WASHINGTON - The House overwhelmingly approved a resolution Thursday to label the deadly persecution of a Muslim minority group in Myanmar by the country's military a "genocide," in sharp contrast to President Donald Trump's public silence on the matter. The bill, approved by a vote of 394-1, also calls on...
Bangladesh Scraps Rohingya Return, Says No One Wants to Go
COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh — The head of Bangladesh's refugee commission said plans to begin the repatriation of 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to Myanmar on Thursday were scrapped after officials were unable to find anyone who wanted to return. The refugees "are not willing to go back now," Refugee Commissioner Abul Kalam...
Suu Kyi Says Handling of Rohingya Could Have Been Better
HANOI, Vietnam — In the face of global condemnation, Myanmar's leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday said that the handling of Rohingya Muslims, 700,000 of whom have fled to Bangladesh amid a brutal military campaign, could have been better, but still defended security forces...
Pence Calls on Myanmar to Free 2 Reuters Reporters
YANGON, Myanmar — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence called on Myanmar to immediately release two journalists who were sentenced to seven years' imprisonment on charges of possessing state secrets in connection with their reporting on massacres against Rohingya Muslims. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo from the Reuters news agency...
Myanmar Court Sentences Reuters Reporters to 7 Years in Prison
YANGON, Myanmar — A Myanmar court sentenced two Reuters journalists to seven years in prison Monday on charges of illegal possession of official documents, a ruling met with international condemnation that will add to outrage over the military's human rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo...
UN Team: Myanmar Military Chiefs Should Face 'Genocide' Case
GENEVA — Investigators working for the U.N.'s top human rights body said Monday that Myanmar military leaders should be prosecuted for genocide against Rohingya Muslims, taking the unusual step of identifying six by name among those behind deadly, systematic crimes against the ethnic minority. The call, accompanying a first report...
A Year Later, Fractured Rohingya Community Sees Little Hope
KUTUPALONG, Bangladesh — Forged over generations in villages in Myanmar, Rohingya communities are now held together in calls over crackling phone lines. "Mummy! Mummy!" 15-year-old Abdullah Razzaq shouted to his mother earlier this week in their once-a-week call, nearly a year after he and his brother, along with more than...
Saudi Arabia Crucifies Myanmar Man Convicted of Murder
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia says it executed and crucified a man from Myanmar convicted of killing a woman and carrying out other crimes. The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported on the execution Wednesday, saying it was carried out in the Muslim holy city of Mecca. It said...
I Visited the Rohingya Camps in Myanmar. This Is What I Saw.
Myanmar recently claimed to have repatriated its first Rohingya refugee family. But, as an official from the United Nations noted, the country is still not safe for the return of its estimated 700,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees, who fled to Bangladesh in 2017 to escape an ongoing state-sponsored military campaign and...
Can Rohingya Muslims Ever Return Home to Myanmar?
In January, over 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who escaped ethnic violence in Myanmar were supposed to begin a repatriation process back to the country they fled. The refugees are currently sheltering in over-crowded camps inside neighboring Bangladesh. With monsoon season fast approaching, concerns are growing that the soon to be rain and...