Rohingya refugees ask for citizenship, rights guarantee before Myanmar return

Special Rohingya refugees ask for citizenship, rights guarantee before Myanmar return
A Rohingya refugee child walks back to his makeshift shelter after collecting water at Hakimpara refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Ukhia district on January 27, 2018. (AFP)
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Updated 20 March 2023

Rohingya refugees ask for citizenship, rights guarantee before Myanmar return

Rohingya refugees ask for citizenship, rights guarantee before Myanmar return
  • Bangladesh hosts, supports around 1.2 million Rohingya people
  • Myanmar now more willing to start repatriation process: Bangladesh foreign ministry official

DHAKA: Rohingya refugees said on Monday their citizenship and basic rights must be guaranteed before returning to Myanmar, as the first step of a potential repatriation got underway.

Around 1.2 million Rohingya people are living in squalid camps in the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, most of whom fled violence and persecution in neighboring Myanmar during a military crackdown in 2017.

A team from Myanmar arrived last week to verify Rohingya refugees in Bangladeshi camps for their potential return as part of a pilot repatriation project, which has been delayed for years.

Authorities were expecting 400 people to be cleared to return to their homeland, part of more than 1,100 listed as a potential first batch of returnees. The documents of the rest were already cleared by Myanmar authorities remotely.

“I am willing to return to Myanmar if we are guaranteed citizenship and other associated rights, like freedom of movement,” Abdur Rahman, an 18-year-old Rohingya refugee in Cox’s Bazar, told Arab News.

Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as an indigenous ethnic group. Most were rendered stateless under the country’s 1982 Citizenship Law and had been excluded from the 2014 census. Many in the Buddhist-majority country refer to members of the community as Bengalis, suggesting they belong in Bangladesh.

“Our houses were burnt down,” Rahman said. “Some of my relatives are still living in Rakhine, I talk with them almost every day. As they told me, the situation in Rakhine is far better now.”

Rakhine State, one of Myanmar’s poorest states, was at the center of the 2017 violence.

Though Rahman’s village is still deserted, his relatives told him that some public facilities, including schools and hospitals, in other areas have been rebuilt.

However, repatriation was still uncertain even with the ongoing verification process, a Bangladesh foreign ministry official, who wished to remain anonymous, told Arab News.

“At the moment, it’s difficult to specify any time frame in this regard. We can say that both parties are working to solve the problems,” the official said, adding that the Myanmar delegation was expected to conclude its mission on Tuesday.

For a long time, Myanmar authorities “were going very slow” in verifying Rohingya refugees, leading to an extended delay of the repatriation process, the official said, adding that Myanmar officials now appeared “a little bit more willing than before” to start the project.

However, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said conditions in Rakhine State were still “not conducive to the sustainable return of Rohingya refugees.”

In a statement, the UNHCR said it was “not involved in the discussions” of a potential return of the Rohingya people in Bangladesh to Myanmar, though it was aware of the bilateral repatriation project between the two countries, which was reportedly mediated by China.

“We reiterate that every refugee has a right to return to their home country based on an informed choice, but that no refugee should be forced to do so,” the UNHCR added.

Mohammed Nur, a 22-year-old Rohingya refugee living in Kutupalong camp, told Arab News that he wanted to go back to Myanmar.

“I am very much willing to return to my homeland,” he said. “But it cannot happen without the rights of citizenship in Myanmar.

“If our rights are ensured, I believe all of us would return to Myanmar, because a refugee’s life has no dignity.”


Bangladesh power cuts may last two more weeks on fuel shortages

Bangladesh power cuts may last two more weeks on fuel shortages
Updated 17 sec ago

