Muslim body urges Myanmar to let in UN monitors

Updated 13 September 2017
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Muslim body urges Myanmar to let in UN monitors

UKHIYA, Bangladesh: The world’s largest Muslim body is urging Myanmar to allow in UN monitors so they can investigate what it alleges is systematic brutality against the Rohingya ethnic minority.
At least 370,000 Rohingya have flooded into Bangladesh since Aug. 25, when Myanmar’s military responded to an insurgent attack with what it called “clearance operations” to root out the rebels. Many of the fleeing Rohingya have said Myanmar soldiers shot indiscriminately, burned their homes and warned them to leave or die. Others said they were attacked by Buddhist mobs.
The UN Human Rights Council approved an investigative mission earlier this year, but Myanmar in June refused to allow it to enter. An envoy’s visit in July was met with protests.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation issued its statement Tuesday after an emergency meeting on the sidelines of a technology conference in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Two human rights groups are accusing the UN Security Council of ignoring the “ethnic cleansing” taking place on a large scale against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar who are fleeing across the border to Bangladesh.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International representatives said at a joint press conference at UN headquarters Tuesday that the UN’s most powerful body has failed to speak out and immediately demand an end to the violence.
It comes ahead of closed council discussions Wednesday on the crisis.
The UN said Tuesday that 370,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25 and thousands are arriving every day.
Louis Charbonneau, the UN director for Human Rights Watch, said, “This is an international peace and security crisis” and there is no excuse for the Security Council “sitting on its hands.”

The United Nations says two flights have landed in Bangladesh with supplies to help 25,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said one flight chartered by the UN refugee agency carried shelter materials, sleeping mats and other emergency supplies for a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar district in the country’s southeast. He said a second flight, donated by the United Arab Emirates, carried nearly 2,000 family tents.
Further flights are planned to enable a total of 120,000 refugees to be reached.
Dujarric says the UN World Food Program is providing food to some 70,000 people as they arrive in Cox’s Bazar and to nearly 60,000 people living in camps and makeshift settlements.
In Myanmar, Dujarric said most aid activities in northern Rakhine state remain either suspended or severely interrupted, although the government is delivering some aid through the Red Cross.

Myanmar’s military says Rohingya Muslim villagers helped them arrest six suspected Rohingya insurgents armed with swords and slingshots in the country’s conflict-torn northern Rakhine state.
The government says the six are suspected of being members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, which attacked police posts Aug. 25. Violence since then has sent hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing, burned 60 villages and left hundreds dead. The government and Rohingya blame each other.
The military commander in chief’s office said Tuesday on its Facebook page that six alleged insurgents were detained Monday by fellow Rohingya as they entered Ka Nyin Tan village in Maungdaw township.
Authorities in Buddhist-majority Myanmar refer to Rohingya as Bengalis, contending that they immigrated illegally from nearby Bangladesh, though many Rohingya families have lived in Myanmar for generations.

The UN refugee agency says the number of Rohingya refugees that have fled recent violence in Myanmar has spiked to about 370,000.
That new estimate given Tuesday in a statement by UNHCR is more than 50,000 higher than Monday’s estimate — a result of aid agencies reaching “more villages, hamlet and pockets where refugees have gathered.”
Thousands of ethnic Rohingya Muslims have been arriving daily by foot across the swampy border as well as by rickety wooden boats traveling on wild seas since violence erupted on Aug. 25 in Myanmar.
The influx has left Bangladesh refugee camps reeling. The UNHCR said it was flying in two shipments of aid materials including jerry cans, blankets, sleeping mats and shelter materials.
It said the goods would help some 25,000 refugees at jam-packed refugee camps in Bangladesh’s border district of Cox’s Bazar. More airlifts were planned in coming days.

Iran’s Supreme Leader has strongly condemned the killing of Muslims in Myanmar by the government.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the killing of Rohingya Muslims is a political disaster for Myanmar because it is being carried out by a government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, whom he called a “brutal woman.”
He urged Muslim countries to take practical steps to stop the violence and said they should “increase political, economic and commercial pressures on the government of Myanmar.”
At least 313,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since Aug. 25, when Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts, prompting Myanmar’s military to retaliate with what it called “clearance operations” to root out the rebels.
Myanmar authorities said more than a week ago that some 400 Rohingya, mostly insurgents, had died in clashes with troops, but it has offered no update. It has also blamed Rohingya for burning their own homes even though new fires were occurring after Rohingya fled.

The Bangladeshi prime minister is visiting a struggling refugee camp that has absorbed some of the hundreds of thousands who fled recent violence in Myanmar.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told a rally during Tuesday’s visit to the Kutupalong refugee camp, near the border town of Ukhiya, that she wished for peace for the Rohingya and would not “tolerate injustice” against them.
She pledged that Bangladesh would do its best to help the Rohingya, but said Myanmar should take steps soon to “take their nationals back.”
On Monday night, she lambasted Myanmar for “atrocities” that she said had reached a level beyond description.

