more have been reported to be gathering at the border crossing.&quot;

Torture and rape

Since the latest violence flared up, Bangladesh border guards have intensified patrols and coast guards have deployed extra ships. Officials say they have stopped around a thousand Rohingya at the border since Monday.

Farmer Deen Mohammad was among the thousands who evaded the patrols, sneaking into the Bangladeshi border town of Teknaf four days ago with his wife, two of their children and three other families.

&quot;They (Myanmar&#39;s military) took my two boys, aged nine and 12 when they entered my village. I don&#39;t know what happened to them,&quot; Mohammad, 50, told AFP.

&quot;They took women in rooms and then locked them from inside. Up to 50 women and girls of our village were tortured and raped.&quot;

Mohammad said houses in his village were burned, echoing similar testimony from other recent arrivals.

Human Rights Watch said this week it had identified more than 1,000 houses in Rohingya villages that had been razed in northwestern Myanmar using satellite images.

Myanmar&#39;s military has denied burning villages and even blamed the Rohingya themselves.

Rohingya community leaders said hundreds of families had taken shelter in camps in the border towns of Teknaf and Ukhia, many hiding for fear they would be sent back to Myanmar.

Police on Wednesday detained 70 Rohingya, including women and children, who they say will be sent back across the border.

&quot;They handcuffed even young girls and children and then took them away with a view to pushing them back to Myanmar,&quot; said one community leader who asked not to be named, adding they faced &quot;certain death&quot; if made to return.

(AFP) 
&nbsp;

Horrifying stories of gang rape, torture and murder have emerged from among the thousands who have fled to Bangladesh

Myanmar is carrying out "ethnic cleansing" of Rohingya Muslims, a UN official has reportedly said, as horrifying stories of gang rape, torture and murder emerge from among the thousands who have fled to Bangladesh. Up to 30,000 of the impoverished ethnic group have abandoned their homes in Myanmar to escape the unfolding violence, the UN says, after troops poured into the narrow strip where they live earlier this month. Dhaka has resisted urgent international appeals to open its border to avert a humanitarian crisis, instead telling Myanmar it must do more to prevent the stateless Rohingya minority from entering × John McKissick, head of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) in the Bangladeshi border town of Cox's Bazar, told the BBC that troops were "killing men, shooting them, slaughtering children, raping women, burning and looting houses, forcing these people to cross the river" into Bangladesh. Dhaka has resisted urgent international appeals to open its border to avert a humanitarian crisis, instead telling Myanmar it must do more to prevent the stateless Rohingya minority from entering. "It's very difficult for the Bangladeshi government to say the border is open because this would further encourage the government of Myanmar to continue the atrocities and push them out until they have achieved their ultimate goal of ethnic cleansing of the Muslim minority in Myanmar," McKissick said. A spokesman for Myanmar President Htin Kyaw slammed the comments. ''I would like to question the professionalism and ethics which should be followed and respected by UN staff. He should speak based on concrete and true facts, he shouldn't make accusations," Zaw Htay told AFP. It's not the first time such claims have been made against Myanmar. In April 2013 Human Rights Watch said it was conducting a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya - an accusation rejected by then president Thein Sein as a "smear campaign". 'They shot my wife' But the scale of human suffering was becoming clear on Thursday, as desperate people like Mohammad Ayaz told how troops attacked his village and killed his pregnant wife. Cradling his two-year-old son, he said troops killed at least 300 men in the village market and gang-raped dozens of women before setting fire to around 300 houses, Muslim-owned shops and the mosque where he served as imam. "They shot dead my wife, Jannatun Naim. She was 25 and seven months pregnant. I took refuge at a canal with my two-year-old son, who was hit by a rifle butt," Ayaz told AFP. Ayaz sold his watch and shoes to pay for the journey and has taken shelter at a camp for unregistered Rohingya refugees. Many of those seeking shelter say they walked for days and used rickety boats to cross into Bangladesh, where hundreds of thousands of registered Rohingya refugees have been living for decades. The Rohingya are loathed by many in Buddhist-majority Myanmar who see them as illegal immigrants and call them "Bengali", even though many have lived there for generations. Most live in impoverished western Rakhine state, but are denied citizenship and smothered by restrictions on movement and work. As the crisis deepened, Bangladesh said Wednesday it had summoned Myanmar's ambassador to express "deep concern". "Despite our border guards' sincere effort to prevent the influx, thousands of distressed Myanmar citizens including women, children and elderly people continue to cross (the) border into Bangladesh," it said. "Thousands more have been reported to be gathering at the border crossing." Torture and rape Since the latest violence flared up, Bangladesh border guards have intensified patrols and coast guards have deployed extra ships. Officials say they have stopped around a thousand Rohingya at the border since Monday. Farmer Deen Mohammad was among the thousands who evaded the patrols, sneaking into the Bangladeshi border town of Teknaf four days ago with his wife, two of their children and three other families. "They (Myanmar's military) took my two boys, aged nine and 12 when they entered my village. I don't know what happened to them," Mohammad, 50, told AFP. "They took women in rooms and then locked them from inside. Up to 50 women and girls of our village were tortured and raped." Mohammad said houses in his village were burned, echoing similar testimony from other recent arrivals. Human Rights Watch said this week it had identified more than 1,000 houses in Rohingya villages that had been razed in northwestern Myanmar using satellite images. Myanmar's military has denied burning villages and even blamed the Rohingya themselves. Rohingya community leaders said hundreds of families had taken shelter in camps in the border towns of Teknaf and Ukhia, many hiding for fear they would be sent back to Myanmar. Police on Wednesday detained 70 Rohingya, including women and children, who they say will be sent back across the border. "They handcuffed even young girls and children and then took them away with a view to pushing them back to Myanmar," said one community leader who asked not to be named, adding they faced "certain death" if made to return. (AFP)

