Rohingya

NYPD Allege New Year’s Eve Machete Attack Suspect Wanted to Join Taliban

New York police officials said on Monday that 19-year-old Trevor Bickford, charged with two counts of attempted murder and two counts of attempted assault for allegedly attacking police with a machete on New Year’s Eve, kept a diary in which he expressed a desire to join the Taliban and die as a “martyr” in the cause of Islamic extremism.

New York police officials said on Monday that 19-year-old Trevor Bickford, charged with tw

Xi Jinping Left China for Myanmar at Peak of Coronavirus Crisis

Chinese President Xi Jinping was conspicuously invisible during the worst periods of the coronavirus epidemic in January, earning him as much criticism as his authoritarian regime would allow from its subjects, who accused him of everything from poor leadership to cowardice. Xi’s travel plans during January took him to Myanmar, which he has been working to bring closer to China ever since the West recoiled in disappointment and horror from Myanmar’s abuse of the Rohingya Muslims.

Chinese President Xi Jinping addresses a gathering at Soltee Hotel in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sa

Bangladesh Offers Repatriation to Rohingya Muslims, None Accept

The government of Bangladesh on Thursday cleared 3,450 Rohingya Muslim refugees to return to their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, but not a single one of the 295 families approached by Bangladeshi and United Nations officials was willing to go. The Bangladeshis were left with a line of empty trucks and buses pointed at the Myanmar border.

The Associated Press

Myanmar’s Suu Kyi Gives First Major Speech on Rohingya Crisis

On Tuesday, the effective (but not official) leader of Myanmar, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, gave her first major speech on the Rohingya crisis. Reviews of the address from international observers have been mixed, with some applauding her for unambiguously condemning human rights violations, while others say she appeared to question whether the Rohingya are suffering such violations at the hands of her government.

Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a national address in Naypyidaw on Se

Myanmar Bans U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State from Visiting Rohingya Conflict Zone

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Patrick Murphy is on his way to Myanmar, where he will meet with officials to discuss the government’s response to Rohingya insurgents and the resulting mass flight of Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh. He will not, however, be allowed to visit the conflict zone and see for himself how government forces have been treating civilian populations.

Areas of Rakhine in Myanmar have been in lockdown since October, sending tens of thousands

Nobel-Winning Myanmar Leader Cancels U.N. Trip Amid Rohingya Crisis

On Wednesday, the unofficial leader of Myanmar (formerly Burma) canceled a trip to the U.N. General Assembly, ostensibly because she is needed at home to deal with a terrorist insurgency. Most observers outside Myanmar believe the formerly celebrated, Nobel-winning Aung San Suu Kyi is hiding from the international community that once lauded her, because her government is conducting a campaign of repression – perhaps even ethnic cleansing or genocide – against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Myanmar's Suu Kyi cancels trip to U.N. amid Rohingya criticism