DHAKA, Bangladesh — Authorities in Bangladesh on Friday sent the first group of more than 1,500 Rohingya refugees to an isolated island despite calls by human rights groups for a halt to the process. The 1,642 refugees boarded seven Bangladeshi naval vessels in the port of Chittagong for the trip...
Rohingya Hail UN Ruling Ordering Myanmar to Prevent Genocide
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The United Nations' top court on Thursday ordered Myanmar to do all it can to prevent genocide against the Rohingya people, a ruling met by members of the Muslim minority with gratitude and relief but also some skepticism that the country's rulers will fully comply. The...
Nobel Winner's Army Defense Blasted in Myanmar Genocide Case
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Lawyers seeking to halt what they allege is ongoing genocide in Myanmar have slammed leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s defense of her country’s armed forces, saying Thursday that the Nobel Peace Prize winner and former pro-democracy icon chose to ignore “unspeakable” crimes targeting Muslim civilians. The...
Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi Defends Myanmar Army in Genocide Case
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Nobel Peace Prize winner and former political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi denied Wednesday that Myanmar's armed forces committed genocide, telling the United Nation's top court that the mass exodus of Rohingya people from the country she leads was the unfortunate result of a battle with...
Fallen Rights Icon at UN Court for Rohingya Genocide Case
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Twenty-eight years to the day after Aung San Suu Kyi’s husband and sons accepted her Nobel Peace Prize while she remained under house arrest in Myanmar, the former pro-democracy icon appeared in a United Nations court ready to defend her country's army from allegations of committing...
International Court Judges Authorize Rohingya Investigation
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — International Criminal Court judges on Thursday approved a request from prosecutors to open an investigation into crimes committed against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority. A prominent rights group said the decision will give fresh hope to victims that those responsible for brutal crimes against the Rohingya will...
House Approves Resolution Calling Persecution of Myanmar Muslims a 'Genocide'
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...
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...
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...
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...