Myanmar pursuing 'ethnic cleansing' of Rohingya: UN official

Myanmar&#39;s security forces have killed almost 70 people since taking control of the northern Rakhine state last month, the army said, adding that media reports of widespread destruction in the area were &quot;false news&quot;.

 
Troops have poured into a strip of land along the border with Bangladesh, an area largely home to the Muslim Rohingya minority, since deadly raids on police border posts on October 9.

 
Clashes escalated over the weekend when troops killed more than 30 people in two days of fighting that saw the military use helicopter gunships for the first time.

 
A hunt for the attackers has seen a total of &quot;69 Bengalis (Rohingya) killed and 234 arrested&quot; between October 9 and November 14, according to a Facebook post by the army chief&#39;s office late Monday.

 
&quot;Seven soldiers, including one commanding officer... and 10 police sacrificed their lives&quot;, it added.

 
Myanmar&#39;s army has tightly-controlled information about their operations in the region and denies reports from activists that troops are killing civilians, raping women and torching homes.

 
Heavy restrictions on access to the area has made it difficult for foreign journalists and independent observers to verify the government reports or allegations of army abuse.

 
The army chief&#39;s office also hit out at figures from Human Rights Watch, which released satellite images they said showed more than 400 razed buildings in three Rohingya villages where clashes have taken place.

 
The army statement said only 227 buildings had been burnt down and accused Rohingya &quot;terrorist arsonists&quot; of setting fire to houses in a bid to discredit the military.

 
The statement, titled &quot;Countering false news released by some news agencies in connection with area combing in Maungtaw area, Rakhine state,&quot; said army &quot;officials are carrying out further scrutiny&quot; of media reports.

 
The swell of violence in Rakhine has posed the biggest challenge so far to Aung San Suu Kyi&#39;s government and raised questions over her civilian administration&#39;s ability to control the army.

 
Rakhine has sizzled with religious tension since violence between the majority Buddhist population and the Muslim Rohingya left more than 100 dead and pushed more than 100,000 into squalid displacement camps in 2012.

 
Suu Kyi has faced global censure from rights groups for failing to come out in strong defence of a minority that the UN has labelled as one of the world&#39;s most persecuted peoples.

