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8 September 2017
Burma
- In our blog this week, we look at whether Aung San Suu Kyi is really to blame for the Rohingya Crisis, and the man who is calling the shots.
- The World Weeps As Heinous Acts Occur In Burma – The number of refugees estimated is now estimated by the UN to be almost 270,000. There are reports of 2,000-3,000 deaths and numerous horrendous reports of indiscriminate rape and torture of civilians as the military, led by Min Aung Hlain, continues its brutal crackdown.
- Washington begins to sour on Aung San Suu Kyi amid mounting ethnic violence in Burma – It comes alongside 380,000 signatories calling for Aung San Suu Kyi’s nobel peace prize to be removed.
Nagorno-Karabakh
- House approves funding for Artsakh de-mining – The U.S. House today adopted an amendment backing continued Congressional appropriations for the HALO Trust’s life-saving de-mining across the interior farmlands and villages of the Artsakh Republic.
- Bako Sahakyan sworn in as Karabakh president – Bako Sahakyan took an oath and assumed office for a three-year term.
- Nagorno-Karabakh circulates document in UN against Azerbaijani policy of isolation – the document states that the policy of Azerbaijan aimed at isolation of Artsakh is a blatant violation of the right to development enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
Nigeria
- Gunmen abducted 20 people from a bus in Rivers State on Thursday. It is not yet known where they have been taken.
- The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Thursday confirmed at least one reported Lassa fever case, in each of 19 states in the current outbreak which started in December 2016.
- In Taraba, one of Nigeria’s north-eastern states, a series of ongoing violent clashes has met with little to no response from government. The people of Taraba are trying to make things work on their own but there needs to be urgent state intervention.
- Marvel Comics have created a new female superhero, Ngozi, inspired by Nigeria’s kidnapped Chibok girls and who fights evil in Lagos.
- At least 11 people have been killed by Boko Haram fighters in a raid on a camp for civilians displaced by the group’s violent campaign, military and vigilante sources said.
South Sudan
- South Sudan’s plan to hold elections next year risks “deepening and extending” an already devastating civil war, the United Nations warned Friday. Presidential elections had been set for 2015 but were delayed by the ongoing civil war, but there are serious concerns that elections can only be held in a stable environment where “people are not displaced by violence and hunger and in which they are able to express their political views free from intimidation.”
- As the United States considers lifting sanctions on Sudan, one of the most sensitive issues is on display in these tense borderlands: weapons. South Sudan’s government accuses its neighbor of supplying arms to rebels fighting its bloody civil war.
- Online hate speech is being monitored for its impact on fuelling the violence in South Sudan.
- South Sudanese officials declared that the decision by the United States to sanction three senior officials from the South Sudanese government could scuttle ongoing peace efforts in the war-torn country, and have called on the US to support peace efforts rather than pursuing sanctions.
Sudan
- Christian refugee children must recite Islamic prayers before receiving food – “We have heard stories where children are conditioned to say Islamic prayers before [being] given food. This is not right. These children are Christian. They should be respected for that.”
- Sudan’s opposition head launches new peace initiative – the initiative is aimed at ending the decade-long conflict in the western Darfur region including the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile areas
- Sudan calls on SPLM-N to open safe corridors in South Kordofan – the safe corridors would connect the residents and the sick and those wishing to return voluntarily in support of peace and stability in the locality.
- In Sudan heavy rains led to new floods – Extreme rainfall in Sudan has led to flooding and there is a need to evacuate people from settlements located in river valleys.
Timor Leste
- Timor Leste announces a government. After six weeks of negotiation, an alliance lead by former revolutionary party Fretilin – under Aniceto Guterres – will lead Timor Leste for the next five years. Members of parliament were sworn in on September 5, after a coalition was confirmed between Fretilin, Democratic Party and Khunto alliance garnered 35 of the 65 seats in the parliament to form a majority required to ensure a stable government. The Popular Liberation Party (PLP) and CNRT will stand as opposition.
- Former president Xanana Gusmao has returned to Timor Leste after successful negotiations with Australia on key elements of a maritime boundary and revenue sharing from a natural gas field beneath the seabed between the two countries.
- The European Union and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (P.I.F.S.) signed a funding agreement of 13 million euros to address the root causes of gender inequality and violence against women and girls in the Pacific. The declaration will encourage the development of legislation for violence against women and girls in a number of countries in the Pacific, including Timor Leste.
Uganda
- A parliamentary session on Tuesday decided to suspend further meetings indefinitely after senior government officials failed to present an explanation for the killings of 20 women since Juen around the capital, Kampala.
- Hundreds of refugees continue to arrive in Uganda every week. The Uganda refugee response update from the UNHCR dated 5 September 2017 outlines the major statistics surrounding the crisis.
