Thousands of protesters marched to a police office in the north of Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, on Saturday (July 6), demanding speedy and transparent justice in a child-rape case that has sparked national outrage. Police said this week they had arrested a suspect in the rape of a toddler - nicknamed Victoria - at a private nursery school in the administrative capital, Naypyitaw, in May. Social media users have criticised the speed and professionalism of the police response after the girl's family filed a complaint more than a month ago, underscoring a lack of trust in authorities in a country still emerging from decades of military rule.

Thousands protest amid outcry over Myanmar child-rape case

Thousands of protesters marched to a police office in the north of Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, on Saturday, demanding speedy and transparent justice in a child-rape case that has sparked national outrage.

Police said this week they had arrested a suspect in the rape of a toddler - nicknamed Victoria - at a private nursery school in the administrative capital, Naypyitaw, in May.

Social media users have criticised the speed and professionalism of the police response after the girl's family filed a complaint more than a month ago, underscoring a lack of trust in authorities in a country still emerging from decades of military rule.

A government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi took power after sweeping elections in 2015, but key institutions such as the police remain under military control and efforts to strengthen the rule of law have floundered.

Organisers estimated as many as 6,000 protesters gathered on Saturday at the Yangon office of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) wearing white t-shirts, some printed with the words "Justice for Victoria". One banner read: "We don't want any more Victorias."

"We need an explanation that people can accept and justice for the kid," said 33-year-old protest organiser Aung Htike Min.

The protesters also called on the government to create a safe environment for Myanmar's children.

The police force's deputy director general, Aung Naing Thu, said on Friday in a news conference broadcast live on Facebook and watched by thousands of people that police had filed a case at court against a driver at the victim's nursery, who was in custody.

A thorough investigation was conducted, he said, but efforts to identify the perpetrator had been delayed because officers were waiting to speak to the victim, a 3-year-old girl who was recovering from medication she was given after the assault.

"We filed the lawsuit against the suspect based on the testimony of the child and technical records," said Aung Naing Thu, referring to security-camera footage that he said implicated the driver.

The nursery had also been closed because it lacked the correct license to operate, he said.

Demonstrators were sceptical about the account given by Myanmar police, a force that is widely perceived as corrupt or incompetent.

Ye Myint Win, 37, who joined Saturday's protest along with his wife and 2-year-old daughter, told Reuters authorities should take child rape cases more seriously.

"I found it very suspicious and I don't trust the investigation of CID," he said.

Thousands of protesters marched to a police office in the north of Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, on Saturday, demanding speedy and transparent justice in a child-rape case that has sparked national outrage.

Thousands of protesters marched to a police office in the north of Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, on Saturday, demanding speedy and transparent justice in a child-rape case that has sparked national outrage. Police said this week they had arrested a suspect in the rape of a toddler - nicknamed Victoria - at a private nursery school in the administrative capital, Naypyitaw, in May. Social media users have criticised the speed and professionalism of the police response after the girl's family filed a complaint more than a month ago, underscoring a lack of trust in authorities in a country still emerging from decades of military rule. A government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi took power after sweeping elections in 2015, but key institutions such as the police remain under military control and efforts to strengthen the rule of law have floundered. Organisers estimated as many as 6,000 protesters gathered on Saturday at the Yangon office of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) wearing white t-shirts, some printed with the words "Justice for Victoria". One banner read: "We don't want any more Victorias." "We need an explanation that people can accept and justice for the kid," said 33-year-old protest organiser Aung Htike Min. The protesters also called on the government to create a safe environment for Myanmar's children. The police force's deputy director general, Aung Naing Thu, said on Friday in a news conference broadcast live on Facebook and watched by thousands of people that police had filed a case at court against a driver at the victim's nursery, who was in custody. A thorough investigation was conducted, he said, but efforts to identify the perpetrator had been delayed because officers were waiting to speak to the victim, a 3-year-old girl who was recovering from medication she was given after the assault. "We filed the lawsuit against the suspect based on the testimony of the child and technical records," said Aung Naing Thu, referring to security-camera footage that he said implicated the driver. The nursery had also been closed because it lacked the correct license to operate, he said. Demonstrators were sceptical about the account given by Myanmar police, a force that is widely perceived as corrupt or incompetent. Ye Myint Win, 37, who joined Saturday's protest along with his wife and 2-year-old daughter, told Reuters authorities should take child rape cases more seriously. "I found it very suspicious and I don't trust the investigation of CID," he said.

A prominent <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/united-nations-investigator-reports-possible-fresh-war-crimes-in-myanmar-232671">Myanmar</a> journalist accused of defaming a hardline nationalist monk dubbed the "Buddhist Bin Laden" has had the case against him dropped, his lawyer said.

Myanmar Now editor Swe Win had been on trial for two years after posting an article on Facebook criticising the preacher abbot Wirathu.

The monk is notorious for spewing Islamophobic vitriol, in particular against the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-east-asia/southeast-asian-leaders-meet-expected-to-discuss-rohingyas-south-china-sea-229680">Rohingya minority</a>, and is now himself on-the-run from the law.

His supporters in 2017 pressed charges against the journalist under the country's telecommunications law, often used against reporters and activists.

But the court dismissed the case Tuesday, Swe Win's lawyer Ywut Nu Aung told AFP.

"All charges were completely dropped," she said, explaining that four prosecution witnesses had contravened court orders to turn up more than 20 times.

The article posted by Swe Win quoted an abbot calling for Wirathu to be expelled from monkhood for publicly praising the killers of a respected Muslim lawyer.

Ko Ni, a close confidant of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was shot dead in January 2017 while cradling his grandson.

Swe Win told AFP Wednesday he was relieved his ordeal was over but said the court should never have accepted the case.

"Criticising someone for praising a murder is not a crime," he said.&nbsp;

Describing the emotional and financial burden on him and his family, Swe Win said he made the 16-hour return trip from Yangon to the Mandalay court 71 times in two years.

Wirathu's supporters have vowed to continue the legal fight against the reporter.

The abbot himself is currently facing charges for sedition but remains at large.

He recently gave several provocative speeches at nationalist rallies, making obscene remarks about <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/myanmar-army-rejects-international-criminal-court-bid-for-full-rohingya-probe-230916">Suu Kyi</a> and urging people to worship soldiers like "Buddha".

Facebook blacklisted him last year for his incendiary posts against the Rohingya.

Rights groups say the posts helped whip up animosity, laying foundations for a military crackdown in 2017 that forced some 740,000 to flee to Bangladesh.

The dismissal of the case against Swe Win was likely because of the government's "new, highly negative view" of Wirathu rather than any commitment to freedom of expression, Phil Robertson from Human Rights Watch said.

Myanmar is currently ranked 138th in the world for press freedom with the number of defamation cases dramatically rising since Suu Kyi's government came to power in 2016.

A prominent Myanmar journalist accused of defaming a hardline nationalist monk dubbed the "Buddhist Bin Laden" has had the case against him dropped, his lawyer said.

A prominent Myanmar journalist accused of defaming a hardline nationalist monk dubbed the "Buddhist Bin Laden" has had the case against him dropped, his lawyer said. Myanmar Now editor Swe Win had been on trial for two years after posting an article on Facebook criticising the preacher abbot Wirathu. The monk is notorious for spewing Islamophobic vitriol, in particular against the Rohingya minority, and is now himself on-the-run from the law. His supporters in 2017 pressed charges against the journalist under the country's telecommunications law, often used against reporters and activists. But the court dismissed the case Tuesday, Swe Win's lawyer Ywut Nu Aung told AFP. "All charges were completely dropped," she said, explaining that four prosecution witnesses had contravened court orders to turn up more than 20 times. The article posted by Swe Win quoted an abbot calling for Wirathu to be expelled from monkhood for publicly praising the killers of a respected Muslim lawyer. Ko Ni, a close confidant of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was shot dead in January 2017 while cradling his grandson. Swe Win told AFP Wednesday he was relieved his ordeal was over but said the court should never have accepted the case. "Criticising someone for praising a murder is not a crime," he said. Describing the emotional and financial burden on him and his family, Swe Win said he made the 16-hour return trip from Yangon to the Mandalay court 71 times in two years. Wirathu's supporters have vowed to continue the legal fight against the reporter. The abbot himself is currently facing charges for sedition but remains at large. He recently gave several provocative speeches at nationalist rallies, making obscene remarks about Suu Kyi and urging people to worship soldiers like "Buddha". Facebook blacklisted him last year for his incendiary posts against the Rohingya. Rights groups say the posts helped whip up animosity, laying foundations for a military crackdown in 2017 that forced some 740,000 to flee to Bangladesh. The dismissal of the case against Swe Win was likely because of the government's "new, highly negative view" of Wirathu rather than any commitment to freedom of expression, Phil Robertson from Human Rights Watch said. Myanmar is currently ranked 138th in the world for press freedom with the number of defamation cases dramatically rising since Suu Kyi's government came to power in 2016.

Myanmar court drops case against journalist

After riding <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-warns-china-of-serious-consequences-if-hong-kong-rights-not-honoured-232315">China</a>'s demand train for nearly two decades, Asia's coal industry is looking to a future of smaller markets and slimmer pickings, as buying declines in the world's second-biggest economy and climate change concerns blunt demand.

By far the biggest user of coal-fired power, China is buying less thermal coal from global markets, said delegates to Asia's premier coal conference last month in Bali, both as renewables gain market share and as it digs up more of its own supply.

A backlash against coal is also growing in the West. Last week, investors managing nearly half the world's invested capital demanded ahead of a Group of 20 summits in Osaka that governments take urgent action on climate change.

Delegates to Coaltrans in Bali, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/indonesian-troops-flood-jakarta-streets-after-post-election-riots-220989">Indonesia</a>, however, said that while coal's glory days are done, reports of its imminent demise have been greatly exaggerated.

"Coal will continue to provide low-cost energy. We are looking at increasing demand in Southeast Asia, so we are still positive," said Hendri Tan, marketing director at PT Adaro Indonesia, a unit of PT Adaro Energy, Indonesia's second-biggest coal producer.

Indonesia is the world's biggest exporter of thermal coal, used primarily for power generation, shipping out 429 million tonnes last year and accounting for 43% of the 1 billion-tonne-a-year seaborne market, according to Australian government data.

Around 124 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power capacity is under development in Southeast and South Asia, both key markets for Indonesia, and that is expected to offset declining demand from China, said the chairman of Indonesia Coal Mining Association, Pandu Sjahrir.

Indonesia itself is expected to add some 50 million tonnes a year of coal-fired power demand by 2023, he said, a rise of 55% that would make it one of Asia's biggest consumers.

As China takes less, economies like India, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines are also expected to pick up the slack, delegates said.

Between 2014 and 2018, China's coal demand fell by 2.4%, while India's swelled by 16.7%, according to BP's Statistical Review of World Energy report this year. Over the same period, Vietnam's coal use grew by 65% and Indonesia's by 36%, helping to offset falls in the United States, Japan and Germany as well.

 
Beach parties end, belly dancers, stay home

Indonesia shot to prominence as a coal producer last decade as it dug out and shipped the fuel to meet power demand from China, eventually outstripping then leader Australia.

As China's manufacturing might grow, so too did its hunger for electricity, turning it into a net thermal coal importer around 2004. That was a bonanza for miners and helped establish Coaltrans in Bali as the industry's main event in Asia.

 
During the boom years, companies would battle to outdo each other at Coaltrans with lavish beach parties. One Uzbekistan company flew in belly dancers to entertain potential customers drinking free-flow vodka and eating caviar, delegates said.

"People were throwing money at everything," said SMG Consultants' Alistair MacDonald, who has attended Coaltrans since 2000. But times have changed, he said.

"The bankers aren't here. A lot of the services like insurers aren't here any more," he said. "It's a lot more domestic (Indonesian) players, and they want to be perceived as energy companies, not as coal companies."

Staring at prospects of tougher conditions ahead, Indonesia's large thermal coal miners are diversifying into other geographies and other industries, Sacha Winzenried, a partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, told Reuters.

"They are looking into renewables, other infrastructure, supply chain support such as water, utilities, shipping and logistics," Winzenried said.

Indonesia's Adaro Energy bought an Australian coal mine from Rio Tinto last year. And Indonesian state coal miner Bukit Asam is targeting commercial operation of four coal processing plants in South Sumatra that would extract gas from, as well as burn, coal.

Financing dries up

Delegates also noted the difficulty of getting financing for their businesses, working capital and further investments, and some were pessimistic on the coal industry's longevity.

One mining engineer in his fifties, who had spent most of his career in coal at a major miner and also had an MBA, saw his career options as limited.

"I've spent twenty years in coal. Where can I go next?" he said. "I would not recommend any young people join this industry."

Still, renewables are not expected to make the same inroads in emerging Asian economies as in developed nations, because Asian governments are working to provide cheap baseload power from coal, and renewables can't compete on scale or price, said an industry analyst, declining to be named due to his listed company's policy.

"Less coal will mean a less polluted world," he said. "But if you don't want (coal) to exist, then you have to come up with a realistic alternative."

After riding China's demand train for nearly two decades, Asia's coal industry is looking to a future of smaller markets and slimmer pickings, as buying declines in the world's second-biggest economy and climate change concerns blunt demand.

After riding China's demand train for nearly two decades, Asia's coal industry is looking to a future of smaller markets and slimmer pickings, as buying declines in the world's second-biggest economy and climate change concerns blunt demand. By far the biggest user of coal-fired power, China is buying less thermal coal from global markets, said delegates to Asia's premier coal conference last month in Bali, both as renewables gain market share and as it digs up more of its own supply. A backlash against coal is also growing in the West. Last week, investors managing nearly half the world's invested capital demanded ahead of a Group of 20 summits in Osaka that governments take urgent action on climate change. Delegates to Coaltrans in Bali, Indonesia, however, said that while coal's glory days are done, reports of its imminent demise have been greatly exaggerated. "Coal will continue to provide low-cost energy. We are looking at increasing demand in Southeast Asia, so we are still positive," said Hendri Tan, marketing director at PT Adaro Indonesia, a unit of PT Adaro Energy, Indonesia's second-biggest coal producer. Indonesia is the world's biggest exporter of thermal coal, used primarily for power generation, shipping out 429 million tonnes last year and accounting for 43% of the 1 billion-tonne-a-year seaborne market, according to Australian government data. Around 124 gigawatts (GW) of coal-fired power capacity is under development in Southeast and South Asia, both key markets for Indonesia, and that is expected to offset declining demand from China, said the chairman of Indonesia Coal Mining Association, Pandu Sjahrir. Indonesia itself is expected to add some 50 million tonnes a year of coal-fired power demand by 2023, he said, a rise of 55% that would make it one of Asia's biggest consumers. As China takes less, economies like India, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines are also expected to pick up the slack, delegates said. Between 2014 and 2018, China's coal demand fell by 2.4%, while India's swelled by 16.7%, according to BP's Statistical Review of World Energy report this year. Over the same period, Vietnam's coal use grew by 65% and Indonesia's by 36%, helping to offset falls in the United States, Japan and Germany as well. Beach parties end, belly dancers, stay home Indonesia shot to prominence as a coal producer last decade as it dug out and shipped the fuel to meet power demand from China, eventually outstripping then leader Australia. As China's manufacturing might grow, so too did its hunger for electricity, turning it into a net thermal coal importer around 2004. That was a bonanza for miners and helped establish Coaltrans in Bali as the industry's main event in Asia. During the boom years, companies would battle to outdo each other at Coaltrans with lavish beach parties. One Uzbekistan company flew in belly dancers to entertain potential customers drinking free-flow vodka and eating caviar, delegates said. "People were throwing money at everything," said SMG Consultants' Alistair MacDonald, who has attended Coaltrans since 2000. But times have changed, he said. "The bankers aren't here. A lot of the services like insurers aren't here any more," he said. "It's a lot more domestic (Indonesian) players, and they want to be perceived as energy companies, not as coal companies." Staring at prospects of tougher conditions ahead, Indonesia's large thermal coal miners are diversifying into other geographies and other industries, Sacha Winzenried, a partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, told Reuters. "They are looking into renewables, other infrastructure, supply chain support such as water, utilities, shipping and logistics," Winzenried said. Indonesia's Adaro Energy bought an Australian coal mine from Rio Tinto last year. And Indonesian state coal miner Bukit Asam is targeting commercial operation of four coal processing plants in South Sumatra that would extract gas from, as well as burn, coal. Financing dries up Delegates also noted the difficulty of getting financing for their businesses, working capital and further investments, and some were pessimistic on the coal industry's longevity. One mining engineer in his fifties, who had spent most of his career in coal at a major miner and also had an MBA, saw his career options as limited. "I've spent twenty years in coal. Where can I go next?" he said. "I would not recommend any young people join this industry." Still, renewables are not expected to make the same inroads in emerging Asian economies as in developed nations, because Asian governments are working to provide cheap baseload power from coal, and renewables can't compete on scale or price, said an industry analyst, declining to be named due to his listed company's policy. "Less coal will mean a less polluted world," he said. "But if you don't want (coal) to exist, then you have to come up with a realistic alternative."