The Bangladeshi leader has lambasted Myanmar for the “atrocities” that have driven hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh in recent weeks.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged Buddhist-majority Myanmar to bring the Rohingya back, while parliament passed a motion Monday night urging the UN and other countries to pressure Myanmar for their safety and citizenship.
“Myanmar must take back every Rohingya who has entered Bangladesh and who are coming in now,” she told lawmakers late Monday. “We can cooperate to rehabilitate them in their country.”
Hasina criticized Myanmar’s authorities for the recent violence against the Rohingya, which she said had reached a level beyond description.

The United States says it is “deeply troubled” by the Myanmar crisis, which hundreds of thousands of Muslims have fled to escape violence.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the administration continues to condemn the violence between Rohingya Muslims and Myanmar security forces.
The United Nations reported Monday that 313,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine — the biggest flight of the minority Rohingya in a generation.
The violence began Aug. 25, when an ethnic Rohingya insurgent group attacked police posts in Myanmar and security forces retaliated.
Villages were burned and hundreds of people died, mainly Rohingya Muslims, who are denied citizenship and regarded by Myanmar’s majority Buddhists as illegal immigrants.


Governor Koike discusses areas of cooperation with Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly

Updated 10 sec ago
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Governor Koike discusses areas of cooperation with Egyptian Prime Minister Madbouly

  • Dr. Mostafa Madbouly congratulated Koike on her re-election as Governor of Tokyo
  • The Prime Minister also lauded Japan’s contribution to implementing the Japanese Tokkatsu educational system

TOKYO: Governor of Tokyo, Koike Yuriko, who is visiting Cairo, met Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly on Friday at the government headquarters in the New Administrative Capital and discussed several cooperation initiatives, Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) officials told Arab News Japan.
The officials said Dr. Amr Talaat, Egypt’s Minister of Communications, and Information Technology; Ambassador Ahmed Shahin, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Asian Affairs; Mr. Katsunobu Takada, Chargé d’Affaires at the Japanese Embassy in Cairo, and Governor Koike’s accompanying delegation attended the meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister warmly welcomed Governor Koike and her delegation. He underscored the strategic and historical relations between Egypt and Japan, a testament to the enduring bond that continues to flourish in various fields.
Dr. Mostafa Madbouly congratulated Koike on her re-election as Governor of Tokyo in July for the third consecutive term and expressed his hopes for continued close coordination on various areas of bilateral cooperation.
The Prime Minister also expressed his fervent hope that Japan’s Prime Minister, alongside Governor Koike, will grace the official opening ceremony of the Grand Egyptian Museum once the project is finalized. He also extended his gratitude for Japan’s substantial contributions to major development projects in Egypt, including the museum.
Dr. Madbouly highlighted the Grand Egyptian Museum project as one of the foremost examples of cooperation between Cairo and Tokyo, along with the Egyptian Japanese educational partnership, exemplified by the Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology and Japanese Egyptian schools.
The Prime Minister also lauded Japan’s contribution to implementing the Japanese Tokkatsu educational system, affirming that Egypt is planning to expand this system. He attributed this decision to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s directive, acknowledging the system’s remarkable success and high quality.
Dr. Madbouly also highlighted the ongoing cooperation between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and TMG through the “SUSHI Tech Tokyo” initiative, a platform for promoting technological innovation, and the “Tokyo Innovation Base” platform, a hub for fostering entrepreneurial activities and technological advancements.
In turn, Governor Koike praised the bilateral cooperation between Egypt and Japan, expressing her happiness to visit Egypt, where she has unforgettable memories, having studied at Cairo University.
Koike also commended the well-organized 12th World Urban Forum, a global platform for discussing urban issues and solutions, which attracted a wide global audience.
In the meeting, Tokyo Governor Koike invited the Prime Minister, the Minister of Communications, and other Egyptian entities to participate in the upcoming “SUSHI Tech Tokyo” forum, scheduled for the first half of 2025. She noted that Japan has worked over the years to establish itself as a hub for startups and a welcoming environment for entrepreneurs.
Dr. Amr Talaat discussed several collaborative programs with Koike in information and communication technology, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and entrepreneurship. They explored the potential for experience exchange in business incubators for small projects across various sectors, including financial services, health care, and education.
Talaat highlighted that one of the main areas of cooperation with Tokyo’s government is in the startup and entrepreneurship sectors.
Governor Koike is in Egypt on the first leg of a tour of the region that includes Abu Dhabi of the UAE.


