Benjamin Millar
A GROUP of hunger strikers protesting against their indefinite detention in Melbourne's north have marked Tamil New Year by drinking a mouthful of water.

The 27 hunger strikers at the MITA detention centre in Broadmeadows have entered their seventh day of refusing to eat until the federal government addresses the situation that has left them in limbo for more than three years.

The 25 Tamils and two Burmese Rohingyas have been granted refugee status but had their release into the community refused due to adverse ASIO assessments.

The men are refusing to go inside and have remained in the grounds day and night.
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Speaking through the Tamil Refugee Council, one of the hunger strikers said they have become very tired and weak but were buoyed by national and international support for their cause.

Burma Campaign UK criticises President Thein Sein for oppressive policies against minority Muslims

By Gianluca Mezzofiore

Myanmar's government has violated at least eight international laws with its treatment of the Rohingya Muslims, one of the world's most persecuted minorities, according to a British-based advocacy group.

The Rohingya Muslim community in Pakistan has staged a protest rally in the southern port city of Karachi to show their outrage at the ongoing violence in Myanmar.

by Andrew Drummond

Just what is going on in Arakan State?

The abuse of the Rohingya in Burma continues. At the same time foreign companies and tourists are flooding in to the newly reformed country. Well just how reformed is it? Where are the forces in Burma defending this minority, whose very right to existence seems to be denied? This report was issued today by Human Rights Watch.
The Burmese government is systematically restricting humanitarian aid and imposing discriminatory policies on Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State, Human Rights Watch said today. The government should permit unfettered access to humanitarian agencies to provide assistance to Muslim populations, end segregated areas, and put forward a plan for those displaced to return to their homes.

“Burmese government restrictions on aid to Rohingya Muslims are creating a humanitarian crisis that will become a disaster when the rainy season arrives,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of addressing the problem, Burma’s leaders seem intent on keeping the Rohingya segregated in camps rather than planning for them to return to their homes.”