Chris Wilson, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
The campaign against Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya is so extreme and violent with the intent of eliminating them from the country that it meets the criteria for genocide.
Thengar Char, a flood-prone island that rose from the sea just 11 years ago. The Bangladeshi government wants to relocate thousands of Rohingya refugees here.
Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters
Myanmar’s Rohingya issue has become a full-blown humanitarian crisis that affects all of southeast Asia. ASEAN nations would do well do move beyond their non-interference policy and help.
Long regarded as something approaching a saint, Myanmar’s de facto head of state appears to be running out of moral capital.
Because of years of persecution many Rohingya children have never known Myanmar, which is claimed by the community as their country.
Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters
Unless reconciliation efforts involve people at the grassroots, persecution of ethnic Rohingya will not stop. Indonesian should offer support for dialogue between communities in Myanmar.
A member of Border Guard Bangladesh stands guard on a watchtower near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border to prevent Rohingya refugees from illegal border crossing.
Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters
Abuses on Rohingyas have reached new height but neither Myanmar nor neighbouring Bangladesh are taking responsibilities to grant basic human rights to this population.
The Rohingya are one the of the world’s most-persecuted ethnic minorities.
Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters
Talks among ASEAN leaders are often limited to political and economic issues, pushing problems with deep social and cultural roots like the persecution of ethnic Rohingya to the margins.
Social media is changing the way we travel, with people increasingly eager to visit Instagram-worthy destinations. Has a place’s visual appeal become more important than its history and authenticity?
The ascendency of Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines is just one of the shifts away from liberalism in southeast Asia.
Reuters/Lean Daval Jr
The region is showing signs it is determined to ensure similar mass displacement crises such as that which took place in the Andaman Sea in 2015 are avoided.
The Coalition government has moved to rapidly alter the balance of Australia’s foreign policy spending.
AAP/Rashida Yosufzai
A reduced aid budget equates to the forsaking of real opportunities in foreign policy terms. In the long term, this could make the savings look miniscule compared to opportunity costs.
We recently undertook extensive fieldwork in Myanmar to find out what could help resolve the underlying issues that drive the conflict between the Muslim Rohingya and the majority Buddhist Rakhine.