Germany brushes off Musk calling Scholz a ‘fool’

Updated 49 min 49 sec ago
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Germany brushes off Musk calling Scholz a ‘fool’

  • Government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann took a playful dig at the US tycoon, saying that “on X, you have Narrenfreiheit,” which translates to the freedom to act like a fool
  • A tight-lipped Scholz simply called it “not very friendly“

BERLIN: German officials on Friday brushed off tech billionaire Elon Musk labelling Olaf Scholz a “fool” on his social media platform X after the dramatic collapse of the chancellor’s coalition government.
In a comment Thursday above a post about the implosion of Scholz’s long-troubled coalition, the world’s richest man tweeted in German: “Olaf ist ein Narr” — “Olaf is a fool.”
Asked about Musk’s comment, government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann took a playful dig at the US tycoon, saying that “on X, you have Narrenfreiheit,” which translates to the freedom to act like a fool.
The word refers to revellers during Germany’s traditional carnival season, which starts next week, having the freedom to act without inhibitions.
Historically, the term echoes the notion of the “jester’s privilege” — the right of a court jester to mock those in power without being punished by the king.
Asked later about the comment, a tight-lipped Scholz simply called it “not very friendly,” adding that Internet companies are “not organs of state so I did not even pay it any attention.”
Musk strongly supported US election winner Donald Trump, and is now positioned to take up a role in his administration as a deputy tasked with restructuring government operations.
It is not the first time the Tesla boss has had run-ins with German officials online.
Last year he said Berlin-funded migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean could be seen as an “invasion” of Italy, sparking a terse response from the German foreign ministry.
He has also expressed sympathy for some of the positions of Germany’s far-right AfD party, which has notched up a string of recent electoral successes and is riding high in the opinion polls.


First flight with Israelis evacuated from Amsterdam lands in Tel Aviv

Updated 08 November 2024
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First flight with Israelis evacuated from Amsterdam lands in Tel Aviv

  • The plane that arrived in Tel Aviv had passengers evacuated from Amsterdam

TEL AVIV: The first flight carrying Israelis evacuated from Amsterdam after violent clashes following a football match there landed on Friday at Ben Gurion International Airport, the Israel Airports Authority said.
“The plane that arrived in Tel Aviv now has passengers evacuated from Amsterdam,” Liza Dvir, spokeswoman for the airport authority told AFP.


India’s Modi rejects calls to restore Kashmir’s partial autonomy

Updated 08 November 2024
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India’s Modi rejects calls to restore Kashmir’s partial autonomy

  • Modi revoked partial autonomy in 2019 and split the state into the two federally administered territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh 
  • Jammu and Kashmir held its first local election in a decade this year, newly-elected lawmakers passed resolution this week seeking restoration

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed his government’s contentious 2019 decision to revoke the partial autonomy of Jammu and Kashmir, days after the territory’s newly elected lawmakers sought its restoration.
“Only the constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar will operate in Kashmir... No power in the world can restore Article 370 (partial autonomy) in Kashmir,” Modi said, referring to one of the founding fathers of the Indian constitution.
Modi was speaking at a state election rally in the western state of Maharashtra, where Ambedkar was from.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government revoked partial autonomy in 2019 and split the state into the two federally administered territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh — a move that was opposed by many political groups in the Himalayan region.
Jammu and Kashmir held its first local election in a decade in September and October and the newly-elected lawmakers passed a resolution this week seeking the restoration.
Jammu and Kashmir’s ruling National Conference party had promised in its election manifesto that it would restore the partial autonomy, although the power to do so lies with Modi’s federal government.
Jammu and Kashmir’s new lawmakers can legislate on local issues like other Indian states, except matters regarding public order and policing. They will also need the approval of the federally-appointed administrator on all policy decisions that have financial implications.
Under the system of partial autonomy, Kashmir had its own constitution and the freedom to make laws on all issues except foreign affairs, defense and communications.
The troubled region, where separatist militants have fought security forces since 1989, is India’s only Muslim-majority territory.
It has been at the center of a territorial dispute with Pakistan since the neighbors gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947.
Kashmir is claimed in full but ruled in part by both India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over the region.


Kyiv says Russia has returned bodies of 563 soldiers

Updated 08 November 2024
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Kyiv says Russia has returned bodies of 563 soldiers

  • The exchange of prisoners and bodies of killed military personnel remains one of the few areas of cooperation
  • The announcement represents one of the largest repatriations of killed Ukrainian servicemen

KYIV: Ukraine said on Friday it had received the bodies of 563 soldiers from Russian authorities, mainly troops that had died in combat in the eastern Donetsk region.
The exchange of prisoners and bodies of killed military personnel remains one of the few areas of cooperation between Moscow and Kyiv since Russia invaded in 2022.
“The bodies of 563 fallen Ukrainian defenders were returned to Ukraine,” the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said in a statement on social media.
The announcement represents one of the largest repatriations of killed Ukrainian servicemen since the beginning of the war.
The statement said that 320 of the remains were returned from the Donetsk region and that 89 of the soldiers had been killed near Bakhmut, a town captured by Russia in May last year after a costly battle.
Another 154 of the bodies were returned from morgues inside Russia, the statement added.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine publicly disclose how many military personnel have been killed fighting.