&nbsp;

(AFP)

Clashes in the region have escalated over the weekend to the extent of the military using helicopter gunships for the first time

Myanmar's security forces have killed almost 70 people since taking control of the northern Rakhine state last month, the army said, adding that media reports of widespread destruction in the area were "false news". Troops have poured into a strip of land along the border with Bangladesh, an area largely home to the Muslim Rohingya minority, since deadly raids on police border posts on October 9. Clashes escalated over the weekend when troops killed more than 30 people in two days of fighting that saw the military use helicopter gunships for the first time. A hunt for the attackers has seen a total of "69 Bengalis (Rohingya) killed and 234 arrested" between October 9 and November 14, according to a Facebook post by the army chief's office late Monday. "Seven soldiers, including one commanding officer... and 10 police sacrificed their lives", it added. Myanmar's army has tightly-controlled information about their operations in the region and denies reports from activists that troops are killing civilians, raping women and torching homes. Heavy restrictions on access to the area has made it difficult for foreign journalists and independent observers to verify the government reports or allegations of army abuse. The army chief's office also hit out at figures from Human Rights Watch, which released satellite images they said showed more than 400 razed buildings in three Rohingya villages where clashes have taken place. The army statement said only 227 buildings had been burnt down and accused Rohingya "terrorist arsonists" of setting fire to houses in a bid to discredit the military. The statement, titled "Countering false news released by some news agencies in connection with area combing in Maungtaw area, Rakhine state," said army "officials are carrying out further scrutiny" of media reports. The swell of violence in Rakhine has posed the biggest challenge so far to Aung San Suu Kyi's government and raised questions over her civilian administration's ability to control the army. Rakhine has sizzled with religious tension since violence between the majority Buddhist population and the Muslim Rohingya left more than 100 dead and pushed more than 100,000 into squalid displacement camps in 2012. Suu Kyi has faced global censure from rights groups for failing to come out in strong defence of a minority that the UN has labelled as one of the world's most persecuted peoples. (AFP)

70 killed in month of Rakhine violence: Myanmar army

A Myanmar actor was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for scribbling and spray-painting insults fraught with curses about the army on his car, calling them an &ldquo;army of dogs&quot;, a police officer said today.&nbsp; 
 
Thirty five years old Tun Lin Thein, who appears in Myanmar music videos, spray-painted a number of other expletives across his silver Nissan in March, according to officials. He&nbsp;was also charged with defaming the national flag and a Buddhist flag which he had put alongside the graffiti on his car. He was arrested shortly after and convicted of defamation by a Yangon court.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The court sentenced him for two years and nine months,&quot; police officer Thein Han told AFP. 
 
&quot;His behaviour was not only abusive to the Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) but also to our religion and national flag. That is why he had to receive this sentence,&quot; Thein Han said. 
 
Freedoms have flourished in Myanmar since the military junta stepped down in 2011, paving the way for November elections that swept democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi into power. 
 
But limits on expression remain, with criticism of the army especially taboo. 
 
Suu Kyi&rsquo;s first few months in power have seen several defamation prosecutions being carried out.&nbsp; 
 
Earlier, a six-month sentence was handed out to a man who wrote a poem about having a tattoo of the former ex-army president on his penis.&nbsp; 
 
A film about the&nbsp;conflict between the military and ethnic Shan groups in the mid-20th century was also pulled from a human rights film festival in June. 
 
(WION with inputs from AFP) 
 
&nbsp;

Tun Lin Thein was also charged with defaming the national flag and a Buddhist flag which he had put alongside the graffiti

A Myanmar actor was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for scribbling and spray-painting insults fraught with curses about the army on his car, calling them an “army of dogs", a police officer said today. Thirty five years old Tun Lin Thein, who appears in Myanmar music videos, spray-painted a number of other expletives across his silver Nissan in March, according to officials. He was also charged with defaming the national flag and a Buddhist flag which he had put alongside the graffiti on his car. He was arrested shortly after and convicted of defamation by a Yangon court. "The court sentenced him for two years and nine months," police officer Thein Han told AFP. "His behaviour was not only abusive to the Tatmadaw (Myanmar army) but also to our religion and national flag. That is why he had to receive this sentence," Thein Han said. Freedoms have flourished in Myanmar since the military junta stepped down in 2011, paving the way for November elections that swept democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi into power. But limits on expression remain, with criticism of the army especially taboo. Suu Kyi’s first few months in power have seen several defamation prosecutions being carried out. Earlier, a six-month sentence was handed out to a man who wrote a poem about having a tattoo of the former ex-army president on his penis. A film about the conflict between the military and ethnic Shan groups in the mid-20th century was also pulled from a human rights film festival in June. (WION with inputs from AFP)

Myanmar actor jailed for cursing army with graffiti

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