"why? have heard of no Christians being forced to flee any of these countries."

Christians have been streaming out of the middle east in the hundreds of thousands for the last 20-30 years. Christianity will be "history" in the middle east soon.
charlie
ps i am an atheist so i have no dog in the fight

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/ ... iddle-east

charlie

Back on topic - that is, the on-going Rohingya crisis in Myanmar...

Myanmar conflict: Fake photos inflame tension
2 September 2017
Earlier this year, when a team from the United Nations Human Rights Commission carried out research into alleged human rights violations in Rakhine state, it refused to use any photographs or video it had not taken itself, because of the problem of authenticating such material.

Their report gives meticulous details of their methodology.

Yet its findings, of "devastating cruelty" towards the Rohingya community, and actions it said could amount to crimes against humanity, were rejected by the Myanmar government, which then refused to issue visas for a fact-finding mission to Rakhine state.

The information we are piecing together from different sources on the current situation in Rakhine state paints a clear picture of a serious conflict, with large-scale human casualties.

There appear to have been atrocities committed by both sides, but the situation for the Rohingya, now under sustained attack by the security forces and armed civilians, appears to be far worse.

Obtaining an accurate picture of what is happening, though, will take a long time, given how little access neutral observers have to the area.
But the social media disinformation campaigns will harden attitudes on both sides, and quite possibly make the conflict worse.
Full article : http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41123878

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Sat Sep 02, 2017 8:38 am am going to keep posting and hope ceo news does to keep this out there, The UN and the word can not ignore what is going on.
Governments are claiming they cant do anything because it would violate Myanmar's sovereignty, BUT the goverment will not allow anyone in to confirm or deny what is gong on

COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Nearly 400 people have died in fighting that has rocked Myanmar’s northwest for a week, new official data show, making it probably the deadliest bout of violence to engulf the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority in decades.

Around 38,000 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh from Myanmar, UN sources said, a week after Rohingya militants attacked police posts and an army base in Rakhine state, prompting clashes and a military counteroffensive.


About 20,000 more Rohingya trying to flee are stuck in no man’s land at the border, the U.N. sources said, as aid workers in Bangladesh struggle to alleviate the sufferings of a sudden influx of thousands of hungry and traumatized people.

https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/ne ... tants.html

For background on this problem, please read this interview from 2012 with Rakhine history expert Dr. Jacques P. Leider

On August 25, the Arakan Rohginya Salvation Army attacked some 30 police outposts and an army base in Rakhine State, causing the Myanmar Army to respond with security clearance operations. The renewed violence has sent thousands of Rohingya Muslims and Arakanese Buddhists fleeing their homes to temporary camps in the region or across the border to Bangladesh.

....For me, Rohingya is the term, which is an old word that has been claimed as above all as a political label after the independence of Myanmar. For the moment, I do not see that all the people there readily submit to one and a single label.

https://www.irrawaddy.com/in-person/his ... flict.html

I read that interview and thought it was very interesting. Lieder's research has been controversial to say the least. Still, after years of research, I myself can not find much rock solid evidence on the true nature of the situations that have been developing this way for decades, apart from the fact that drastic communal tensions have incurred brutal military interventions resulting in humanitarian crises. As for details, there are various interests at play, biases being abused, and lots of shouting matches going on.

The Irrawaddy paper is also an interesting case. It seems to me it could be a political paper, if you take their pointed questions in this interview. I also notice they have been posting many videos/articles recently of the suffering and flight of Hindus and Buddhists at the hands of Muslims in Rakhine. They do try to balance out with some articles on the Rohingya's plight, and never go so far as to actively use the term "Bengali" or the like, but they certainly report very differently to other newspapers on the matter. Fear of military wrath, or ingrained prejudice within the ranks of the media, perhaps?

Which media would you choose, Richard?

Difficult to find nowadays. The BBC/CNN have lost all credibility.

Maybe a German news organisation? Sweden/Switzerland?

Myanmar blocks all UN aid to civilians at heart of Rohingya crisis
Exclusive: Military offensive against insurgents leaves thousands stranded without life-saving supplies
4 September 2017
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... gya-crisis

INGOs in Rakhine, accused of involvement in insurgent attacks by Myanmar authorities, post reply:
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.in ... 17_Eng.pdf

This has been going on for ages, with each side blaming the other.

Given the govts record, though, anything is possible.

Article from Myanmar, giving the military perspective.https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/ma ... -area.html

"Operational area"= war zone. This is effectively official approval to carry out "clearance" of the Rohingya population by any means necessary.

NAYPYITAW — The Myanmar government approved the military’s request to designate the entire Maungdaw District in northern Rakhine State as an operational area, President’s Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay confirmed to The Irrawaddy on Monday.
“The whole of Maungdaw is designated as an operational area. So, this is approval that decisive actions can be taken against terrorist organizations in clearance operations,” police major Ko Ko Soe said.

Myanmar Army commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing reportedly asked for the “operational area” designation in order to ensure the “effectiveness” of clearance operations.

In the same article is a reference to the alliances of Rakhine state's ethnic populations during WWII : the Rohingya were supporting the allies, while the Arkanese were allied to the Japanese. Interesting.

The army chief attended a ceremony on Friday to accept cash donations for security personnel and government officials who have died since attacks by militants began in the region on Aug. 25 in what he described as a “well-prepared plot.”

At the ceremony, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing referenced events from 1942 during World War II, in which he said that “Bengalis”—a term used by many in Myanmar to refer to the Muslim Rohingya population—who were more closely aligned with the Allied forces, allegedly attacked ethnic Arakanese communities in Rakhine State, who frequently fought alongside Japanese forces.

“We will never let such an occurrence happen again,” the army chief said, describing it as “unacceptable.”

Very strange statement from the general.