Future tense: Fastest-growing market Asia rethinks coal's prospects

Myanmar security forces and insurgents are committing human rights violations against civilians in restive western states that may amount to fresh war crimes, a United Nations investigator said on Tuesday ( July 2).

A 2017 military crackdown drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh. UN investigators have said that Myanmar's operation included mass killings, gang rapes and widespread arson and was executed with "genocidal intent".

The Yangon government denies committing those atrocities and says its military campaign across northern Rakhine was in response to attacks by Rohingya militants.

Government troops are currently fighting ethnic rebels in conflict-torn Rakhine and Chin states. The Arakan Army is an insurgent group that is fighting for greater autonomy for the two states.

Yanghee Lee, the UN independent expert on human rights in Myanmar, said last week the army may be committing gross human rights violations under cover of a mobile phone blackout in Rakhine and Chan.

Lee cited reports of civilians, mostly ethnic Rakhine men, being detained and interrogated by the Tatmadaw (army) for suspected links to the Arakan Army and said several had died in custody. In April, a military helicopter opened fire on Rohingya men and boys collecting bamboo, she said.

Myanmar's Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun said that the government had declared a ceasefire through August and was trying to bring about national reconciliation.

Tun said ''freedom of expression and media'' were among some of the most visible changes in Myanmar.

Myanmar security forces and insurgents are committing human rights violations against civilians in restive western states that may amount to fresh war crimes, a United Nations investigator said on Tuesday ( July 2).

Myanmar security forces and insurgents are committing human rights violations against civilians in restive western states that may amount to fresh war crimes, a United Nations investigator said on Tuesday ( July 2). A 2017 military crackdown drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh. UN investigators have said that Myanmar's operation included mass killings, gang rapes and widespread arson and was executed with "genocidal intent". The Yangon government denies committing those atrocities and says its military campaign across northern Rakhine was in response to attacks by Rohingya militants. Government troops are currently fighting ethnic rebels in conflict-torn Rakhine and Chin states. The Arakan Army is an insurgent group that is fighting for greater autonomy for the two states. Yanghee Lee, the UN independent expert on human rights in Myanmar, said last week the army may be committing gross human rights violations under cover of a mobile phone blackout in Rakhine and Chan. Lee cited reports of civilians, mostly ethnic Rakhine men, being detained and interrogated by the Tatmadaw (army) for suspected links to the Arakan Army and said several had died in custody. In April, a military helicopter opened fire on Rohingya men and boys collecting bamboo, she said. Myanmar's Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun said that the government had declared a ceasefire through August and was trying to bring about national reconciliation. Tun said ''freedom of expression and media'' were among some of the most visible changes in Myanmar.

United Nations investigator reports possible fresh war crimes in Myanmar

The United States on Saturday called for an end to mobile internet shutdown in two strife-torn states in Myanmar, saying the restoration would help provide transparency to what the government says are law enforcement actions to avert unrest.

Myanmar's Ministry of Transport and Communications on June 21 took the unprecedented step of ordering mobile phone operators to shut down all internet data across at least eight townships in Rakhine state and one in neighbouring Chin state, Al Jazeera reported.

The move came as the military moved against insurgents fighting for more autonomy for the region's ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.

Morgan Ortagus, the spokeswoman for the US State Department, said in a statement that Washington was "deeply concerned" by the data shutdown that has curbed internet-based communications for as many as one million people and called for their restoration "without delay."

"Resumption of service would help facilitate transparency in and accountability for what the government claims are law enforcement actions aimed at preventing further outbreaks of violence in the affected areas," Ortagus added.

In 2017, an army crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state drove 740,000 people into Bangladesh amid allegations of mass atrocities by soldiers.

Since then thousands of Rohingyas have been forced to take shelter in Bangladesh's Cox Bazaar.

Most of them have also been displaced and dozens of civilians, including children, have been killed and injured by both indiscriminate and targeted attacks.

Others, mainly ethnic Rakhine men, have died while in the military's custody, according to the United Nations.

On Friday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said humanitarian groups had reported that the shutdown "is creating difficulties for them to carry out their work."

"WhatsApp is key for international nonprofits operating in Rakhine, and working without it creates additional difficulties," it said.

Myanmar has deployed thousands of troops to the western region, where civilians have been fleeing their homes to escape heavy artillery fire in the violence that has spilled over into Chin state.

Both sides stand accused of committing abuses and dozens of civilians have been killed in crossfire and shellings, even while taking refuge in monasteries.

The United States on Saturday called for an end to mobile internet shutdown in two strife-torn states in Myanmar, saying the restoration would help provide transparency to what the government says are law enforcement actions to avert unrest.

The United States on Saturday called for an end to mobile internet shutdown in two strife-torn states in Myanmar, saying the restoration would help provide transparency to what the government says are law enforcement actions to avert unrest. Myanmar's Ministry of Transport and Communications on June 21 took the unprecedented step of ordering mobile phone operators to shut down all internet data across at least eight townships in Rakhine state and one in neighbouring Chin state, Al Jazeera reported. The move came as the military moved against insurgents fighting for more autonomy for the region's ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. Morgan Ortagus, the spokeswoman for the US State Department, said in a statement that Washington was "deeply concerned" by the data shutdown that has curbed internet-based communications for as many as one million people and called for their restoration "without delay." "Resumption of service would help facilitate transparency in and accountability for what the government claims are law enforcement actions aimed at preventing further outbreaks of violence in the affected areas," Ortagus added. In 2017, an army crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state drove 740,000 people into Bangladesh amid allegations of mass atrocities by soldiers. Since then thousands of Rohingyas have been forced to take shelter in Bangladesh's Cox Bazaar. Most of them have also been displaced and dozens of civilians, including children, have been killed and injured by both indiscriminate and targeted attacks. Others, mainly ethnic Rakhine men, have died while in the military's custody, according to the United Nations. On Friday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said humanitarian groups had reported that the shutdown "is creating difficulties for them to carry out their work." "WhatsApp is key for international nonprofits operating in Rakhine, and working without it creates additional difficulties," it said. Myanmar has deployed thousands of troops to the western region, where civilians have been fleeing their homes to escape heavy artillery fire in the violence that has spilled over into Chin state. Both sides stand accused of committing abuses and dozens of civilians have been killed in crossfire and shellings, even while taking refuge in monasteries.

US calls to end internet blackout in Myanmar's two states

The International Criminal Court's prosecutor wants to open a full investigation into Myanmar's alleged crimes against Rohingya Muslims, including killings and forced deportations, the court said Wednesday.

Fatou Bensouda's move comes after she launched a preliminary examination in September into Myanmar's 2017 military crackdown, which saw around 700,000 people flee into neighbouring Bangladesh. The Ghanaian-born prosecutor will now "submit a request for an authorisation to open an investigation into this situation", the Hague-based ICC said in a statement.

Judges will then "decide whether or not to authorise" her request for a full-scale probe, the court said, without saying when that decision would be made.

In September, judges ruled that even though Myanmar has not signed up to the ICC, the court still has jurisdiction over crimes against the Rohingya because Bangladesh, where they are now refugees, is a member.&nbsp;

The probe would be "within the context of two waves of violence in Rakhine State on the territory of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar", and other crimes that were "sufficiently linked" Bensouda said in a letter to the court. Officials from the ICC have since visited Bangladesh as part of the prosecutor's preliminary enquiries.

UN investigators have separately called for the prosecution of top Myanmar generals for "genocide". Myanmar's army has denied nearly all wrongdoing, insisting its campaign was justified to root out Rohingya insurgents who staged deadly raids on border posts in August 2017.

It has also "resolutely" rejected the ICC's assertion that it has jurisdiction over the crime, saying that the decision was in "manifest bad faith" and was of "dubious legal merit".&nbsp;

The International Criminal Court's prosecutor wants to open a full investigation into Myanmar's alleged crimes against Rohingya Muslims, including killings and forced deportations, the court said Wednesday.

The International Criminal Court's prosecutor wants to open a full investigation into Myanmar's alleged crimes against Rohingya Muslims, including killings and forced deportations, the court said Wednesday. Fatou Bensouda's move comes after she launched a preliminary examination in September into Myanmar's 2017 military crackdown, which saw around 700,000 people flee into neighbouring Bangladesh. The Ghanaian-born prosecutor will now "submit a request for an authorisation to open an investigation into this situation", the Hague-based ICC said in a statement. Judges will then "decide whether or not to authorise" her request for a full-scale probe, the court said, without saying when that decision would be made. In September, judges ruled that even though Myanmar has not signed up to the ICC, the court still has jurisdiction over crimes against the Rohingya because Bangladesh, where they are now refugees, is a member. The probe would be "within the context of two waves of violence in Rakhine State on the territory of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar", and other crimes that were "sufficiently linked" Bensouda said in a letter to the court. Officials from the ICC have since visited Bangladesh as part of the prosecutor's preliminary enquiries. UN investigators have separately called for the prosecution of top Myanmar generals for "genocide". Myanmar's army has denied nearly all wrongdoing, insisting its campaign was justified to root out Rohingya insurgents who staged deadly raids on border posts in August 2017. It has also "resolutely" rejected the ICC's assertion that it has jurisdiction over the crime, saying that the decision was in "manifest bad faith" and was of "dubious legal merit".

International Criminal Court prosecutor seeks full Myanmar atrocities probe

An internet blackout in parts of <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-east-asia/former-blackwater-contractor-erik-prince-in-myanmar-security-venture-204928">Myanmar </a>could be cover for "gross human rights violations" in an area where a brutal army crackdown has already forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee, a UN rights investigator said.

The military is locked in battle with the Arakan Army (AA), insurgents fighting for more autonomy for the region's ethnic <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/amnesty-accuses-myanmar-military-of-fresh-war-crimes-in-rakhine-222432">Rakhine Buddhists</a>.

On Friday the government took the unprecedented step of ordering mobile phone operators to shut down all internet data across at least eight townships in Rakhine and one in neighbouring Chin states.

"I fear for all civilians there," said UN Special Rapporteur to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/un-urges-social-media-investors-to-promote-human-rights-in-myanmar-201453">Myanmar Yanghee Lee</a>, calling for the immediate lifting of restrictions.

The military's "clearance operations" can be a "cover for committing gross human rights violations against the civilian population," she said, referencing alleged mass atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims in 2017.&nbsp;

The decree was made under the Telecommunications Law, hitting all mobile operators for an unspecified period.

Telenor Group said the Ministry of Transport and Communications justified the measure, saying the internet was being used to "coordinate illegal activities".

Thousands of troops have been deployed to the western region, which has seen more than 35,000 people fleeing their homes to escape heavy artillery fire in the violence that has spilt over into Chin state.

Both sides stand accused of committing abuses and dozens of civilians have been killed in crossfire and shellings, even while taking refuge in monasteries.&nbsp;

The military confirmed it shot dead six Rakhine detainees in late April.

The violence has even spread to near the Rakhine state capital Sittwe with insurgents attacking a naval vessel during the weekend, killing two.

Few people own personal computers so the mobile internet blackout has effectively shut most people off from the outside world.

AFP spoke by phone Tuesday to local residents in three of the affected townships, all angry and afraid.

"We can't share the information which is really dangerous and frightening when you're living in a conflict area," said Myo Kyaw Aung, Sapa Htar village administrator in Minbya township, by phone.

Rakhine is also home to several hundred thousand remaining Rohingya, many confined to squalid camps.

Around 740,000 of the stateless group were driven into Bangladesh in a 2017 army crackdown.

An internet blackout in parts of Myanmar could be cover for "gross human rights violations" in an area where a brutal army crackdown has already forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee, a UN rights investigator said.

An internet blackout in parts of Myanmar could be cover for "gross human rights violations" in an area where a brutal army crackdown has already forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee, a UN rights investigator said. The military is locked in battle with the Arakan Army (AA), insurgents fighting for more autonomy for the region's ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. On Friday the government took the unprecedented step of ordering mobile phone operators to shut down all internet data across at least eight townships in Rakhine and one in neighbouring Chin states. "I fear for all civilians there," said UN Special Rapporteur to Myanmar Yanghee Lee, calling for the immediate lifting of restrictions. The military's "clearance operations" can be a "cover for committing gross human rights violations against the civilian population," she said, referencing alleged mass atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims in 2017. The decree was made under the Telecommunications Law, hitting all mobile operators for an unspecified period. Telenor Group said the Ministry of Transport and Communications justified the measure, saying the internet was being used to "coordinate illegal activities". Thousands of troops have been deployed to the western region, which has seen more than 35,000 people fleeing their homes to escape heavy artillery fire in the violence that has spilt over into Chin state. Both sides stand accused of committing abuses and dozens of civilians have been killed in crossfire and shellings, even while taking refuge in monasteries. The military confirmed it shot dead six Rakhine detainees in late April. The violence has even spread to near the Rakhine state capital Sittwe with insurgents attacking a naval vessel during the weekend, killing two. Few people own personal computers so the mobile internet blackout has effectively shut most people off from the outside world. AFP spoke by phone Tuesday to local residents in three of the affected townships, all angry and afraid. "We can't share the information which is really dangerous and frightening when you're living in a conflict area," said Myo Kyaw Aung, Sapa Htar village administrator in Minbya township, by phone. Rakhine is also home to several hundred thousand remaining Rohingya, many confined to squalid camps. Around 740,000 of the stateless group were driven into Bangladesh in a 2017 army crackdown.

