Ethnic violence in Burma triggers refugee crisis

Aid workers in Bangladesh said refugee camps were reaching their capacity as some 123,000 Rohingya Muslims fled into the country from Burma, also known as Myanmar, following nearly two weeks of deadly violence. International activists and aid groups are calling on the Myanmar leader to intervene in the growing unrest.

The crisis began Aug. 25 when Rohingya militants staged an attack against government security forces after accusing them of persecuting their minority group. The Myanmar military responded with “clearance operations” that killed nearly 400 people, burned down hundreds of buildings, and chased tens of thousands of other Rohingya Muslims into Bangladesh.

Aid officials said some of the refugees arrived with bullet injuries, while others suffered from infections and malnutrition. Dr. Shaheen Abdur Rahman Choudhury, a resident medical officer at the Sadar Hospital in the border town of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, said doctors were treating some 31 men who arrived with broken bones and bullet wounds. United Nations refugee agency spokeswoman Vivian Tan said the Rohingya Muslims have filled up three other refugee camps, and thousands more are staying wherever they find space.

Mohammed Hussein, a 25-year old Rohingya Muslim who arrived in Bangladesh, told Reuters he was still looking for a place to stay. “We have no food,” he said. “Some women gave birth on the roadside. Sick children have no treatment here.”

In a statement on Monday, the Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station said it was shifting its rescue ship operations to assist the Rohingya Muslims. The aid group’s Phoenix ship had previously rescued migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. Last week, the Bangladesh coast guard confirmed some 11 children and nine women had died at sea while trying to cross into Bangladesh.

Some 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims face persecution in Burma, and the country has refused to grant them citizenship. In 2012, some 140,000 Rohingyas fled their homes after clashes with Buddhists. Myanmar’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy activism, has faced criticism for her inaction in the crisis. Her office last week accused aid workers of helping the “terrorists,” referring to the Rohingya militants. London’s The Guardian reported that aid groups such as Oxfam and Save the Children complained the Myanmar government had restricted aid efforts in the conflict area, leaving thousands of civilians without food, water, and medicine.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Maraud on Sunday traveled to Burma to “ask the government to stop and prevent violence and to provide protection to all citizens,” according to Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Several hundred Muslim women in Indonesia’s capital, Jarkata, gathered outside the Myanmar Embassy protesting the persecution and calling for government intervention. Some of the protesters shouted “Save Rohingya” and held banners that read, “Stop Muslim genocide in Myanmar!” Similar protests took place in Australia and Moscow.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson warned Kyi that the treatment of Rohingya Muslims was “besmirching” the country’s reputation. Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient, on Twitter called for an end to the violence: “I am still waiting for my fellow Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to do the same. The world is waiting and the Rohingya Muslims are waiting.”

Saint Petersburg, Russia ©iStockPhoto.com/MassimoVernicesole

Russian anti-missionary law mainly hampers Christians

Concerns among Russian Christians that the government’s antiterrorism legislation, adopted last year, would take away their religious freedom have been proven true.

The Yarovaya Laws, named for the lawmaker who sponsored them, ban proselytizing, preaching, and praying outside recognized religious institutions. Forum 18 counted 186 cases filed since enforcement began, with roughly half the charges against various Christian denominations and individuals or Christian-affiliated organizations. Officials later dismissed only about 20 percent of the cases. Punishments ranged from fines and confiscation of materials to orders for deportation.

Since July 2016, authorities have prosecuted Christian churches and individuals for announcing an upcoming service, conducting home prayer meetings, distributing religious calendars, failure to fully display a church name, and organizing a concert.

In one of the first cases against a Christian, officials in Noyabrsk charged Baptist Union Pastor Aleksei Teleus for allowing children to play on the playground outside his church, where they might overhear sermons and prayers or gain access to religious literature. Officials called it an “unsanctioned children’s camp” and fined the pastor 5,000 roubles (about $85).

Independent Baptist missionary Don Ossewaarde became the first American prosecuted under the law for holding a worship service in his home. Courts up to and including Russia’s Constitutional Court, the country’s highest, ruled against his multiple appeals.

Authorities also targeted members of other religions, including Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hare Krishnas, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. In the most extreme example of persecution under the law, Russian officials labeled Jehovah’s Witnesses “extremists,” liquidated their property, and banned them entirely.

The law’s vagueness has caused widespread confusion, attorney Mikhail Frolov told Forum 18.

“Believers don’t understand what is permitted and what is forbidden,” he said. “It is possible to sentence people under this for any religious activity.” —Julia A. Seymour

Saint Petersburg, Russia ©iStockPhoto.com/MassimoVernicesole

Global flooding displaces millions of people

Flooding across South Asia and Africa has killed thousands of people and affected millions of others. In South Asia, seasonal monsoon floods have killed about 1,200 people. Oxfam International reports that the floods have affected some 43 million people, many of whom lost their homes and crops. Heavy rains in Sierra Leone caused mudslides that killed more than 1,000 people. According to Concern Worldwide, about 600 people are still unaccounted for there. Aid workers in both countries are delivering food, clean water, emergency shelter, and medical aid to avoid outbreaks of disease. Flooding in Nigeria’s Benue state has displaced more than 100,000 people, and the casualties are still unconfirmed. Benue state Gov. Samuel Ortom said two emergency camps have been opened, but warned that the crisis could trigger food scarcity in the agrarian state. —O.O.

South Korean pastor sentenced for child sex abuse

A Cambodian court sentenced a 63-year-old South Korean pastor to 14 years in prison on sexual offense charges. Siem Reap provincial court accused Park Youl of child prostitution and sexual intercourse with girls younger than 15 years old. Court spokesman Yim Sirang said Park would pay a $70,000 fine to seven of the nine victims and would be deported at the end of his prison term. Cambodia’s Khmer Times said Park had served as pastor of a church in Siem Reap. Authorities first arrested him in October 2016. Action Pour Les Enfants, a nonprofit organization that fights child sexual abuse, had earlier reported Park abused the girls on multiple occasions and paid off their families with gifts of rice, cash, and motorbikes. —O.O.

Boko Haram casualties spike in Nigeria and Cameroon

Boko Haram has killed at least 381 civilians in Cameroon and Nigeria since April, according to Amnesty International. The casualties have more than doubled from the previous five months. Boko Haram has killed at least 223 civilians, mostly in the northeast Nigerian Borno and Adamawa states, since April. In Cameroon’s Far North region, the Islamic extremist group has killed at least 158 civilians within the same timeframe. Amnesty International said the real numbers could be higher because many cases go unreported. The increase in civilian deaths coincides with the group’s heightened use of suicide bombers. Alioune Tine, Amnesty’s West and Central Africa director, called on the countries’ governments to increase their efforts to protect civilians at risk of attack. —O.O.