Bangladesh power cuts may last two more weeks on fuel shortages

Bangladesh power cuts may last two more weeks on fuel shortages
  • Bangladesh has suffered under severe power shortages since April as a searing heatwave spiked demand for electricity
  • The power losses threaten Bangladesh’s crucial apparel sector that accounts for more than 80 percent of its exports and supplies retailers
DHAKA: Bangladesh could face power cuts for two more weeks, its power minister said late on Sunday, as higher electricity consumption because of rising temperatures has caused a fuel shortfall for generation plants.
Bangladesh has suffered under severe power shortages since April as a searing heatwave spiked demand for electricity and then a deadly cyclone cut off supplies of natural gas to fuel plants. The country has also curtailed imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), its main power generation fuel, after record high prices in the second half of 2022 made the fuel too expensive.
“This condition may remain for another two weeks,” Nasrul Hamid, minister of state for power, energy and mineral resources told reporters.
“This problem is happening because we are not able to ensure an adequate supply of coal and gas,” Hamid said.
The power losses threaten Bangladesh’s crucial apparel sector that accounts for more than 80 percent of its exports and supplies retailers such as Walmart, Gap Inc, H&M , VF Corp, Zara and American Eagle Outfitters .
The loss of those exports will exacerbate issues around its dollar reserves, which have plunged by nearly a third in the 12 months to end of April to a seven-year low, and limited its ability to pay for fuel imports.
Hamid said the country’s power sector officials had been working to avert fuel shortfalls over the last two months, but higher consumption was making the task harder.
An impending shutdown of a key coal-fired power unit from Tuesday because of a fuel shortage over the next few days could further worsen the situation, a senior official from the power ministry said.
“Only rain can give us some relief as power demand decreases when it rains,” said the official, who declined to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The frequent power cuts have also drawn criticism from opposition parties.”“The entire country is almost without electricity. People are getting sick in extreme heat,” said Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, a senior leader of the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi calls on US audience to stand up for ‘modern India’

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi calls on US audience to stand up for ‘modern India’
Updated 05 June 2023

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi calls on US audience to stand up for ‘modern India’

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi calls on US audience to stand up for ‘modern India’
  • The Congress Party defeated the BJP in recent state elections in the Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka states, wins that came after a series of state elections defeats after Modi became India’s prime minister in 2014

NEW YORK: Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi pressed his criticism of the country’s leadership in a speech Sunday, calling for Indians in the US and back home to stand up for democracy and the Indian constitution.
Gandhi, a sharp critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was expelled from Parliament, accused Modi and his Bharativa Janata Party (BJP) of dividing the country and failing to focus on important issues such as unemployment and education.
“To be nasty to people, to be arrogant, to be violent, these are not Indian values,” Gandhi, 52, told a crowd of about 700 at the Indian Overseas Congress USA event at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. He spoke just after a minute of silence recognizing a massive train derailment in eastern India that killed 275 people and injured hundreds more.
Gandhi has been on a three-city tour of the United States, including speaking engagements at Stanford University in California and the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Meanwhile, US congressional leaders have invited Modi to address a joint meeting of Congress later this month. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other leaders announced the address as an “opportunity to share your vision for India’s future and speak to the global challenges our countries both face.”
Grandson of former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi is a member of the Indian National Congress party. He is considered to be Modi’s main challenger in the upcoming 2024 elections.
“Modern India cannot exist without our constitution and our democracy,” he said Sunday. He also urged a stronger partnership between India and the US to offset China’s influence.
“One of the things we have to think about is the bridge between India and the United States,” he said. “How do we compete with the challenge the Chinese have placed on the table,” he asked, specifically citing issues of mobility and the world’s energy supply.
The Congress Party defeated the BJP in recent state elections in the Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka states, wins that came after a series of state elections defeats after Modi became India’s prime minister in 2014. Gandhi now holds no official position in his party. He gave up the post of party president after his severe defeats by Modi’s Hindu nationalist party in 2019 national elections, though his supporters hope the more recent results will impact the country’s 2024 national elections, which are likely to be held before May.
Gandhi suffered a serious setback in March when a court convicted him in a criminal defamation case for mocking Modi’s surname, a decision that led to him being expelled from parliament. He could lose his eligibility to run for a parliamentary seat for the next eight years if an appeals court doesn’t overturn his conviction. The conviction came in connection with a speech he gave in 2019.
Gandhi, who is not related to Mahatma Gandhi, also invoked the assassinated Indian leader’s name several times during his speech, praising his model of non-violence.

 

 


Russia says shoots down Ukraine-launched drones over Crimea, Kursk

Russia says shoots down Ukraine-launched drones over Crimea, Kursk
Updated 05 June 2023

Russia says shoots down Ukraine-launched drones over Crimea, Kursk

Russia says shoots down Ukraine-launched drones over Crimea, Kursk
  • The strikes came after multiple attacks on the Russian border region of Belgorod and oil infrastructure inside the country, as well as a drone strike on wealthy districts of Moscow earlier in the week

MOSCOW: Russia said on Sunday it intercepted nine drones over the Crimean Peninsula and one over the small town of Sudzha in the southern region of Kursk, in what have been nearly daily attacks inside the country or on Moscow-held territories.
Five drones were shot down and four were jammed and did not hit their targets in Dzhankoi in Crimea, said a Russian-installed official in the peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
A Ukrainian-launched drone was downed over Sudzha later in the day, the governor of the Kursk region that borders with Ukraine said on the Telegram messaging app.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
The strikes came after multiple attacks on the Russian border region of Belgorod and oil infrastructure inside the country, as well as a drone strike on wealthy districts of Moscow earlier in the week.
Kyiv denied attacking Moscow and Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks elsewhere inside Russia and on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.
There were no casualties in the Sunday drone attacks, officials said. In Dzhankoi, windows were broken in several houses, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-backed head of Crimea’s administration, said on the Telegram messaging app.
He added that one unexploded drone was found on the territory of a residential house, forcing the temporary evacuation of about 50 people in the area.
Russia has a military air base near Dzhankoi. Ukrainian officials have long said the city and surrounding areas have been turned into Moscow’s largest military base in Crimea.