United Nation fears Myanmar human rights abuses in internet shutdown

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/amnesty-accuses-myanmar-military-of-fresh-war-crimes-in-rakhine-222432">Myanmar authorities </a>ordered telecoms companies to shut down internet services in conflict-torn western <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/myanmars-president-praises-rakhine-state-for-auspicious-year-on-44th-anniversary-184243">Myanmar,</a> a leading operator said on Saturday, amid heightening tensions in the region, where government troops are fighting ethnic rebels.

Telenor Group said the Ministry of Transport and Communications directed all telecoms companies to "temporarily" suspend internet services in eight townships in Rakhine and neighbouring Chin states, citing "disturbances of peace and use of internet activities to coordinate illegal activities".

The shutdown went into effect late on Friday, the statement said.

"Telenor Myanmar has been asking for further clarification on the rationale for the shutdown and emphasized that freedom of expression through access to telecom services should be maintained for humanitarian purposes," the group said.

A spokesman for the transport and communications ministry declined to comment, referring questions to another spokesman who did not answer phone calls.

Rakhine state came to global attention after about 730,000 Rohingya Muslims crossed into Bangladesh fleeing a military crackdown in response to militant attacks in 2017.

UN investigators have called for senior military officers to be prosecuted over allegations of mass killings, gang rapes and arson. The military denies widespread wrongdoing.

More recently, civilians have been caught up in clashes between the military and the Arakan Army, an insurgent group that recruits from the mainly Buddhist ethnic Rakhine population and is fighting for greater autonomy for the state.

Since November, the fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people across a large part of central and northern Rakhine and part of neighbouring Chin, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Much of the region is off-limits to journalists and most humanitarian agencies.

Tun Ther Sein, a regional lawmaker from Mrauk-U township, in central Rakhine, told Reuters by phone the internet connection had been slow for two days before disappearing on Friday.

"People can inform us about what is happening on the ground and also send photos with the help of the internet," he said. "Now that has been shut down."

Myanmar authorities ordered telecoms companies to shut down internet services in conflict-torn western Myanmar, a leading operator said on Saturday, amid heightening tensions in the region, where government troops are fighting ethnic rebels.

Myanmar authorities ordered telecoms companies to shut down internet services in conflict-torn western Myanmar, a leading operator said on Saturday, amid heightening tensions in the region, where government troops are fighting ethnic rebels. Telenor Group said the Ministry of Transport and Communications directed all telecoms companies to "temporarily" suspend internet services in eight townships in Rakhine and neighbouring Chin states, citing "disturbances of peace and use of internet activities to coordinate illegal activities". The shutdown went into effect late on Friday, the statement said. "Telenor Myanmar has been asking for further clarification on the rationale for the shutdown and emphasized that freedom of expression through access to telecom services should be maintained for humanitarian purposes," the group said. A spokesman for the transport and communications ministry declined to comment, referring questions to another spokesman who did not answer phone calls. Rakhine state came to global attention after about 730,000 Rohingya Muslims crossed into Bangladesh fleeing a military crackdown in response to militant attacks in 2017. UN investigators have called for senior military officers to be prosecuted over allegations of mass killings, gang rapes and arson. The military denies widespread wrongdoing. More recently, civilians have been caught up in clashes between the military and the Arakan Army, an insurgent group that recruits from the mainly Buddhist ethnic Rakhine population and is fighting for greater autonomy for the state. Since November, the fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people across a large part of central and northern Rakhine and part of neighbouring Chin, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Much of the region is off-limits to journalists and most humanitarian agencies. Tun Ther Sein, a regional lawmaker from Mrauk-U township, in central Rakhine, told Reuters by phone the internet connection had been slow for two days before disappearing on Friday. "People can inform us about what is happening on the ground and also send photos with the help of the internet," he said. "Now that has been shut down."

Myanmar orders internet shutdown in conflict-torn Rakhine state: Report

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-east-asia/southeast-asia-should-ban-foreign-trash-imports-environmentalists-228309">Southeast Asian</a> leaders must use an upcoming summit to hold unvarnished talks on Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya, rights groups urged Wednesday after a report by the bloc was pilloried for whitewashing the persecution of the Muslim minority.

The report, commissioned by ASEAN and leaked to AFP earlier this month, gives a glowing assessment of Myanmar's repatriation efforts so far for Rohingya driven into neighbouring Bangladesh.

Myanmar's military launched a brutal crackdown on the Rohingya in August 2017, causing some 740,000 to flood into Bangladesh with widespread accounts of rape, mass killings and the razing of their villages.

A repatriation deal with Bangladesh has stalled, with virtually no Rohingya choosing to return to Myanmar due to security fears and the government's refusal to grant them citizenship or basic rights.

In spite of this, the report from ASEAN's "Emergency Response and Assessment Team" predicted voluntary returns would be complete in two years.

It also refused to use the word "Rohingya", an identity denied to them inside Myanmar where they are instead labelled "Bengalis", shorthand for illegal immigrants.

ASEAN leaders meeting in Bangkok this weekend must "drastically rethink" their response to the crisis, according to Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch.

"It's preposterous for ASEAN leaders to be discussing the repatriation of a traumatized population into the hands of the security forces who killed them." Malaysia has led condemnation of Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya in the past.

But the ASEAN bloc broadly sticks to diplomatic protocols by avoiding discussion of member states' internal affairs.

An Indonesian MP called for the regional bloc to "cease lending legitimacy to the repatriation process".

"ASEAN needs to stop turning a blind eye to Myanmar's atrocities against the Rohingya," said Eva Sundari, who also serves as a board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights.

They "won't be returning home voluntarily until the situation on the ground in Rakhine state dramatically alters".

UN investigators have called for Myanmar's top generals to be prosecuted for genocide for the 2017 crackdown. The enduring crisis has spread to the region.

Some of the 400,000 Rohingya remaining in Myanmar's Rakhine state have attempted to flee their camps to Muslim-majority ASEAN nations Malaysia and Indonesia.

In recent months authorities in Myanmar and Thailand have stopped boats illegally carrying Rohingya, raising fears of a re-emergence of a trafficking route for the desperate stateless group. 
&nbsp;

Southeast Asian leaders must use an upcoming summit to hold unvarnished talks on Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya, rights groups urged Wednesday after a report by the bloc was pilloried for whitewashing the persecution of the Muslim minority.

Southeast Asian leaders must use an upcoming summit to hold unvarnished talks on Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya, rights groups urged Wednesday after a report by the bloc was pilloried for whitewashing the persecution of the Muslim minority. The report, commissioned by ASEAN and leaked to AFP earlier this month, gives a glowing assessment of Myanmar's repatriation efforts so far for Rohingya driven into neighbouring Bangladesh. Myanmar's military launched a brutal crackdown on the Rohingya in August 2017, causing some 740,000 to flood into Bangladesh with widespread accounts of rape, mass killings and the razing of their villages. A repatriation deal with Bangladesh has stalled, with virtually no Rohingya choosing to return to Myanmar due to security fears and the government's refusal to grant them citizenship or basic rights. In spite of this, the report from ASEAN's "Emergency Response and Assessment Team" predicted voluntary returns would be complete in two years. It also refused to use the word "Rohingya", an identity denied to them inside Myanmar where they are instead labelled "Bengalis", shorthand for illegal immigrants. ASEAN leaders meeting in Bangkok this weekend must "drastically rethink" their response to the crisis, according to Brad Adams of Human Rights Watch. "It's preposterous for ASEAN leaders to be discussing the repatriation of a traumatized population into the hands of the security forces who killed them." Malaysia has led condemnation of Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya in the past. But the ASEAN bloc broadly sticks to diplomatic protocols by avoiding discussion of member states' internal affairs. An Indonesian MP called for the regional bloc to "cease lending legitimacy to the repatriation process". "ASEAN needs to stop turning a blind eye to Myanmar's atrocities against the Rohingya," said Eva Sundari, who also serves as a board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights. They "won't be returning home voluntarily until the situation on the ground in Rakhine state dramatically alters". UN investigators have called for Myanmar's top generals to be prosecuted for genocide for the 2017 crackdown. The enduring crisis has spread to the region. Some of the 400,000 Rohingya remaining in Myanmar's Rakhine state have attempted to flee their camps to Muslim-majority ASEAN nations Malaysia and Indonesia. In recent months authorities in Myanmar and Thailand have stopped boats illegally carrying Rohingya, raising fears of a re-emergence of a trafficking route for the desperate stateless group.

ASEAN leaders told to get serious on Rohingya issue

There was a "systemic failure" of the United Nations in dealing with the situation in Myanmar ahead of a deadly 2017 military crackdown because it did not have a unified strategy and lacked Security Council support, according to an internal report.

The crackdown drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh. UN investigators have said the operation was executed with "genocidal intent" and included mass killings, gang rapes and widespread arson.

Myanmar denies widespread wrongdoing and says the military campaign across hundreds of villages in northern Rakhine was in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents.

"Without question serious errors were committed and opportunities were lost in the UN system following a fragmented strategy rather than a common plan of action," wrote former Guatemalan foreign minister and UN ambassador Gert Rosenthal in a 34-page internal review, seen by Reuters prior to its publication on Monday.

"The overall responsibility was of a collective character; in other words, it truly can be characterized as a systemic failure of the United Nations," wrote Rosenthal, who was appointed by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier this year to look at UN involvement in Myanmar from 2010 to 2018.

He said senior UN officials in New York could not agree on whether to take a more robust public approach with Myanmar or pursue quiet diplomacy and that conflicting reports on the situation were also sent to UN headquarters from the field.

The United Nations struggled to balance supporting the Myanmar government with development and humanitarian assistance, while also calling out the authorities over accusations of human rights violations, Rosenthal concluded.

"The United Nations system ... has been relatively impotent to effectively work with the authorities of Myanmar to reverse the negative trends in the area of human rights and consolidate the positive trends in other areas," he said.

"The United Nations' collective membership, represented by the Security Council, bears part of that responsibility, by not providing enough support to the secretariat when such backing was and continues to be essential," Rosenthal wrote.

The 15-member Security Council, which visited Myanmar's Rakhine state last year, has been deadlocked with Myanmar allies China and Russia pitted against western states over how to deal with the situation.

Human Rights Watch said the report was dissappointing, given the scale of the Rohingya crisis, for not identifying specific UN officials responsible for the failures.

"The report now looks increasingly like a check-the-box exercise by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, designed to show commitment to accountability when in reality it accomplishes exactly the opposite," Phil Robertson, the group's deputy director for Asia, said in a statement.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Rosenthal's report was due to be sent to all 193 UN members states.

"Its conclusions and observations have been fully accepted by the Secretary-General, and he will work very closely with the senior leadership to make sure they're implemented," he said.

There was a "systemic failure" of the United Nations in dealing with the situation in Myanmar ahead of a deadly 2017 military crackdown because it did not have a unified strategy and lacked Security Council support, according to an internal report.

There was a "systemic failure" of the United Nations in dealing with the situation in Myanmar ahead of a deadly 2017 military crackdown because it did not have a unified strategy and lacked Security Council support, according to an internal report. The crackdown drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh. UN investigators have said the operation was executed with "genocidal intent" and included mass killings, gang rapes and widespread arson. Myanmar denies widespread wrongdoing and says the military campaign across hundreds of villages in northern Rakhine was in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents. "Without question serious errors were committed and opportunities were lost in the UN system following a fragmented strategy rather than a common plan of action," wrote former Guatemalan foreign minister and UN ambassador Gert Rosenthal in a 34-page internal review, seen by Reuters prior to its publication on Monday. "The overall responsibility was of a collective character; in other words, it truly can be characterized as a systemic failure of the United Nations," wrote Rosenthal, who was appointed by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier this year to look at UN involvement in Myanmar from 2010 to 2018. He said senior UN officials in New York could not agree on whether to take a more robust public approach with Myanmar or pursue quiet diplomacy and that conflicting reports on the situation were also sent to UN headquarters from the field. The United Nations struggled to balance supporting the Myanmar government with development and humanitarian assistance, while also calling out the authorities over accusations of human rights violations, Rosenthal concluded. "The United Nations system ... has been relatively impotent to effectively work with the authorities of Myanmar to reverse the negative trends in the area of human rights and consolidate the positive trends in other areas," he said. "The United Nations' collective membership, represented by the Security Council, bears part of that responsibility, by not providing enough support to the secretariat when such backing was and continues to be essential," Rosenthal wrote. The 15-member Security Council, which visited Myanmar's Rakhine state last year, has been deadlocked with Myanmar allies China and Russia pitted against western states over how to deal with the situation. Human Rights Watch said the report was dissappointing, given the scale of the Rohingya crisis, for not identifying specific UN officials responsible for the failures. "The report now looks increasingly like a check-the-box exercise by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, designed to show commitment to accountability when in reality it accomplishes exactly the opposite," Phil Robertson, the group's deputy director for Asia, said in a statement. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Rosenthal's report was due to be sent to all 193 UN members states. "Its conclusions and observations have been fully accepted by the Secretary-General, and he will work very closely with the senior leadership to make sure they're implemented," he said.

'Systemic failure' of UN ahead of Myanmar military crackdown: Review

Ultra-nationalist monks in Myanmar accepted a cash donation from the military on Monday while condemning Aung San Suu Kyi and her government for allowing Rohingya Muslims to enter the country "illegally".

Hundreds of monks swathed in saffron and maroon robes filed early morning into a Yangon monastery for the annual meeting of the Buddha Dhamma Parahita Foundation. The group was known as Ma Ba Tha until a ban by the government and religious authorities in 2017 aimed at curbing its influence.

Their hostility towards the Rohingya helped whip up public support for a brutal military crackdown nearly two years ago. Some 740,000 fled the country in violence branded as "genocide" by UN investigators.

Despite the ban -- offline and on Facebook -- the group has continued to operate under its new name.

Increasingly taking a radical stance against civilian leader Suu Kyi's government, the group has also sidled-up to the country's still-powerful military. Monks regularly appear at pro-army nationalist rallies and the military returned the favour at Monday's session.

Yangon Region Commander Major-General Thet Pon openly donated 30 million kyat&nbsp;in cash to the group.

In a written statement, the ultra-nationalist monks said they "harshly condemn" the scrapping of various laws, which they claimed had "allowed -- and continue to allow -- Bengalis to enter the country illegally".

The term "Bengali" is a common slur in Myanmar for the Rohingya, implying they are illegal interlopers from Bangladesh.

The hardliners even urged people in next year's election to vote against Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which is widely expected to return to power.

They also sniped at Suu Kyi herself for "stepping foot" in a pagoda reserved for men.

One notable absentee at the meeting was co-leader Wirathu, dubbed the "Buddhist Bin Laden" and also blacklisted by Facebook.

He is currently on the run after a court issued an arrest warrant for alleged sedition following several provocative speeches at nationalist rallies. 
The hardline monks condemned what they called the "unlawful" charges.&nbsp;

Ultra-nationalist monks in Myanmar accepted a cash donation from the military on Monday while condemning Aung San Suu Kyi and her government for allowing Rohingya Muslims to enter the country "illegally".

