Myanmar engaging in ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslim

Bangkok, April 22, 2013 [PTI] --- Myanmar has waged a campaign of "ethnic cleansing" against Rohingya Muslims, a leading human rights group today said, appealing to India to press its eastern neighbour to put an immediate stop to the abuses.  "Burmese authorities and members of Arakanese groups have committed crimes against humanity in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State since June 2012," Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today.  The 153-page report titled "'All You Can Do is Pray': Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma's Arakan State" describes the role of the Burmese government and local authorities in the forcible displacement of more than 125,000 Rohingya and other Muslims.  "The Burmese government engaged in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya that continues today through the denial of aid and restrictions on movement," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at the HRW.  "Now that it is clear that crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing are being perpetrated in Arakan state, New Delhi must press upon the Burmese government to put an immediate stop to the abuses against the Rohingya and hold the perpetrators accountable," Meenakshi Ganguly, HRW South Asia director, said in a statement.  Ganguly also urged India to ask Myanmar to "amend the Citizenship Act to eliminate discriminatory provisions that have placed the Rohingya at risk of becoming stateless".  The HRW said that following sectarian violence between Arakanese and Rohingya in June 2012, government authorities destroyed mosques, conducted violent mass arrests, and blocked aid to displaced Muslims.  The "mobs attacked Muslim communities in nine townships, razing villages and killing residents while security forces stood aside or assisted the assailants," it alleged.  The rights group said it has uncovered evidence of four mass-grave sites in Arakan State – three dating from the immediate aftermath of the June violence and one from the October violence. "Security forces actively impeded accountability and justice by digging mass graves to destroy evidence of crimes," the HRW accused.  "The government needs to put an immediate stop to the abuses and hold the perpetrators accountable or it will be responsible for further violence against ethnic and religious minorities in the country," Robertson warned in a statement.

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Pope to resign on Feb 28, conclave in March

VATICAN CITY, Feb 11, 2013 [AP/The Hindu] --- The decision, taken due to advanced age, sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March. The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 in a deal to end the Great Western Schism among competing papal claimants. Pope Benedict XVI announced on Monday that he would resign Feb. 28 the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March. The 85-year-old pope announced his decision in Latin during a meeting of Vatican cardinals on Monday morning. "After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," he told the cardinals. "I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only by words and deeds but no less with prayer and suffering. "However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of St. Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary strengths which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me." The last pope to resign was Pope Gregory XII, who stepped down in 1415 in a deal to end the Great Western Schism among competing papal claimants. Benedict called his choice "a decision of great importance for the life of the church." The move sets the stage for the Vatican to hold a conclave to elect a new pope by mid-March, since the traditional mourning time that would follow the death of a pope doesn't have to be observed. There are several papal contenders in the wings, but no obvious front-runner the same situation when Benedict was elected pontiff in 2005 after the death of Pope John Paul II.

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115 DIES IN PAKISTAN BOMB BLASTS

ISLAMABAD, 11 Jan 2013 [PTI/ Pic: AP] --- As many as 115 lives were lost in one of Pakistan's bloodiest days in recent times with a series of explosions rattling two cities of the restive provinces of Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, one of them a major sectarian attack by a banned outfit. Several security personnel and media persons were also killed on a bloody day which served as a grim reminder of the serious challenges being faced by the country from militants, religious extremists and separatists ahead of the upcoming general election. In a series of attacks, terrorists targeted a security forces vehicle and a Shia-majority neighbourhood in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, and a religious congregation in the Swat Valley of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, an erstwhile stronghold of the Taliban. Balochistan's capital city Quetta was rattled by three bomb blasts that claimed at least 93 lives. The worst of these attacks was at a snooker club where a suicide bomber blew himself up. The snooker club on Alamdar Road has two Shia prayer halls and a sizeable population of Shia Hazaras. As media teams and security forces gathered in the area, another bomb went off, media reports said. Cameraman Imran Sheikh and reporter Saif-ur-Rehman of Samaa TV channel, two police officers and several rescue workers were among the dead. Several reporters, cameramen and technicians of news channels were injured. Police said 81 people were killed in the two blasts and 120 injured, including 10 Army and police personnel. Quetta's city police chief, Mir Zubair while confirming the death toll at 81 in the snooker club attack, said the casualties could rise as the condition of around 50 of the injured persons was critical. "The second blast came minutes after the first one and the death toll is at 81 with around 130 injured in these blasts," he said. Nine policemen including a DSP and SHO were also killed in the second blast as law enforcement agencies, rescue officials and media persons reached the scene. DIG investigation, Hamid Shakeel said that as a result of the two blasts the four—storey building which housed the snooker club had collapsed. He said four rescue workers of Edhi Trust had also died in the blasts. Earlier in the day, a bomb placed under a car near Bacha Khan chowk, apparently targeting a security checkpost went off, killing 12 people including two security personal and a child and left around 30 injured. An estimated 20 kgs of explosives were used in the attack. Police said the blast was caused by a timed explosive device planted under the security forces vehicle. The blast caused a large crater and destroyed about 10 cars. While the United Baloch Army claimed responsibility for the first blast, banned Lashkar—e—Jhangvi claimed the second attack. Hours later, 22 people were killed and nearly 70 injured in an explosion at a "tablighi markaz" (preaching centre) near Mingora, the main town in Swat Valley, last evening. The blast occurred in the basement of the centre at Takhta Band Road. Initial reports said the blast was caused by a gas cylinder but police subsequently confirmed the incident was an act of terrorism. Some reports said the attack was carried out by a teenage suicide bomber though this could not be independently confirmed. Officials at a hospital in Saidu Sharif town said the dead and injured were hit by ball bearings, which are often used in explosive devices. They confirmed 22 deaths and said several of the injured were in a serious condition. The Swat Valley was a stronghold of the local Taliban till the army conducted an operation to flush out militants in early 2009. Most of the top Taliban commanders of the region escaped to Afghanistan. Pakistan is scheduled to go to the polls sometime in April or May.

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7 Egyptians get death in anti−Islam film case

Cairo, Nov 28 (IANS) Seven fugitive Egyptians were Wednesday sentenced to death in absentia for crimes related to unity and independence of Egypt following the release of a film that allegedly insulted Islam, state media reported. On Sep 11, thousands of Egyptians surrounded the US embassy in Cairo protesting the movie that reportedly insulted Prophet Mohammad. Clashes between protesters and security forces left one dead and more than 200 people injured. The Cairo Criminal Court Wednesday sentenced to death the seven defendants, who are Egyptian immigrants to the US, Xinhua reported. They were accused of committing crimes related to unity and independence of the country. The seven defendants have also been put on the watch list of the Cairo International Airport.

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