 


Russian police arrest more than 100 Navalny supporters -group

Police officers detain a demonstrator in Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP)
Police officers detain a demonstrator in Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP)
Updated 05 June 2023

Russian police arrest more than 100 Navalny supporters -group

Police officers detain a demonstrator in Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, June 4, 2023. (AP)
  • Navalny, who rose to prominence by lampooning President Vladimir Putin’s elite and alleging vast corruption, said in April that an “absurd” terrorism case had been opened against him that could see him sentenced to a further 30 years in jail

MOSCOW: Russian police on Sunday arrested more than 100 people who had taken to the streets to mark the 47th birthday of Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, a protest monitoring group said.
OVD-Info said in a statement that 109 people had been detained in 23 cities as of 10:42 p.m. Moscow time (1942 GMT). Authorities have clamped down heavily on signs of dissent since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and in most cities, only a handful of people were held.
Navalny is serving combined sentences of 11-1/2 years for fraud and contempt of court on charges that he said were trumped up to silence him.
Footage from Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia’s two largest cities, showed police arresting individual demonstrators. One man could be seen briefly holding up a sign before Moscow police ushered him away, bent over, as he groaned in pain.
Another man, who held up a sign in English that read “Free Navalny,” was also arrested in Moscow.
In St. Petersburg, a woman accompanied by a child told reporters that “I’m against the war, that’s why they detained me with my underage kid.”
Navalny, who rose to prominence by lampooning President Vladimir Putin’s elite and alleging vast corruption, said in April that an “absurd” terrorism case had been opened against him that could see him sentenced to a further 30 years in jail.

 

 


Prigozhin says Kremlin factions are destroying the Russian state

Prigozhin says Kremlin factions are destroying the Russian state
Updated 05 June 2023

Prigozhin says Kremlin factions are destroying the Russian state

Prigozhin says Kremlin factions are destroying the Russian state
  • Prigozhin said a dispute between him and Chechen forces who are also fighting alongside the Russian army in Ukraine had been resolved

MOSCOW: Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday that Kremlin factions were destroying the state by trying to sow discord between him and Chechen fighters.
That row had now been settled but infighting in the Kremlin had opened a Pandora’s Box of rifts, he said.
Prigozhin, a 62-year-old former restauranteur who founded the Wagner mercenary group and is a member of President Vladimir Putin’s wider circle, has gained widespread notoriety during the 15-month war in Ukraine.
His troops have spearheaded battles in the city of Bakhmut and elsewhere, but he has also rowed with the Russian military over tactics, logistical support and other issues.
Prigozhin said a dispute between him and Chechen forces who are also fighting alongside the Russian army in Ukraine had been resolved. But he laid the blame for the discord on unidentified Kremlin factions — which he calls “Kremlin towers.”
Their scheming had got so out of hand that Putin had been forced to scold them at a Security Council meeting, he said.
“Pandora’s Box is already open — we are not the ones who opened it,” Prigozhin said in a message posted by his press service. “Some Kremlin tower decided to play dangerous games.”
“Dangerous games have become commonplace in the Kremlin towers...they are simply destroying the Russian state.”
He did not identify the Kremlin faction but said that it continued its attempts to sow discord, it would have “hell to pay.” The Kremlin did not comment on his remarks.
Putin held a Security Council meeting of Friday about what he said were “interethnic” relations inside the country.
Prigozhin said Chechen remarks made about him sounded like something out of the early 1990s when conflicts gripped Russian cities after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
“Clearly the statements made were rather provocative, aimed at hurting me and freaking me out,” Prigozhin said.
Prigozhin also said any battle between Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s Akhmat special forces and Wagner would result in serious bloodshed but there was no doubt who would win.
He also again vented his anger about the current state of the war and the culpability of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
“The ministry of defense is not in a state to do anything at all as it de-facto doesn’t exist — it is in chaos,” Prigozhin said.
The defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Niether Shoigu nor Gerasimov have commented in public about Prigozhin’s comments.