Ultra-nationalist monks in Myanmar accepted a cash donation from the military on Monday while condemning Aung San Suu Kyi and her government for allowing Rohingya Muslims to enter the country "illegally". Hundreds of monks swathed in saffron and maroon robes filed early morning into a Yangon monastery for the annual meeting of the Buddha Dhamma Parahita Foundation. The group was known as Ma Ba Tha until a ban by the government and religious authorities in 2017 aimed at curbing its influence. Their hostility towards the Rohingya helped whip up public support for a brutal military crackdown nearly two years ago. Some 740,000 fled the country in violence branded as "genocide" by UN investigators. Despite the ban -- offline and on Facebook -- the group has continued to operate under its new name. Increasingly taking a radical stance against civilian leader Suu Kyi's government, the group has also sidled-up to the country's still-powerful military. Monks regularly appear at pro-army nationalist rallies and the military returned the favour at Monday's session. Yangon Region Commander Major-General Thet Pon openly donated 30 million kyat in cash to the group. In a written statement, the ultra-nationalist monks said they "harshly condemn" the scrapping of various laws, which they claimed had "allowed -- and continue to allow -- Bengalis to enter the country illegally". The term "Bengali" is a common slur in Myanmar for the Rohingya, implying they are illegal interlopers from Bangladesh. The hardliners even urged people in next year's election to vote against Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which is widely expected to return to power. They also sniped at Suu Kyi herself for "stepping foot" in a pagoda reserved for men. One notable absentee at the meeting was co-leader Wirathu, dubbed the "Buddhist Bin Laden" and also blacklisted by Facebook. He is currently on the run after a court issued an arrest warrant for alleged sedition following several provocative speeches at nationalist rallies. The hardline monks condemned what they called the "unlawful" charges.

Myanmar's hardline monks rail against Rohingya, Aung San Suu Kyi

As Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi arrived at a Yangon court recently to face charges of defaming Myanmar's military in Facebook posts, the ailing filmmaker was greeted by a crowd of activists dressed in blue, the colour of prison uniforms.

The charges against Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi - as well as against satirical performers, journalists and a Buddhist monk - have drawn criticism of government leader <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/myanmars-hardline-monks-rail-against-rohingya-aung-san-suu-kyi-228157">Aung San Suu Kyi</a>, already facing international opprobrium over an army-led campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority that the United Nations said constituted crimes against humanity and possibly genocide.

Some activists say the Nobel laureate, who leads a civilian administration that took power in 2016 as part of a transition after decades of harsh military rule, could legislate or at least speak out against curbs on dissent.

But others say she is hamstrung by a 2008 constitution that enshrines the military’s power and which her party is trying to amend.

Her defenders include Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi.

"No criticism should be made against Daw <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/amnesty-international-strips-myanmars-suu-kyi-of-conscience-award-176943">Aung San Suu Kyi </a>for not getting involved in this,” the filmmaker, whose health, supporters say, is seriously deteriorating in detention, said in a statement, referring to his case.

“She is doing things that are far more important.”

Suu Kyi remains a hugely popular figure and doubts that her National League for Democracy (NLD) party will win most votes in a general election next year.

But in order to form the next government, she must get close to matching the landslide the NLD won in 2015, a difficult feat if the party is seen as having betrayed its founding principles.

“The NLD received public support and were voted into office due to their leadership role in the pro-democracy movement, because they did what was right and not because they acted like their oppressors,” said Htuu Lou Rae Den, an organizer of an online campaign against the arrests and director of Coexist, a group promoting interfaith harmony.

The military, which retains control of key functions of the state including national security and the police, has initiated the most high-profile cases against dissent.

Soldiers have filed at least six complaints involving a dozen defendants since September last year targeting critics of the armed forces.

Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi's case stems from a complaint from an officer in March that listed 10 of the filmmaker's Facebook posts critical of the military's political role.

Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, a military spokesman, said the armed forces needed to take legal action to prevent "misunderstandings".

"If the criticisms are fair, we have no reason to do anything," said Zaw Min Tun.

"However, if the criticisms are one-sided and not true, we will protect our own organization's dignity."

An NLD spokesman said the constitution prevented elected leaders from fully implementing their own “beliefs and policy”.

"One day when we can change the constitution so that we have a democratic federal union, these kinds of difficulties will disappear," said the spokesman, Myo Nyunt.

New Arrests

Campaigners say 25 political prisoners were released in three presidential amnesties since April, alongside thousands of other inmates.

Those released included two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who had been convicted under an official secrets law and jailed for seven years after they uncovered a massacre of Rohingya Muslims by soldiers and Buddhist villagers.

But activists say Suu Kyi's government has failed to use its parliamentary majority to amend draconian laws or even express opposition to the jailing of dissidents.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners human rights group, 170 people are in jail, either convicted or facing trial on politically motivated charges. Scores are on bail.

Those in prison include seven members of a satirical troupe arrested after a military officer complained about a show broadcast on Facebook during traditional New Year celebrations.

While the complaint was brought by an officer, a civilian attorney general oversees the prosecutions, said Ye Myo Hein, executive director of the Yangon-based Tagaung Institute of Political Studies.

"The government needs to stand firmly and clearly on what kind of cases will lead to lawsuits and what kind of cases are the freedom of expression," he said.

Rights activist Khin Sandar, who has taken part in the online campaign against the arrests, said the jailing of activists was galling under a government that includes many all too familiar with being locked up by the army.

“They were political prisoners once, but now they are not doing anything for political prisoners," she said.

Suu Kyi herself spent the best part of 21 years under house arrest for standing up to the military, becoming the world's most famous political prisoner.

NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt said defining who was a political prisoner was “complicated”. Additionally, some activists were “using the excuse of politics” for personal gain, he said, without elaborating.

Reviving the spirit

The blue-shirted activists' campaign harks back to a one-man protest against political detentions by the late Win Tin, an NLD co-founder and journalist. He spent 19 years in prison before his release in 2008 and continued to wear a prison shirt until his death in 2014.

The young activists have also taken their protest to social media, posting and sharing images of themselves wearing blue to draw attention to political cases.

In the images, they hold up their right hand to show the name of a detainee scrawled on their palm.

The gesture is a nod to a campaign Suu Kyi took part in shortly after her release from house arrest in 2010, said Htuu Lou Rae Den.

“We're reviving the spirit of U Win Tin and pro-democracy activists who took a principled stand against injustice and oppression,” he said. 
&nbsp;

As Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi arrived at a Yangon court recently to face charges of defaming Myanmar's military in Facebook posts, the ailing filmmaker was greeted by a crowd of activists dressed in blue, the colour of prison uniforms.

As Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi arrived at a Yangon court recently to face charges of defaming Myanmar's military in Facebook posts, the ailing filmmaker was greeted by a crowd of activists dressed in blue, the colour of prison uniforms. The charges against Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi - as well as against satirical performers, journalists and a Buddhist monk - have drawn criticism of government leader Aung San Suu Kyi, already facing international opprobrium over an army-led campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority that the United Nations said constituted crimes against humanity and possibly genocide. Some activists say the Nobel laureate, who leads a civilian administration that took power in 2016 as part of a transition after decades of harsh military rule, could legislate or at least speak out against curbs on dissent. But others say she is hamstrung by a 2008 constitution that enshrines the military’s power and which her party is trying to amend. Her defenders include Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi. "No criticism should be made against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for not getting involved in this,” the filmmaker, whose health, supporters say, is seriously deteriorating in detention, said in a statement, referring to his case. “She is doing things that are far more important.” Suu Kyi remains a hugely popular figure and doubts that her National League for Democracy (NLD) party will win most votes in a general election next year. But in order to form the next government, she must get close to matching the landslide the NLD won in 2015, a difficult feat if the party is seen as having betrayed its founding principles. “The NLD received public support and were voted into office due to their leadership role in the pro-democracy movement, because they did what was right and not because they acted like their oppressors,” said Htuu Lou Rae Den, an organizer of an online campaign against the arrests and director of Coexist, a group promoting interfaith harmony. The military, which retains control of key functions of the state including national security and the police, has initiated the most high-profile cases against dissent. Soldiers have filed at least six complaints involving a dozen defendants since September last year targeting critics of the armed forces. Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi's case stems from a complaint from an officer in March that listed 10 of the filmmaker's Facebook posts critical of the military's political role. Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, a military spokesman, said the armed forces needed to take legal action to prevent "misunderstandings". "If the criticisms are fair, we have no reason to do anything," said Zaw Min Tun. "However, if the criticisms are one-sided and not true, we will protect our own organization's dignity." An NLD spokesman said the constitution prevented elected leaders from fully implementing their own “beliefs and policy”. "One day when we can change the constitution so that we have a democratic federal union, these kinds of difficulties will disappear," said the spokesman, Myo Nyunt. New Arrests Campaigners say 25 political prisoners were released in three presidential amnesties since April, alongside thousands of other inmates. Those released included two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who had been convicted under an official secrets law and jailed for seven years after they uncovered a massacre of Rohingya Muslims by soldiers and Buddhist villagers. But activists say Suu Kyi's government has failed to use its parliamentary majority to amend draconian laws or even express opposition to the jailing of dissidents. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners human rights group, 170 people are in jail, either convicted or facing trial on politically motivated charges. Scores are on bail. Those in prison include seven members of a satirical troupe arrested after a military officer complained about a show broadcast on Facebook during traditional New Year celebrations. While the complaint was brought by an officer, a civilian attorney general oversees the prosecutions, said Ye Myo Hein, executive director of the Yangon-based Tagaung Institute of Political Studies. "The government needs to stand firmly and clearly on what kind of cases will lead to lawsuits and what kind of cases are the freedom of expression," he said. Rights activist Khin Sandar, who has taken part in the online campaign against the arrests, said the jailing of activists was galling under a government that includes many all too familiar with being locked up by the army. “They were political prisoners once, but now they are not doing anything for political prisoners," she said. Suu Kyi herself spent the best part of 21 years under house arrest for standing up to the military, becoming the world's most famous political prisoner. NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt said defining who was a political prisoner was “complicated”. Additionally, some activists were “using the excuse of politics” for personal gain, he said, without elaborating. Reviving the spirit The blue-shirted activists' campaign harks back to a one-man protest against political detentions by the late Win Tin, an NLD co-founder and journalist. He spent 19 years in prison before his release in 2008 and continued to wear a prison shirt until his death in 2014. The young activists have also taken their protest to social media, posting and sharing images of themselves wearing blue to draw attention to political cases. In the images, they hold up their right hand to show the name of a detainee scrawled on their palm. The gesture is a nod to a campaign Suu Kyi took part in shortly after her release from house arrest in 2010, said Htuu Lou Rae Den. “We're reviving the spirit of U Win Tin and pro-democracy activists who took a principled stand against injustice and oppression,” he said.

As Myanmar military takes critics to court, some want  Aung San Suu Kyi to act

The armies of India and Myanmar carried out a three-week-long coordinated operation from May 16 in their respective border areas, targeting several militant groups operating in Manipur, Nagaland and Assam, defence sources said on Sunday.

India, Myanmar armies target militants of north-eastern states in coordinated operation

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/bangladesh-seeks-us-help-for-rohingyas-return-to-myanmar-209073">Bangladesh</a> President Abdul Hamid on Saturday said the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/un-draws-up-plans-to-facilitate-rohingya-relocation-to-island-205126">Rohingya crisis</a> can destabilise the entire region if left unresolved.

Addressing the 5th Summit of Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) at Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, Hamid stressed the importance of a peaceful resolution of the Rohingya crisis, Dhaka Tribune reported.

The President also sought support and cooperation from CICA partners so that the forcibly displaced inhabitants of the Rakhine state can return to their homeland with "safety, security and dignity".

"The world knows Bangladesh hosts 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals. You must be aware of the evidence of genocide and gross violation of human rights, which has been termed a `textbook example of ethnic cleansing` and humanitarian catastrophe of unmanageable magnitude," he added.

"Asian security is vulnerable as irregular migration, drug trafficking, territorial claims, ethnic conflicts, separatism, economic problems and climate change are visible here. To address these crucial challenges, CICA needs to enhance its capacity through promoting the concept of indivisible security," the President was quoted as saying.

Rohingya, who belong to the Rakhine state in Myanmar, have been facing extreme persecution by authorities and majority Buddhists.

It has further prompted their flight over the years, many on rickety boats that are mostly pushed back into the open sea by countries, especially Thailand and Myanmar.

Myanmar regards Rohingya as illegal migrants from the Indian subcontinent and has confined tens of thousands to sprawling camps in Rakhine since violence swept the area in 2012.

The unrest prompted thousands of minorities to flee Myanmar by sea.&nbsp;

The exodus peaked in 2015 when an estimated 25,000 people crossed the Andaman Sea for Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, many drowning in unsafe and overloaded boats.

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.

According to a UN report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience," around 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar`s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalised.&nbsp;

Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid on Saturday said the Rohingya crisis can destabilise the entire region if left unresolved. Addressing the 5th Summit of Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) at Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, Hamid stressed the importance of a peaceful resolution of the Rohingya crisis, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid on Saturday said the Rohingya crisis can destabilise the entire region if left unresolved. Addressing the 5th Summit of Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) at Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, Hamid stressed the importance of a peaceful resolution of the Rohingya crisis, Dhaka Tribune reported. The President also sought support and cooperation from CICA partners so that the forcibly displaced inhabitants of the Rakhine state can return to their homeland with "safety, security and dignity". "The world knows Bangladesh hosts 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals. You must be aware of the evidence of genocide and gross violation of human rights, which has been termed a `textbook example of ethnic cleansing` and humanitarian catastrophe of unmanageable magnitude," he added. "Asian security is vulnerable as irregular migration, drug trafficking, territorial claims, ethnic conflicts, separatism, economic problems and climate change are visible here. To address these crucial challenges, CICA needs to enhance its capacity through promoting the concept of indivisible security," the President was quoted as saying. Rohingya, who belong to the Rakhine state in Myanmar, have been facing extreme persecution by authorities and majority Buddhists. It has further prompted their flight over the years, many on rickety boats that are mostly pushed back into the open sea by countries, especially Thailand and Myanmar. Myanmar regards Rohingya as illegal migrants from the Indian subcontinent and has confined tens of thousands to sprawling camps in Rakhine since violence swept the area in 2012. The unrest prompted thousands of minorities to flee Myanmar by sea. The exodus peaked in 2015 when an estimated 25,000 people crossed the Andaman Sea for Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, many drowning in unsafe and overloaded boats. According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017. According to a UN report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience," around 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar`s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalised.

Rohingya crisis can destabilise region if not solved: Bangla President

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/joint-india-myanmar-operation-target-rohingya-insurgent-group-and-naga-terror-group-203499">armies of India and Myanmar</a> carried out a three-week-long coordinated operation from May 16 in their respective border areas, targeting several terrorist&nbsp;groups operating in Manipur, Nagaland and Assam, defence sources said on Sunday.

The first phase of "Operation Sunrise" was conducted three months ago along the Indo-Myanmar border, during which a number of camps of north-east-based terrorist&nbsp;groups were busted.

Myanmar is one of the strategic neighbours of India and shares a 1,640-km border with a number of north-eastern states, including the terrorism-hit Nagaland and Manipur.

India has been pushing for deeper coordination between the armies of the two countries while guarding the border.

