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New president in Myanmar, but same persecution of Rohingya? | TheHill

posted onJune 21, 2017
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Article snippet: On March 15, 2016, the Burmese parliament elected Htin Kyaw as Myanmar's first civilian president in 53 years. It was a historic day for the Burmese people and for democracy in the strife-ridden state, which has been controlled by the military since 1962. While Kyaw's election marks a significant divergence from Myanmar's political and economic past, an important question remains: What are its implications for the persecuted Rohingya minority? The Rohingya have lived in western Myanmar for hundreds of years; however, the 1982 Citizenship Law maintains that the Rohingya are foreigners residing in Burmese territory, and it prohibits the Rohingya from acquiring citizenship. In effect, the Rohingya are not afforded any protection under the law, and are rendered stateless with no political, economic or social rights. Approximately 140,000 Rohingya are internally displaced in central Rakhine state and hundreds of thousands have fled to neighboring countries, including at least 231,000 in Bangladesh, at least 15,000 in Malaysia and many more in Thailand and Indonesia. Mass graves of Rohingya were discovered near the Malaysian border in 2015, and reports indicate that traffickers demanded $2,000 ransoms from the victims' families. If the money was not received, the Rohinya were beaten to death, or neglected to such an extent that they succumbed to sickness and disease. The Rohingya have suffered significant social, economic, political and humanitarian discrimination, in... Link to the full article to read more

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