McClatchy Tribune in Yangon

Fighting in disputed region continues despite agreement to ease tensions, with both sides accused of continuing to enlist child soldiers

By Farish A. Noor

NATION-BUILDING: It must ensure the rights of all communities, including the Rohingya, are protected

 ONCE again, violence is flaring in the state of Rakhine, Myanmar. Once again, the headlines are full of stories about the violence meted out to the Rohingya minority.

That the issue exceeds the compartmentalised borders of Myanmar is evident for all to see, as it has contributed to a mass exodus across the frontier and now impacts on other countries like Bangla-desh, and even the rest of Southeast Asia, as a result of the movement of boat people.

Yet, the root of the problem can be traced back to a singular issue that is not unique to Myanmar, or to the Rohingya themselves.

By ZARNI MANN & SAMANTHA MICHAELS / THE IRRAWADDY

RANGOON — Burma’s government has removed more than 1,000 Burmese doctors from a blacklist that stripped them of their medical licenses and prevented many who lived abroad from returning home.

As Burma attempts to overhaul its long-neglected health care system and address a major shortage of doctors, the government on Thursday removed 1,010 doctors from its blacklist at the recommendation of the Ministry of Health, according to Myo Win Aung, a ministry director at the President’s Office.

He said in a statement that many more doctors remained on the blacklist but would be removed in the future.

By BBC

Police have found two more bodies in the western Burmese state of Rakhine, bringing the death toll to seven after recent deadly religious clashes. The bodies are those of two local Buddhist men. Police said last week that four men and a 94-year-old woman – all Muslims – had been killed by Buddhist mobs during the violence at the start of October. The violence comes as Burma took over leadership of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean). The two men were among a group of six people – a Christian pastor and five Buddhists – who were in the Thabyuchai area on 1 October, police say. They were passing the village in a taxi, unaware of the violence that was going on, when they were attacked by villagers with knives and sticks. Four of them managed to escape. But two disappeared. Their bodies were found by police and locals in the Linthi village cemetery. Tensions between Buddhists and Muslims have risen in recent years in Burma, which is also known as Myanmar. Violence which broke out in Rakhine in June 2012 left nearly 200 people dead and thousands displaced. The unrest has since spread to other parts of the country.

By DVB

The Karen National Union (KNU) is ready to sign a nationwide ceasefire agreement, according to one of its most prominent central executive committee members, Mahn Nyein Maung, who spoke to DVB in an interview on Monday.

“The KNU is looking to find solutions to all political issues through a nationwide ceasefire,” he said, adding that he envisages a “Panglong-like conference where representatives of the government, parliament, the Burmese armed forces, ethnic armed groups, political parties, civil society groups and women’s groups sit face to face to discuss political issues and amend the constitution.”

The KNU leader said that in a post-ceasefire world, all ethnic groups should be able to look for solutions to political issues based on federal principles.

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY

Following last week’s outbreak of deadly inter-communal violence in Thandwe Township, southern Arakan State, police arrested 48 people for their role in the unrest. An Arakan politician said on Wednesday that 35 of the detained are Arakanese Buddhists.

“Until yesterday, there are 35 ethnic Arakanese among the arrested. The government announced they arrested a total of 48 people,” said Khine Pyi Soe, spokesperson of the Rakhine National Development Party (RNDP), a nationalist Arakan party. “We would like to ask the authorities about their arrests,” he added.