Sources said during "Operation Sunrise 2", the armies coordinated with each other to bust camps of terrorist&nbsp;outfits, including the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), the NSCN (Khaplang), the United Liberation Front of Assam (I) and the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB).

They said at least six dozen terrorists belonging to these groups were nabbed and several of their camps destroyed during the operation.

The sources said the two sides might launch the third phase of the operation, depending on intelligence inputs and the ground situation.

Besides the Indian Army, troops from the Assam Rifles were also part of the operation.

In June 2015, the Indian Army had carried out an operation against NSCN(K) terrorists in areas near the Indo-Myanmar border, days after militants killed 18 army men in Manipur.

In the first phase of "Operation Sunrise", the Indian Army targeted members of the Arakan Army, an insurgent group in Myanmar, who were opposed to the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project.

The Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project is viewed as India's gateway to Southeast Asia.

India entered into a framework agreement with Myanmar in April 2008 to facilitate the implementation of the project. On completion, the project will help connect the north-eastern state of Mizoram with the Sittwe Port in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

On the Indian side, work is on to extend the Aizawl-Saiha National Highway by 90 km to the international border at Zorinpui.

According to security agencies, there were over 50 camps of insurgent groups from the north-east in Myanmar till last year.

The armies of India and Myanmar carried out a three-week-long coordinated operation from May 16 in their respective border areas, targeting several terrorist groups operating in Manipur, Nagaland and Assam, defence sources said on Sunday.

The armies of India and Myanmar carried out a three-week-long coordinated operation from May 16 in their respective border areas, targeting several terrorist groups operating in Manipur, Nagaland and Assam, defence sources said on Sunday. The first phase of "Operation Sunrise" was conducted three months ago along the Indo-Myanmar border, during which a number of camps of north-east-based terrorist groups were busted. Myanmar is one of the strategic neighbours of India and shares a 1,640-km border with a number of north-eastern states, including the terrorism-hit Nagaland and Manipur. India has been pushing for deeper coordination between the armies of the two countries while guarding the border. Sources said during "Operation Sunrise 2", the armies coordinated with each other to bust camps of terrorist outfits, including the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), the NSCN (Khaplang), the United Liberation Front of Assam (I) and the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB). They said at least six dozen terrorists belonging to these groups were nabbed and several of their camps destroyed during the operation. The sources said the two sides might launch the third phase of the operation, depending on intelligence inputs and the ground situation. Besides the Indian Army, troops from the Assam Rifles were also part of the operation. In June 2015, the Indian Army had carried out an operation against NSCN(K) terrorists in areas near the Indo-Myanmar border, days after militants killed 18 army men in Manipur. In the first phase of "Operation Sunrise", the Indian Army targeted members of the Arakan Army, an insurgent group in Myanmar, who were opposed to the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project. The Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project is viewed as India's gateway to Southeast Asia. India entered into a framework agreement with Myanmar in April 2008 to facilitate the implementation of the project. On completion, the project will help connect the north-eastern state of Mizoram with the Sittwe Port in Myanmar's Rakhine state. On the Indian side, work is on to extend the Aizawl-Saiha National Highway by 90 km to the international border at Zorinpui. According to security agencies, there were over 50 camps of insurgent groups from the north-east in Myanmar till last year.

Indian-Myanmar army target North-East based terrorists in collaborated operation

A Myanmar doctor and model who had her medical licence revoked for posting lingerie photos of herself blasted the government for "interfering" with personal freedoms, vowing Saturday to appeal against the medical council's decision in a deeply conservative country.&nbsp;

Nang Mwe San frequently updates her Facebook -- the main mode of online communication in Myanmar -- with photos of herself dressed in swimsuits and lingerie, mimicking US model Kendall Jenner's sheer outfits, as well as form-fitting Myanmar traditional wear.&nbsp;

But while the country's youth have embraced modern clothing and pop culture, attitudes are slow to evolve and the conservative society still frowns on any depictions of overt sexuality.&nbsp;

Her risque outfits ran afoul of the Myanmar Medical Council, who issued her a letter dated June 3 revoking her license for "her dressing style which is against Myanmar culture and tradition".

The notice came after a warning in January, making her promise to take down the Facebook posts, Nang Mwe San said, which she signed but did not comply with.&nbsp;

The 29-year-old, who worked for five years as a general practitioner before pursuing a modelling career in 2017, said there are no specific restrictions on dress code in medical ethics.&nbsp;

"I am not dressed like that when I am treating patients," Nang Mwe San said, adding that this was "unacceptable" and she plans to appeal the council's decision within the month.&nbsp;

"I don’t think they should interfere with personal freedoms and it is not their business," she said, adding that she still hopes to return to medicine in the future.&nbsp;

Myanmar currently faces a "critical shortage" of trained health workers, according to the World Health Organization.

The medical council members could not be reached for comment.&nbsp;

But local netizens had plenty to say, with some harpooning her for criticising a lack of human rights and democracy in Myanmar.&nbsp;

"Human rights is not about exposing your body," said commenter Shwe Thu Razza. "You should maintain a Myanmar culture."&nbsp;

But others came down on the model's side.&nbsp;

"What she wears... outside of work should not matter to her profession," said Swa Win Kyaw.

A Myanmar doctor and model who had her medical licence revoked for posting lingerie photos of herself blasted the government for "interfering" with personal freedoms, vowing Saturday to appeal against the medical council's decision in a deeply conservative country.

A Myanmar doctor and model who had her medical licence revoked for posting lingerie photos of herself blasted the government for "interfering" with personal freedoms, vowing Saturday to appeal against the medical council's decision in a deeply conservative country. Nang Mwe San frequently updates her Facebook -- the main mode of online communication in Myanmar -- with photos of herself dressed in swimsuits and lingerie, mimicking US model Kendall Jenner's sheer outfits, as well as form-fitting Myanmar traditional wear. But while the country's youth have embraced modern clothing and pop culture, attitudes are slow to evolve and the conservative society still frowns on any depictions of overt sexuality. Her risque outfits ran afoul of the Myanmar Medical Council, who issued her a letter dated June 3 revoking her license for "her dressing style which is against Myanmar culture and tradition". The notice came after a warning in January, making her promise to take down the Facebook posts, Nang Mwe San said, which she signed but did not comply with. The 29-year-old, who worked for five years as a general practitioner before pursuing a modelling career in 2017, said there are no specific restrictions on dress code in medical ethics. "I am not dressed like that when I am treating patients," Nang Mwe San said, adding that this was "unacceptable" and she plans to appeal the council's decision within the month. "I don’t think they should interfere with personal freedoms and it is not their business," she said, adding that she still hopes to return to medicine in the future. Myanmar currently faces a "critical shortage" of trained health workers, according to the World Health Organization. The medical council members could not be reached for comment. But local netizens had plenty to say, with some harpooning her for criticising a lack of human rights and democracy in Myanmar. "Human rights is not about exposing your body," said commenter Shwe Thu Razza. "You should maintain a Myanmar culture." But others came down on the model's side. "What she wears... outside of work should not matter to her profession," said Swa Win Kyaw.

Myanmar doctor-turned-model hits back at ban over revealing photos

Thai police said on Thursday there is enough evidence to press human trafficking charges against the captain and crew of a boat carrying <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/65-rohingyas-found-shipwrecked-in-thailand-226453">65 Rohingya Muslims that was shipwrecked this week</a> on a southern Thai island.

Many Rohingya Muslims have boarded boats in recent months to try to reach Malaysia, part of what authorities fear could be a new wave of people smuggling by sea after a 2015 crackdown on trafficking.

The 65 Rohingya men, women and children were discovered on Tuesday on Rawi island off Thailand's southern Satun province where their boat had beached due to engine trouble while en route to Malaysia.

Police have already charged the crew with assisting the migrants to illegally enter Thailand.

"We have completed talking to some of the Rohingya and we now have evidence to press human trafficking charges against the Thai captain and the five Myanmar crew," Police Major General Supawat Thapkliew, the head of police in Satun, told Reuters.

"We have not completed questioning all the Rohingya to determine whether they were tricked or they came willingly," he added.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on Thursday ordered relevant agencies to care for the Rohingya - 29 men, 31 women and five children - while authorities complete their investigation.

"The prime minister wants to stress that the Rohingya migration issue is important to the government and Thailand has worked with other countries on this issue continuously," Lieutenant General Werachon Sukondhapatipak, the government spokesman, told reporters.

Myanmar regards the Rohingya as illegal migrants from the Indian subcontinent and has confined tens of thousands to sprawling camps in Rakhine state segregated from the Buddhist Rakhine population since violence swept the area in 2012.

The unrest prompted tens of thousands of Rohingya to flee Myanmar by sea, an exodus that peaked in 2015 when an estimated 25,000 people crossed the Andaman Sea for Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, many drowning in unsafe and overloaded boats.

More than 700,000 Rohingya fled into Bangladesh in 2017 after a crackdown by Myanmar's army, according to UN agencies.

Thai police said on Thursday there is enough evidence to press human trafficking charges against the captain and crew of a boat carrying 65 Rohingya Muslims that was shipwrecked this week on a southern Thai island.

Thai police said on Thursday there is enough evidence to press human trafficking charges against the captain and crew of a boat carrying 65 Rohingya Muslims that was shipwrecked this week on a southern Thai island. Many Rohingya Muslims have boarded boats in recent months to try to reach Malaysia, part of what authorities fear could be a new wave of people smuggling by sea after a 2015 crackdown on trafficking. The 65 Rohingya men, women and children were discovered on Tuesday on Rawi island off Thailand's southern Satun province where their boat had beached due to engine trouble while en route to Malaysia. Police have already charged the crew with assisting the migrants to illegally enter Thailand. "We have completed talking to some of the Rohingya and we now have evidence to press human trafficking charges against the Thai captain and the five Myanmar crew," Police Major General Supawat Thapkliew, the head of police in Satun, told Reuters. "We have not completed questioning all the Rohingya to determine whether they were tricked or they came willingly," he added. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on Thursday ordered relevant agencies to care for the Rohingya - 29 men, 31 women and five children - while authorities complete their investigation. "The prime minister wants to stress that the Rohingya migration issue is important to the government and Thailand has worked with other countries on this issue continuously," Lieutenant General Werachon Sukondhapatipak, the government spokesman, told reporters. Myanmar regards the Rohingya as illegal migrants from the Indian subcontinent and has confined tens of thousands to sprawling camps in Rakhine state segregated from the Buddhist Rakhine population since violence swept the area in 2012. The unrest prompted tens of thousands of Rohingya to flee Myanmar by sea, an exodus that peaked in 2015 when an estimated 25,000 people crossed the Andaman Sea for Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, many drowning in unsafe and overloaded boats. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled into Bangladesh in 2017 after a crackdown by Myanmar's army, according to UN agencies.

Stranded Rohingyas linked to human trafficking: Thai police

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday accused Myanmar of being reluctant in repatriating their over a million Rohingya nationals defying its promise and alleged that some international aid agencies want to keep the refugee crisis alive.

Bangladesh hosts over a million Rohingyas in makeshift refugee camps in its southeastern Cox's Bazar district as the fled a Myanmar military crackdown in August 2017 generating the worst refugee crisis in the recent history.

In January 2018, a deal was signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar to repatriate Rohingya refugees. Myanmar had agreed to accept 1,500 Rohingyas each week, Bangladesh said at the time, adding that it aimed to return all of them to Myanmar within two years.

"The problem lies with Myanmar as they don't want Rohingya to return by any means though it signed an agreement with Bangladesh promising to repatriate them," she told a press conference at her Ganabhaban official residence.

The premier feared that some international aid and voluntary agencies are also unwilling to resolve the crisis. "They never want the refugees to return to their home," she said.&nbsp;

"This is what I see," she said at a media briefing on her tri-nation tour of Japan, Saudi Arabia and Finland at Ganabhaban.

Asked about a perception that three major countries - China, Japan and India - took Myanmar's side in the crisis, the premier said Bangladesh separately held talks with these countries and they all acknowledged Rohingyas as Myanmar nationals and agreed they should return there.

"(But) they (the three countries) simultaneously argued that if they all confront Myanmar over the issue, then who will be there to convince them (Naypyidaw)," she said.

Prime Minister Hasina also said that she will travel to China in July at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. It will be her first visit to China after forming the government for a third consecutive term.

The premier said she might also visit India if invited.

Replying to another question whether the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) nations were in favour of Rohingyas' repatriation as she referred to the crisis in the just held summit of the 57-nation Muslim countries forum, the premier said "certainly".

Hasina expressed her concerns about the security factors involving the Rohingyas as many of them were found to be getting engaged in criminal activities, forcing the authorities to ask armed forces and law enforcement agencies to intensify their vigil.

"We asked them to raise a security cluster around them (Rohingya camps) and enforce a constant patrol," she said.

The premier, however, wondered why the Rohingyas were unwilling to be relocated to offshore Bhashan Char where the government built comfortable structures for their accommodation.

The United Nations said senior Myanmar military officials should be prosecuted for genocide in Rakhine state, but the country insists it was defending itself against militants. PTI AR&nbsp;

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday accused Myanmar of being reluctant in repatriating their over a million Rohingya nationals defying its promise and alleged that some international aid agencies want to keep the refugee crisis alive.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday accused Myanmar of being reluctant in repatriating their over a million Rohingya nationals defying its promise and alleged that some international aid agencies want to keep the refugee crisis alive. Bangladesh hosts over a million Rohingyas in makeshift refugee camps in its southeastern Cox's Bazar district as the fled a Myanmar military crackdown in August 2017 generating the worst refugee crisis in the recent history. In January 2018, a deal was signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar to repatriate Rohingya refugees. Myanmar had agreed to accept 1,500 Rohingyas each week, Bangladesh said at the time, adding that it aimed to return all of them to Myanmar within two years. "The problem lies with Myanmar as they don't want Rohingya to return by any means though it signed an agreement with Bangladesh promising to repatriate them," she told a press conference at her Ganabhaban official residence. The premier feared that some international aid and voluntary agencies are also unwilling to resolve the crisis. "They never want the refugees to return to their home," she said. "This is what I see," she said at a media briefing on her tri-nation tour of Japan, Saudi Arabia and Finland at Ganabhaban. Asked about a perception that three major countries - China, Japan and India - took Myanmar's side in the crisis, the premier said Bangladesh separately held talks with these countries and they all acknowledged Rohingyas as Myanmar nationals and agreed they should return there. "(But) they (the three countries) simultaneously argued that if they all confront Myanmar over the issue, then who will be there to convince them (Naypyidaw)," she said. Prime Minister Hasina also said that she will travel to China in July at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. It will be her first visit to China after forming the government for a third consecutive term. The premier said she might also visit India if invited. Replying to another question whether the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) nations were in favour of Rohingyas' repatriation as she referred to the crisis in the just held summit of the 57-nation Muslim countries forum, the premier said "certainly". Hasina expressed her concerns about the security factors involving the Rohingyas as many of them were found to be getting engaged in criminal activities, forcing the authorities to ask armed forces and law enforcement agencies to intensify their vigil. "We asked them to raise a security cluster around them (Rohingya camps) and enforce a constant patrol," she said. The premier, however, wondered why the Rohingyas were unwilling to be relocated to offshore Bhashan Char where the government built comfortable structures for their accommodation. The United Nations said senior Myanmar military officials should be prosecuted for genocide in Rakhine state, but the country insists it was defending itself against militants. PTI AR

Bangladesh: PM Hasina accuses Myanmar of defying promise over repatriation of Rohingyas 

A deadly race to find the hidden treasure, car chases and slick fight scenes drive the breakneck narrative of one of Myanmar's latest blockbusters, as a new generation of directors aims to revive the country's golden era of film.

