There is so much Rohingya news over the last two days, I can’t begin to report it all. So, I’ve decided to give you links to follow-up on yourselves today.
If you are new to RRW and wondering how this illegal alien controversy in Thailand affects you, it does. There will soon be a plea to take these Burmese Rohingya Muslims to your town or city. What the Thai government has done is to give refugee advocates the publicity they needed to push a campaign that has been in the works for a long time.
* New batch of Rohingya came ashore in Thailand yesterday. The government claims they are economic migrants and the Rohingya are claiming they are seeking asylum. Economic migrants can be deported. The UN says those seeking asylum must be protected. Here for the story.
* This editorial in the Korea Herald started out with the usual plea for human rights for the Rohingya arriving in Thailand and Indonesia, but took an interesting angle near the end. I’m cheering! Other Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia, should be helping the Rohingya.
The Saudi government (regardless of its poor attitude toward the anti-Israel, anti-US Palestinians) has pledged US$1 billion to rebuild Gaza. What about spending some of its God-given wealth on the Rohingyas and other poor, oppressed Muslim communities outside of Palestine?
* Refugees International, the lobbying arm of the refugee industry in the US, says Thailand cannot send them back to Burma (Myanmar) because they will be abused. RI didn’t say anything about Saudi Arabia helping—they never do. From a Burmese Muslim website:
The Washington-based group Refugees International has warned that any Rohingya repatriated to Myanmar “is subject to arrest and abuse.”
“Until the Rohingya are recognised by Burma as citizens, neighbouring countries like Thailand must protect and assist this vulnerable population,” it said in a statement released earlier this month.
For a history of the building Rohingya resettlement campaign see our entire category on the subject here.