The Southeast Asian nation used to be a regional cinematic hub before the 1962-installed military junta suppressed creativity, imposed censorship and cut the country off from outside influences.

Myanmar's opening up since 2011 has so far done little to propel its movie industry -- which is preparing to mark its century next year -- onto the international stage.

"The film industry is like the country -- after 100 years, it's not in good shape," says Grace Swe Zin Htaik, 66, who has worked in the business for decades as an actress and consultant.

Foreign distributors remain unmoved by its movies, often churned out to hackneyed formulae with low production costs and over-acting that many find toe-curling.

A handful of young directors, however, are seeking to raise the bar -- using skills and know-how picked up overseas.

Director Arkar Win, 29, learned the trade in Singapore before coming back to Myanmar.

His box office 2018 smash hit "The Mystery of Burma" set the protagonist on an action-packed quest to find an ancient ruby buried in a hidden temple, a plot with clear nods to Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and Jon Turteltaub's National Treasure.

"We're trying to catch up," he tells AFP in Yangon.

"Indonesian and Cambodian films are selling internationally... but the quality isn't here yet."

New vs old generation

Arkar is proud that his movie's stunts, set against cinematography that sweeps across Myanmar's dramatic landscapes, have enticed "new audiences" to the cinemas.

But a duopoly of distributors controlling all of Myanmar's 154 commercial movie theatres means there is little negotiating power for directors or space for new talent.

A frenetic filming schedule is the norm in the industry, meaning proper castings and pre-production planning often fall by the wayside, while scripts are commonly written on the set of low-budget films. &nbsp;Around half of the movies made in 2018 ended up going straight to DVD.

"Until last year I had no hope," said director Christina Kyi, who recently broke into Myanmar’s movie-making scene after returning from a New York film school 10 years ago.

"Most actors here can do up to 20 films a year. With me they know they will have to work for six months," she says.

In Myanmar, superhero and zombie movies reign supreme.

For directors like Arkar and Kyi -- who both missed out at this year's Myanmar Academy Awards, stoking mass controversy -- gaining acceptance from the mainstream movie industry presents a serious challenge.

Kyi's widely-acclaimed "Mudras Calling" sees the US-raised Burmese lead role, played by her real-life husband, returning to discover his Myanmar roots -- and fall in love.

Tipped for top prizes in the country's version of the Oscars, she came away with nothing.

Outraged fans organised a boycott on social media of the winning director's movie, pouring scorn on what they viewed as the elitist awards.

Industry veteran Grace calls for more investment, better technology -- and more cooperation from both sides.

"I want the old generation to welcome new directors and the new generation to respect their seniors too."

'Soft power'

With an arthouse flick at this year's Cannes Festival, Midi Z is perhaps Myanmar's highest-profile director internationally -- but he has lived for years in Taiwan.

Plans are afoot for a movie studio in capital Naypyidaw.

But the industry might not see as smooth a transition away from political interference as many would like.

Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi opened the contentious Academy Awards with a speech urging the film industry to use "soft power" towards a "peaceful, united and developed country".

The military is only too aware of the power of the silver screen in a country riven with ethnic armed conflicts.

A high-budget film is released each year to mark Armed Forces Day, championing the sacrifices made by patriotic soldiers fighting battles against villainous rebels.

Work has been underway for years to produce a biopic of Suu Kyi's father and independence hero General Aung San.

The movie even has its own committee under the Ministry for Religious Affairs and Culture.

Foreign filmmakers are eyeing up Myanmar as a shooting location.

An array of exploding cars and daring stunts recently beguiled Yangon residents for the filming of Hong Kong movie "Line Walker 2" and there are rumours Nicolas Cage will soon visit to shoot his upcoming sci-fi flick "Jiu-Jitsu".

These movies are guaranteed to do well in action-mad Myanmar.

Arkar says it is down to Myanmar filmmakers to produce the goods in a country with limited nightlife and entertainment.

"The audience is there. We just need to do good work."

A deadly race to find the hidden treasure, car chases and slick fight scenes drive the breakneck narrative of one of Myanmar's latest blockbusters, as a new generation of directors aims to revive the country's golden era of film.

A deadly race to find the hidden treasure, car chases and slick fight scenes drive the breakneck narrative of one of Myanmar's latest blockbusters, as a new generation of directors aims to revive the country's golden era of film. The Southeast Asian nation used to be a regional cinematic hub before the 1962-installed military junta suppressed creativity, imposed censorship and cut the country off from outside influences. Myanmar's opening up since 2011 has so far done little to propel its movie industry -- which is preparing to mark its century next year -- onto the international stage. "The film industry is like the country -- after 100 years, it's not in good shape," says Grace Swe Zin Htaik, 66, who has worked in the business for decades as an actress and consultant. Foreign distributors remain unmoved by its movies, often churned out to hackneyed formulae with low production costs and over-acting that many find toe-curling. A handful of young directors, however, are seeking to raise the bar -- using skills and know-how picked up overseas. Director Arkar Win, 29, learned the trade in Singapore before coming back to Myanmar. His box office 2018 smash hit "The Mystery of Burma" set the protagonist on an action-packed quest to find an ancient ruby buried in a hidden temple, a plot with clear nods to Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and Jon Turteltaub's National Treasure. "We're trying to catch up," he tells AFP in Yangon. "Indonesian and Cambodian films are selling internationally... but the quality isn't here yet." New vs old generation Arkar is proud that his movie's stunts, set against cinematography that sweeps across Myanmar's dramatic landscapes, have enticed "new audiences" to the cinemas. But a duopoly of distributors controlling all of Myanmar's 154 commercial movie theatres means there is little negotiating power for directors or space for new talent. A frenetic filming schedule is the norm in the industry, meaning proper castings and pre-production planning often fall by the wayside, while scripts are commonly written on the set of low-budget films. Around half of the movies made in 2018 ended up going straight to DVD. "Until last year I had no hope," said director Christina Kyi, who recently broke into Myanmar’s movie-making scene after returning from a New York film school 10 years ago. "Most actors here can do up to 20 films a year. With me they know they will have to work for six months," she says. In Myanmar, superhero and zombie movies reign supreme. For directors like Arkar and Kyi -- who both missed out at this year's Myanmar Academy Awards, stoking mass controversy -- gaining acceptance from the mainstream movie industry presents a serious challenge. Kyi's widely-acclaimed "Mudras Calling" sees the US-raised Burmese lead role, played by her real-life husband, returning to discover his Myanmar roots -- and fall in love. Tipped for top prizes in the country's version of the Oscars, she came away with nothing. Outraged fans organised a boycott on social media of the winning director's movie, pouring scorn on what they viewed as the elitist awards. Industry veteran Grace calls for more investment, better technology -- and more cooperation from both sides. "I want the old generation to welcome new directors and the new generation to respect their seniors too." 'Soft power' With an arthouse flick at this year's Cannes Festival, Midi Z is perhaps Myanmar's highest-profile director internationally -- but he has lived for years in Taiwan. Plans are afoot for a movie studio in capital Naypyidaw. But the industry might not see as smooth a transition away from political interference as many would like. Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi opened the contentious Academy Awards with a speech urging the film industry to use "soft power" towards a "peaceful, united and developed country". The military is only too aware of the power of the silver screen in a country riven with ethnic armed conflicts. A high-budget film is released each year to mark Armed Forces Day, championing the sacrifices made by patriotic soldiers fighting battles against villainous rebels. Work has been underway for years to produce a biopic of Suu Kyi's father and independence hero General Aung San. The movie even has its own committee under the Ministry for Religious Affairs and Culture. Foreign filmmakers are eyeing up Myanmar as a shooting location. An array of exploding cars and daring stunts recently beguiled Yangon residents for the filming of Hong Kong movie "Line Walker 2" and there are rumours Nicolas Cage will soon visit to shoot his upcoming sci-fi flick "Jiu-Jitsu". These movies are guaranteed to do well in action-mad Myanmar. Arkar says it is down to Myanmar filmmakers to produce the goods in a country with limited nightlife and entertainment. "The audience is there. We just need to do good work."

New Myanmar filmmakers shoot to rekindle golden years

Myanmar President Win Myint arrives at New Delhi to attend Modi’s swearing-in. Watch this video to know more.

LIVE: Myanmar President Win Myint arrives at New Delhi

Hundreds of supporters of Myanmar nationalist monk Wirathu protested at the country`s most sacred Buddhist pagoda on Thursday against a warrant issued for his arrest to face sedition charges.

Wirathu has long been known for harsh rhetoric against Myanmar`s Muslim minority, but the order to arrest him follows comments he made that are critical of the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

At least 300 of Wirathu`s supporters gathered outside the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar`s biggest city, Yangon.

"He is criticizing the government openly and publicly as a citizen," nationalist activist Win Ko Ko Lat told reporters. "Using the sedition act against him is entirely unfair," he said.

The arrest warrant for Wirathu was issued by a Yangon court on Tuesday. Police have not set out the exact grounds for the warrant under a law that prohibits bringing "hatred or contempt" or exciting disaffection towards the government.&nbsp;

At recent rallies, Wirathu has accused the government of corruption and criticised it for trying to change the constitution in a way that would reduce the power of the military.

The military ruled Myanmar for decades until the start of a transition to civilian rule in 2011. Wirathu is the most prominent of the nationalist monks to emerge as a growing political force since then.

Wirathu is based in the central city of Mandalay, but neither police nor his supporters said where they currently believed him to be.

In fiery speeches, Wirathu has often targeted Rohingya Muslims, more than 700,000 of whom fled an army crackdown in Rakhine State in 2017 that UN investigators said was carried out with "genocidal intent".

He has denied accusations of inciting violence.

The charges under the British colonial-era sedition law carry a prison sentence of up to three years.

Hundreds of supporters of Myanmar nationalist monk Wirathu protested at the country`s most sacred Buddhist pagoda on Thursday against a warrant issued for his arrest to face sedition charges.

Hundreds of supporters of Myanmar nationalist monk Wirathu protested at the country`s most sacred Buddhist pagoda on Thursday against a warrant issued for his arrest to face sedition charges. Wirathu has long been known for harsh rhetoric against Myanmar`s Muslim minority, but the order to arrest him follows comments he made that are critical of the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi. At least 300 of Wirathu`s supporters gathered outside the Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar`s biggest city, Yangon. "He is criticizing the government openly and publicly as a citizen," nationalist activist Win Ko Ko Lat told reporters. "Using the sedition act against him is entirely unfair," he said. The arrest warrant for Wirathu was issued by a Yangon court on Tuesday. Police have not set out the exact grounds for the warrant under a law that prohibits bringing "hatred or contempt" or exciting disaffection towards the government. At recent rallies, Wirathu has accused the government of corruption and criticised it for trying to change the constitution in a way that would reduce the power of the military. The military ruled Myanmar for decades until the start of a transition to civilian rule in 2011. Wirathu is the most prominent of the nationalist monks to emerge as a growing political force since then. Wirathu is based in the central city of Mandalay, but neither police nor his supporters said where they currently believed him to be. In fiery speeches, Wirathu has often targeted Rohingya Muslims, more than 700,000 of whom fled an army crackdown in Rakhine State in 2017 that UN investigators said was carried out with "genocidal intent". He has denied accusations of inciting violence. The charges under the British colonial-era sedition law carry a prison sentence of up to three years.

Hardline Myanmar monk's supporters protest arrest warrant

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/myanmar-soldiers-jailed-for-rohingya-killings-freed-after-less-than-a-year-221928">Myanmar's military</a> is guilty of committing new "war crimes", extrajudicial killings and torture in its fight against ethnic Rakhine rebels, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

The armed forces have deployed thousands of troops and heavy artillery across northern Rakhine state in recent months where Arakan Army (AA) rebels are fighting for more autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine Buddhists.

The state was also the scene of the military's bloody crackdown against the Rohingya Muslim community in 2017.

That campaign pushed some 740,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh in violence UN investigators say warrants prosecution of top generals for "genocide".

Amnesty said Wednesday it had "new evidence" that Myanmar's military is now "committing war crimes and other human rights violations" against the ethnic Rakhine, listing extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture and enforced disappearances.

Access to the conflict area is heavily restricted but details of civilian deaths have emerged over recent weeks and months.

But the army has confirmed it shot dead six detainees late last month in the village of Kyauk Tan.

Amnesty's report is based on scores of interviews with people from various ethnic groups, photographs, videos and satellite imagery.

It documents seven unlawful attacks that killed 14 civilians and injured dozens more, saying notorious infantry units have been deployed against the ethnic Rakhine.

Some Rohingya Muslims who have remained in the area have also been killed.

"The new operations in Rakhine State show an unrepentant, unreformed and unaccountable military terrorising civilians," said regional director Nicholas Bequelin.

A Myanmar army spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment on the report.

The rights group also criticised the government for choosing to "remain silent" while supplies of medicine, food and humanitarian relief remain blocked by authorities.&nbsp;

In an unprecedented move after the AA attacked police posts in January, Aung San Suu Kyi's government ordered the army to "crush" the rebels.

Although the military was the main perpetrator, AA insurgents have also "committed abuses against civilians", Amnesty said, alleging they have sent letters with bullets to local administrators and business people.

"I can firmly say it does not happen," AA spokesman Khine Thu Kha told AFP by phone, denying the claims.

Myanmar's military is guilty of committing new "war crimes", extrajudicial killings and torture in its fight against ethnic Rakhine rebels, Amnesty International said Wednesday.

Myanmar's military is guilty of committing new "war crimes", extrajudicial killings and torture in its fight against ethnic Rakhine rebels, Amnesty International said Wednesday. The armed forces have deployed thousands of troops and heavy artillery across northern Rakhine state in recent months where Arakan Army (AA) rebels are fighting for more autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine Buddhists. The state was also the scene of the military's bloody crackdown against the Rohingya Muslim community in 2017. That campaign pushed some 740,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh in violence UN investigators say warrants prosecution of top generals for "genocide". Amnesty said Wednesday it had "new evidence" that Myanmar's military is now "committing war crimes and other human rights violations" against the ethnic Rakhine, listing extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, torture and enforced disappearances. Access to the conflict area is heavily restricted but details of civilian deaths have emerged over recent weeks and months. But the army has confirmed it shot dead six detainees late last month in the village of Kyauk Tan. Amnesty's report is based on scores of interviews with people from various ethnic groups, photographs, videos and satellite imagery. It documents seven unlawful attacks that killed 14 civilians and injured dozens more, saying notorious infantry units have been deployed against the ethnic Rakhine. Some Rohingya Muslims who have remained in the area have also been killed. "The new operations in Rakhine State show an unrepentant, unreformed and unaccountable military terrorising civilians," said regional director Nicholas Bequelin. A Myanmar army spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment on the report. The rights group also criticised the government for choosing to "remain silent" while supplies of medicine, food and humanitarian relief remain blocked by authorities. In an unprecedented move after the AA attacked police posts in January, Aung San Suu Kyi's government ordered the army to "crush" the rebels. Although the military was the main perpetrator, AA insurgents have also "committed abuses against civilians", Amnesty said, alleging they have sent letters with bullets to local administrators and business people. "I can firmly say it does not happen," AA spokesman Khine Thu Kha told AFP by phone, denying the claims.

Amnesty accuses Myanmar military of fresh 'war crimes' in Rakhine

Myanmar police have issued an arrest warrant for an ultra-nationalist Buddhist monk, known for his anti-Muslim stance.&nbsp;

The warrant was issued for Wirathu on Tuesday night under article 124(a) of the legal code, which forbids inciting hatred or contempt against the government and carries a three-year jail sentence, the police said.

The monk who Time magazine dubbed "The Face of Buddhist Terror," is accused of making defamatory remarks against the de facto leader of the government, Aung San Suu Kyi.&nbsp;

The police have yet to locate Wirathu, who, according to local media reports, was not at the Masoeyein monastery in central Myanmar on Tuesday as he was due to appear before the governing body of the Buddhist clergy in Yangon, the former capital of the country, a day later.&nbsp;

The controversial monk is known for his tirades against Muslims, including comments that sparked a wave of sectarian violence against the Muslim population in central Myanmar in 2013 and for supporting the military operation that led over 700,000 people from the Muslim-majority Rohingya minority to flee to Bangladesh in 2017.

The United Nations has said that there were elements of genocidal intent in that military operation, which has been condemned by several organizations for all kinds of abuses against the Rohingyas, including killings, rapes and burning of houses.

Wirathu was the most visible face of the 969 movements, a Buddhist group that opposed the expansion of Islam in Myanmar, and the now-defunct Patriotic Association of Myanmar, better known as Ma Ba Tha, whose anti-Muslim position led the government to pass several laws considered discriminatory against Muslims.&nbsp;

His controversial comments, which also include calling for a boycott of Muslim businesses and hailing the assassination of a Muslim lawyer close to Suu Kyi, prompted Facebook to close his account and led the Thai authorities to ban his entry into the country, where he was scheduled to deliver a sermon.&nbsp;

Myanmar police have issued an arrest warrant for an ultra-nationalist Buddhist monk, known for his anti-Muslim stance. The warrant was issued for Wirathu on Tuesday night under article 124(a) of the legal code, which forbids inciting hatred or contempt against the government and carries a three-year jail sentence, the police said.

Myanmar police have issued an arrest warrant for an ultra-nationalist Buddhist monk, known for his anti-Muslim stance. The warrant was issued for Wirathu on Tuesday night under article 124(a) of the legal code, which forbids inciting hatred or contempt against the government and carries a three-year jail sentence, the police said. The monk who Time magazine dubbed "The Face of Buddhist Terror," is accused of making defamatory remarks against the de facto leader of the government, Aung San Suu Kyi. The police have yet to locate Wirathu, who, according to local media reports, was not at the Masoeyein monastery in central Myanmar on Tuesday as he was due to appear before the governing body of the Buddhist clergy in Yangon, the former capital of the country, a day later. The controversial monk is known for his tirades against Muslims, including comments that sparked a wave of sectarian violence against the Muslim population in central Myanmar in 2013 and for supporting the military operation that led over 700,000 people from the Muslim-majority Rohingya minority to flee to Bangladesh in 2017. The United Nations has said that there were elements of genocidal intent in that military operation, which has been condemned by several organizations for all kinds of abuses against the Rohingyas, including killings, rapes and burning of houses. Wirathu was the most visible face of the 969 movements, a Buddhist group that opposed the expansion of Islam in Myanmar, and the now-defunct Patriotic Association of Myanmar, better known as Ma Ba Tha, whose anti-Muslim position led the government to pass several laws considered discriminatory against Muslims. His controversial comments, which also include calling for a boycott of Muslim businesses and hailing the assassination of a Muslim lawyer close to Suu Kyi, prompted Facebook to close his account and led the Thai authorities to ban his entry into the country, where he was scheduled to deliver a sermon.

Myanmar police issue arrest warrant for extremist Buddhist monk

Myanmar has granted early release to seven soldiers jailed for the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys during a 2017 military crackdown in the western state of Rakhine, two prison officials, two former fellow inmates and one of the soldiers told Reuters.

The soldiers were freed in November last year, the two inmates said, meaning they served less than one year of their 10-year prison terms for the killings at Inn Din village.&nbsp;

They also served less jail time than two Reuters reporters who uncovered the killings. The journalists, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/reuters-journalists-jailed-in-myanmar-freed-from-prison-216559">Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo</a>, spent more than 16 months behind bars on charges of obtaining state secrets. The two were released in an amnesty on May 6.

Win Naing, the chief warden at Rakhine's Sittwe Prison, and a senior prison official in the capital, Naypyitaw, confirmed that the convicted soldiers had not been in prison for some months.

"Their punishment was reduced by the military," said the senior Naypyitaw official, who declined to be named.

Both prison officials declined to provide further details and said they did not know the exact date of the release, which was not announced publicly.&nbsp;

Military spokesmen Zaw Min Tun and Tun Tun Nyi declined to comment.

The seven soldiers were the only security personnel the military has said it has punished over the 2017 operation in Rakhine, which drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh. UN&nbsp;investigators said the crackdown was executed with "genocidal intent" and included mass killings, gang rapes and widespread arson.

Myanmar denies widespread wrongdoing and officials have pointed to the jailing of the seven soldiers in the Inn Din case as evidence Myanmar security forces do not enjoy impunity.

"I would say that we took action against every case we could investigate," the military's commander in chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, told officials from the UN&nbsp;Security Council in April last year, according to an account posted on his personal website.&nbsp;

The army chief cited the Inn Din case specifically. "The latest crime we punished was killing, and ten years’ imprisonment was given to seven perpetrators," he said. "We will not forgive anyone if they commit (a) crime."

Reached by phone on Thursday, a man named Zin Paing Soe confirmed that he was one of the seven soldiers and that he was now free, but declined to comment further. "We were told to shut up," he said.

'First step'

The 2017 campaign was launched across hundreds of villages in northern Rakhine in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents. Reuters exposed the killings in a report published in February 2018.&nbsp;

Troops from the 33rd Light Infantry Division, a mobile force known for its brutal counter-insurgency campaigns, worked with members of a paramilitary police force and Buddhist vigilantes to drive out the entire Muslim population of Inn Din, burning and looting Rohingya homes and property, according to Buddhist and Muslim villagers and members of the security forces.&nbsp;

On Sept. 1, 2017, soldiers and some villagers detained a group of 10 Rohingya. The military said the men were "terrorists"; their family members said they were farmers, high school students and an Islamic teacher.&nbsp;

The next morning, witnesses said, Buddhist villagers hacked some of the Rohingya men with swords. The rest were shot by Myanmar troops and buried in a shallow grave.&nbsp;

The two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, discovered the grave and obtained pictures of the 10 men before and after they were killed. The journalists were arrested in December 2017 while investigating the killings and later sentenced to seven years in prison under the Official Secrets Act.&nbsp;

Defence lawyers argued their arrest and prosecution were aimed at blocking their reporting, and one police officer testified that a senior police official had ordered that the reporters be set up and arrested.

In April 2018, after launching an investigation into the killings, the military announced that four officers and three soldiers of other ranks had been dismissed from the military and sentenced to 10 years with hard labour for "contributing and participating in murder". Neither their names nor details of their roles in the killing were disclosed.

Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the convictions, telling reporters at the time the sentencing was Myanmar`s "first step on the road of taking responsibility".Suu Kyi's spokesman, Zaw Htay, did not pick up a call seeking comment on the release of the seven soldiers.

'Year that changed my life'

Two men who recently spent time in Sittwe Prison told Reuters the seven soldiers were well-known among prisoners there.

“We were in the same building but different cells," said one of the men, Aung Than Wai, a political activist from Sittwe, who spent nearly six months in prison under a privacy law after he criticised a state official and posted an image of the official online.

Aung Than Wai, who was released from Sittwe in December, said he wanted to speak publicly about the soldiers` early release because an ethnic Rakhine Buddhist villager also jailed over the Inn Din killings was still in prison. The villager, school teacher Tun Aye, is serving a five-year sentence for murder at Buthidaung Prison in northern Rakhine, said his lawyer, Khin Win.

The convicted soldiers in Sittwe were given beer and cigarettes even though such indulgences were off-limits to other prisoners, Aung Than Wai said.

The soldiers were also visited by army officials, said the second man who was in the prison at the time and asked not to be named. In November, the seven men were taken away in a military vehicle, he said.

The same month, Zin Paing Soe, one of the convicted soldiers, set up a new Facebook account, noting in his biography that he attended the military's elite Defence Services Academy.

In one of the account`s first public posts, he said he was looking forward to the end of a year spent mostly in prison.&nbsp;

"When will these unfortunate things end for me?" the post reads.

Myanmar has granted early release to seven soldiers jailed for the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys during a 2017 military crackdown in the western state of Rakhine, two prison officials, two former fellow inmates and one of the soldiers told Reuters.

Myanmar has granted early release to seven soldiers jailed for the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys during a 2017 military crackdown in the western state of Rakhine, two prison officials, two former fellow inmates and one of the soldiers told Reuters. The soldiers were freed in November last year, the two inmates said, meaning they served less than one year of their 10-year prison terms for the killings at Inn Din village. They also served less jail time than two Reuters reporters who uncovered the killings. The journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, spent more than 16 months behind bars on charges of obtaining state secrets. The two were released in an amnesty on May 6. Win Naing, the chief warden at Rakhine's Sittwe Prison, and a senior prison official in the capital, Naypyitaw, confirmed that the convicted soldiers had not been in prison for some months. "Their punishment was reduced by the military," said the senior Naypyitaw official, who declined to be named. Both prison officials declined to provide further details and said they did not know the exact date of the release, which was not announced publicly. Military spokesmen Zaw Min Tun and Tun Tun Nyi declined to comment. The seven soldiers were the only security personnel the military has said it has punished over the 2017 operation in Rakhine, which drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to Bangladesh. UN investigators said the crackdown was executed with "genocidal intent" and included mass killings, gang rapes and widespread arson. Myanmar denies widespread wrongdoing and officials have pointed to the jailing of the seven soldiers in the Inn Din case as evidence Myanmar security forces do not enjoy impunity. "I would say that we took action against every case we could investigate," the military's commander in chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, told officials from the UN Security Council in April last year, according to an account posted on his personal website. The army chief cited the Inn Din case specifically. "The latest crime we punished was killing, and ten years’ imprisonment was given to seven perpetrators," he said. "We will not forgive anyone if they commit (a) crime." Reached by phone on Thursday, a man named Zin Paing Soe confirmed that he was one of the seven soldiers and that he was now free, but declined to comment further. "We were told to shut up," he said. 'First step' The 2017 campaign was launched across hundreds of villages in northern Rakhine in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents. Reuters exposed the killings in a report published in February 2018. Troops from the 33rd Light Infantry Division, a mobile force known for its brutal counter-insurgency campaigns, worked with members of a paramilitary police force and Buddhist vigilantes to drive out the entire Muslim population of Inn Din, burning and looting Rohingya homes and property, according to Buddhist and Muslim villagers and members of the security forces. On Sept. 1, 2017, soldiers and some villagers detained a group of 10 Rohingya. The military said the men were "terrorists"; their family members said they were farmers, high school students and an Islamic teacher. The next morning, witnesses said, Buddhist villagers hacked some of the Rohingya men with swords. The rest were shot by Myanmar troops and buried in a shallow grave. The two Reuters reporters, Wa Lone, 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, discovered the grave and obtained pictures of the 10 men before and after they were killed. The journalists were arrested in December 2017 while investigating the killings and later sentenced to seven years in prison under the Official Secrets Act. Defence lawyers argued their arrest and prosecution were aimed at blocking their reporting, and one police officer testified that a senior police official had ordered that the reporters be set up and arrested. In April 2018, after launching an investigation into the killings, the military announced that four officers and three soldiers of other ranks had been dismissed from the military and sentenced to 10 years with hard labour for "contributing and participating in murder". Neither their names nor details of their roles in the killing were disclosed. Civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the convictions, telling reporters at the time the sentencing was Myanmar`s "first step on the road of taking responsibility".Suu Kyi's spokesman, Zaw Htay, did not pick up a call seeking comment on the release of the seven soldiers. 'Year that changed my life' Two men who recently spent time in Sittwe Prison told Reuters the seven soldiers were well-known among prisoners there. “We were in the same building but different cells," said one of the men, Aung Than Wai, a political activist from Sittwe, who spent nearly six months in prison under a privacy law after he criticised a state official and posted an image of the official online. Aung Than Wai, who was released from Sittwe in December, said he wanted to speak publicly about the soldiers` early release because an ethnic Rakhine Buddhist villager also jailed over the Inn Din killings was still in prison. The villager, school teacher Tun Aye, is serving a five-year sentence for murder at Buthidaung Prison in northern Rakhine, said his lawyer, Khin Win. The convicted soldiers in Sittwe were given beer and cigarettes even though such indulgences were off-limits to other prisoners, Aung Than Wai said. The soldiers were also visited by army officials, said the second man who was in the prison at the time and asked not to be named. In November, the seven men were taken away in a military vehicle, he said. The same month, Zin Paing Soe, one of the convicted soldiers, set up a new Facebook account, noting in his biography that he attended the military's elite Defence Services Academy. In one of the account`s first public posts, he said he was looking forward to the end of a year spent mostly in prison. "When will these unfortunate things end for me?" the post reads.

Myanmar soldiers jailed for Rohingya killings freed after less than a year

Myanmar must "show results" to convince Rohingya refugees to return, the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Friday at the end of his first visit to Myanmar since the crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in 2017.

A brutal military campaign in western Rakhine state forced some 740,000 Rohingya over the border into Bangladesh.

Around one million Rohingya now languish in sprawling refugee camps from various waves of persecution.

A UN fact-finding mission called for Myanmar’s top generals to be prosecuted for "genocide" and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has started preliminary investigations.

During his visit Grandi spoke with both Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine Buddhist communities in Maungdaw and Buthidaung in northern Rakhine, the epicentre of the violence.&nbsp;

He also held discussions with officials in capital Naypyidaw, including civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, describing all talks as "constructive".

"My message is, 'please accelerate', because it has been very slow in the implementation in this first year. We need to show results," he told AFP in an interview in Yangon.

"This is not enough to convince people to come back," he said.

Grandi visited the camps in Bangladesh in April.

The two countries have signed a repatriation agreement but so far virtually no refugees have returned, fearing for their safety and unconvinced they will be granted citizenship.

Myanmar pejoratively labels the Rohingya as "Bengali", implying they are illegal interlopers and the community has had its rights eroded over decades.

Gaining independent access to northern Rakhine is difficult with most journalists, observers and diplomats only allowed on brief chaperoned visits.

Grandi defended the UNHCR’s involvement in a plan by the Bangladeshi government to move some 100,000 refugees onto low-lying island Bhashan Char.

The area in the Bay of Bengal is prone to flooding and cyclones.

Rights groups oppose the scheme that has also so far been universally rejected by the Rohingya themselves.

The refugee agency must be "involved" to have the necessary information in order to take a stance on the issue, Grandi said.

"We’re still at that stage, no more than that."

He also visited camps near Rakhine’s capital Sittwe, where nearly 130,000 Rohingya have been confined since a previous bout of violence in 2012.

Myanmar has announced it will close the camps but many are sceptical the displaced will enjoy more freedoms.

Grandi said the UNHCR would reconsider its role in providing services if conditions did not substantially improve.

"To simply transform the camps, upgrade the camps, upgrade the houses, for example, but leave them in the same situation will not be a solution," he said.

Myanmar must "show results" to convince Rohingya refugees to return, the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Friday at the end of his first visit to Myanmar since the crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in 2017.

Myanmar must "show results" to convince Rohingya refugees to return, the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said Friday at the end of his first visit to Myanmar since the crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in 2017. A brutal military campaign in western Rakhine state forced some 740,000 Rohingya over the border into Bangladesh. Around one million Rohingya now languish in sprawling refugee camps from various waves of persecution. A UN fact-finding mission called for Myanmar’s top generals to be prosecuted for "genocide" and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has started preliminary investigations. During his visit Grandi spoke with both Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine Buddhist communities in Maungdaw and Buthidaung in northern Rakhine, the epicentre of the violence. He also held discussions with officials in capital Naypyidaw, including civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, describing all talks as "constructive". "My message is, 'please accelerate', because it has been very slow in the implementation in this first year. We need to show results," he told AFP in an interview in Yangon. "This is not enough to convince people to come back," he said. Grandi visited the camps in Bangladesh in April. The two countries have signed a repatriation agreement but so far virtually no refugees have returned, fearing for their safety and unconvinced they will be granted citizenship. Myanmar pejoratively labels the Rohingya as "Bengali", implying they are illegal interlopers and the community has had its rights eroded over decades. Gaining independent access to northern Rakhine is difficult with most journalists, observers and diplomats only allowed on brief chaperoned visits. Grandi defended the UNHCR’s involvement in a plan by the Bangladeshi government to move some 100,000 refugees onto low-lying island Bhashan Char. The area in the Bay of Bengal is prone to flooding and cyclones. Rights groups oppose the scheme that has also so far been universally rejected by the Rohingya themselves. The refugee agency must be "involved" to have the necessary information in order to take a stance on the issue, Grandi said. "We’re still at that stage, no more than that." He also visited camps near Rakhine’s capital Sittwe, where nearly 130,000 Rohingya have been confined since a previous bout of violence in 2012. Myanmar has announced it will close the camps but many are sceptical the displaced will enjoy more freedoms. Grandi said the UNHCR would reconsider its role in providing services if conditions did not substantially improve. "To simply transform the camps, upgrade the camps, upgrade the houses, for example, but leave them in the same situation will not be a solution," he said.

'Results' needed from Myanmar over Rohingya return: UNHCR head

Myanmar Navy ships UMS King TabinShweHtee and UMS Inlay have arrived at Port Blair to take part in the 8th Indo-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR), officials said Tuesday.

The CORPAT (coordinated patrol) initiative between Indian and Myanmar navies is meant to address issues of terrorism, illegal fishing, drug trafficking, human trafficking, poaching and other illegal activities inimical to the interests of both the countries.

"Myanmar Navy Ship UMS King TabinShweHtee (773) and UMS Inlay (OPV-54) have arrived Port Blair on May 20 for the opening ceremony of the 8th Indo-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR), at Andaman and Nicobar Command," the Navy said in a statement.

The Myanmar delegation, led by Commodore Htein Win, Commander, Ayeyarwady Naval Command, called on Cmde Ashutosh Ridhorkar, VSM, Naval Component Commander, on Monday, it said.

"Started in March 2013, the CORPAT series has enhanced the mutual understanding and fostered improved professional interaction between the two navies for maritime interoperability," the statement said.

Myanmar ships UMS King TabinShweHtee and UMS Inlay would undertake a coordinated patrol with Indian Naval Ship Saryu from May 20-28. The patrolling effort will be augmented by Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both the navies, it said.

The ships would patrol along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) between the two countries covering a distance of approximately 725 kilometres over a period of four days.

The ships will also undertake joint manoeuvres and drills during the sea phase of the coordinated patrol (CORPAT) prior to the closing ceremony of the CORPAT onboard Myanmar Naval Ship, the statement said.&nbsp;

Myanmar Navy ships UMS King TabinShweHtee and UMS Inlay have arrived at Port Blair to take part in the 8th Indo-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR), officials said Tuesday.

Myanmar Navy ships UMS King TabinShweHtee and UMS Inlay have arrived at Port Blair to take part in the 8th Indo-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR), officials said Tuesday. The CORPAT (coordinated patrol) initiative between Indian and Myanmar navies is meant to address issues of terrorism, illegal fishing, drug trafficking, human trafficking, poaching and other illegal activities inimical to the interests of both the countries. "Myanmar Navy Ship UMS King TabinShweHtee (773) and UMS Inlay (OPV-54) have arrived Port Blair on May 20 for the opening ceremony of the 8th Indo-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR), at Andaman and Nicobar Command," the Navy said in a statement. The Myanmar delegation, led by Commodore Htein Win, Commander, Ayeyarwady Naval Command, called on Cmde Ashutosh Ridhorkar, VSM, Naval Component Commander, on Monday, it said. "Started in March 2013, the CORPAT series has enhanced the mutual understanding and fostered improved professional interaction between the two navies for maritime interoperability," the statement said. Myanmar ships UMS King TabinShweHtee and UMS Inlay would undertake a coordinated patrol with Indian Naval Ship Saryu from May 20-28. The patrolling effort will be augmented by Maritime Patrol Aircraft from both the navies, it said. The ships would patrol along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) between the two countries covering a distance of approximately 725 kilometres over a period of four days. The ships will also undertake joint manoeuvres and drills during the sea phase of the coordinated patrol (CORPAT) prior to the closing ceremony of the CORPAT onboard Myanmar Naval Ship, the statement said.

Myanmar Navy ships arrive to participate in 8th Indo-Myanmar coordinated patrol at Andaman

Bangladeshi police shot dead two suspected <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/in-exile-in-bangladesh-a-bittersweet-revival-of-rohingya-culture-216919&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiey8rN153iAhXFK48KHc1TBi4QFjADegQIEBAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw1okm4Rmfta8vC9H-5d9gOH">Rohingya </a>human traffickers, officials said Wednesday, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/bangladesh-police-rescue-dozens-of-rohingya-being-trafficked-to-malaysia-218629&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiey8rN153iAhXFK48KHc1TBi4QFjAAegQIBBAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw3XQL5CppKi8_2MHU92PC4F">after rescuing 103 refugees in two days</a> about to make the perilous sea voyage to Malaysia.

The two Rohingya men were killed outside a refugee camp in the southeast on Tuesday evening, said Prodip Kumar Das, police chief of Teknaf which borders Myanmar.

"They opened fire at the police. We fired back in retaliation," he told AFP.

This is the first time in four years suspected human traffickers were killed in a gunfight in Bangladesh's southeast.&nbsp;

It follows a rise in attempted human smuggling of Rohingya in the last few months. &nbsp; &nbsp;

People-smugglers have in recent years sent tens of thousands of Rohingya from the Bangladesh camps by boat to relatively prosperous Malaysia, usually between November and April when the seas are calmer.

But the route was disrupted in 2015 when a Bangladeshi crackdown killed dozens of top traffickers after Thai authorities discovered mass graves and overcrowded boats drifting at sea.&nbsp;

Now the traffickers are back, officials say, preying on the camps where 740,000 Rohingya took shelter in 2017 after fleeing a brutal military crackdown in their homeland in <a href="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-uds-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/un-experts-urge-financial-isolation-of-myanmar-military-218741&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwiey8rN153iAhXFK48KHc1TBi4QFjABegQIDxAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw0fjEzMKN_GqYOhJe1eEaJs">Myanmar</a>.

Masud Hossain, police chief of Cox's Bazar district, told AFP that the police alone have this year rescued over 300 Rohingya, including many young girls, lured by traffickers to go to Malaysia.

On Tuesday evening Cox's Bazar police rescued 34 Rohingya bound for Malaysia, local police chief Fariduddin Khandker said, a day after 69 people were rescued.

Police also intercepted 23 Rohingya teenage girls from the capital Dhaka last week waiting to be trafficked to Malaysia by air. Police suspect the girls were to be sold for forced prostitution.

Rights activists are worried about growing desperation in the camps but said gunfights were not the solution.

"This (killing traffickers in gunfights) will never bring any permanent solution. Instead, it will create a horrific environment in the camps," prominent rights worker Nur Khan Liton told AFP.

Bangladeshi police shot dead two suspected Rohingya human traffickers, officials said Wednesday, after rescuing 103 refugees in two days about to make the perilous sea voyage to Malaysia.

Bangladeshi police shot dead two suspected Rohingya human traffickers, officials said Wednesday, after rescuing 103 refugees in two days about to make the perilous sea voyage to Malaysia. The two Rohingya men were killed outside a refugee camp in the southeast on Tuesday evening, said Prodip Kumar Das, police chief of Teknaf which borders Myanmar. "They opened fire at the police. We fired back in retaliation," he told AFP. This is the first time in four years suspected human traffickers were killed in a gunfight in Bangladesh's southeast. It follows a rise in attempted human smuggling of Rohingya in the last few months. People-smugglers have in recent years sent tens of thousands of Rohingya from the Bangladesh camps by boat to relatively prosperous Malaysia, usually between November and April when the seas are calmer. But the route was disrupted in 2015 when a Bangladeshi crackdown killed dozens of top traffickers after Thai authorities discovered mass graves and overcrowded boats drifting at sea. Now the traffickers are back, officials say, preying on the camps where 740,000 Rohingya took shelter in 2017 after fleeing a brutal military crackdown in their homeland in Myanmar. Masud Hossain, police chief of Cox's Bazar district, told AFP that the police alone have this year rescued over 300 Rohingya, including many young girls, lured by traffickers to go to Malaysia. On Tuesday evening Cox's Bazar police rescued 34 Rohingya bound for Malaysia, local police chief Fariduddin Khandker said, a day after 69 people were rescued. Police also intercepted 23 Rohingya teenage girls from the capital Dhaka last week waiting to be trafficked to Malaysia by air. Police suspect the girls were to be sold for forced prostitution. Rights activists are worried about growing desperation in the camps but said gunfights were not the solution. "This (killing traffickers in gunfights) will never bring any permanent solution. Instead, it will create a horrific environment in the camps," prominent rights worker Nur Khan Liton told AFP.

Alleged Rohingya traffickers shot by Bangladesh police, 103 refugees rescued

A U.N. official on Tuesday (May 14) has urged Myanmar to grant aid workers "predictable, sustained access" to Rakhine state, where fighting between government troops and rebels has displaced nearly 33,000 people since late last year, saying lack of aid has cost lives.

'People are dying': U.N official urges Myanmar to grant aid access to Rakhine state

Rakhine villagers trapped by a Myanmar army lockdown said Tuesday they are fast running out of water as the operation against suspected ethnic rebels -- which killed six and saw mass detentions -- entered a third week.

Thousands of troops have been deployed across northern Rakhine to root out Arakan Army (AA) insurgents in violence which has displaced more than 30,000 people since December.

Myanmar's armed forces are using heavy artillery against the AA, who are fighting for more autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, but civilians say they have been caught up in the operations.

Complex ethnic and religious divisions cut across Rakhine state.

It was also the scene of the military's brutal crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in 2017, which forced some 740,000 over the border into Bangladesh in violence branded as "genocide" by UN investigators.

On 30 April, security forces raided the ethnic Rakhine village of Kyauk Tan in Rathedaung township, taking 275 men for interrogation at a school.

They admitted shooting dead six detainees and wounding eight more two days later, claiming the men tried to attack them.

Eight men have been arrested and taken to state capital Sittwe, military spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun said, adding that six of them had confessed to being AA members.

He said all the remaining detainees were released Monday.

But residents told AFP by phone Tuesday the village remained sealed off -- and food and water supplies were running dangerously low.

"Both humans and animals are thirsty as we still cannot go outside the village," said village elder Tun Thein, 56.

"Some animals have died from starvation and thirst," he said, adding soldiers were still preventing residents from moving freely.

Another woman, asking not to be named, said the villagers were forced to boil "muddy water" to drink.

Zaw Min Tun said as far as he knew the only people still facing constraints were the released detainees in case they were needed for "further investigation".

Access to the north of Rakhine state is heavily restricted, making independent verification difficult.

In the absence of oversight, fears are mounting of military impunity. &nbsp;

Zaw Naing was one of the final detainees released from the school Monday.

He told AFP three of his family were among those shot dead during the ordeal and said residents were still "living in fear".

The AA has denied the villagers were rebels.

Three other ethnic Rakhine men died in military custody last month.

Rakhine villagers trapped by a Myanmar army lockdown said Tuesday they are fast running out of water as the operation against suspected ethnic rebels -- which killed six and saw mass detentions -- entered a third week.

Rakhine villagers trapped by a Myanmar army lockdown said Tuesday they are fast running out of water as the operation against suspected ethnic rebels -- which killed six and saw mass detentions -- entered a third week. Thousands of troops have been deployed across northern Rakhine to root out Arakan Army (AA) insurgents in violence which has displaced more than 30,000 people since December. Myanmar's armed forces are using heavy artillery against the AA, who are fighting for more autonomy for the state's ethnic Rakhine Buddhists, but civilians say they have been caught up in the operations. Complex ethnic and religious divisions cut across Rakhine state. It was also the scene of the military's brutal crackdown against Rohingya Muslims in 2017, which forced some 740,000 over the border into Bangladesh in violence branded as "genocide" by UN investigators. On 30 April, security forces raided the ethnic Rakhine village of Kyauk Tan in Rathedaung township, taking 275 men for interrogation at a school. They admitted shooting dead six detainees and wounding eight more two days later, claiming the men tried to attack them. Eight men have been arrested and taken to state capital Sittwe, military spokesperson Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun said, adding that six of them had confessed to being AA members. He said all the remaining detainees were released Monday. But residents told AFP by phone Tuesday the village remained sealed off -- and food and water supplies were running dangerously low. "Both humans and animals are thirsty as we still cannot go outside the village," said village elder Tun Thein, 56. "Some animals have died from starvation and thirst," he said, adding soldiers were still preventing residents from moving freely. Another woman, asking not to be named, said the villagers were forced to boil "muddy water" to drink. Zaw Min Tun said as far as he knew the only people still facing constraints were the released detainees in case they were needed for "further investigation". Access to the north of Rakhine state is heavily restricted, making independent verification difficult. In the absence of oversight, fears are mounting of military impunity. Zaw Naing was one of the final detainees released from the school Monday. He told AFP three of his family were among those shot dead during the ordeal and said residents were still "living in fear". The AA has denied the villagers were rebels. Three other ethnic Rakhine men died in military custody last month.

'Dead livestock and water running out' in Myanmar village under army lockdown

A Myanmar National Airlines flight landed safely at Mandalay airport on Sunday after landing gear problems forced it to touch down without the use of its front wheel.

Myanmar plane makes emergency landing without front wheel

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