Tag: Freedom of Religion
Investigation team accuses media, INGOs of inflaming Rakhine conflict
An investigation team appointed by the government has refuted allegations that up to 48 Muslims were killed in northern Rakhine State’s Maungdaw township in January and accused the international community of inflaming tensions.
Commission head Dr Tha Hla Shwe said at a press conference on March 11 that the team...
Burma to Strip Brides of Rights in Shocking New Intolerance
PHUKET: Burmese President U Thein Sein and National Assembly Speaker U Thura Shwe Mann should reject proposals for discriminatory marriage legislation that would strip Buddhist women of the right to freely choose whom they marry, Human Rights Watch said today.
Burma's donors should make it clear that passage of such...
Chrisitans in Laos threatened to abandon faith or face exile
Government officials and village authorities are at odds over a Christian village in Laos where these families are being threatened with exile if they don’t denounce their faith.
A story by Morning Star News reported that the Christians from eight families in Natahall village, in Savannakhet Province’s Phin District, were...
Proposed law restricting inter-faith marriage in Myanmar is dangerous, discriminatory and unnecessary, ASEAN MPs warn
Parliamentarians from across Southeast Asia have joined growing calls on fellow legislators in Myanmar to vote down a proposed law that would see restrictions placed on inter-faith marriage in the country.
The discriminatory draft law is in direct conflict with international treaties on fundamental rights to liberty and religious belief,...
Threats to freedom of religion or belief in Malaysia
Although the Malaysian constitution guarantees freedom of religion, many Malaysians continue to face serious and systemic religious intolerance, observe Aliran and Suaram.
Malaysia has a population of 30m people, with 60 per cent of the population practising Islam, 19 per cent Buddhism, 9 per cent Christianity, 6 per cent Hinduism...
Lao Christians Leave Buddhist-Majority Village Amid Tensions
Six Christian families have left their Buddhist-majority village in southern Laos following what rights groups say was pressure to renounce their faith, as local authorities say they are working to ease communal tensions and allow the families to return.
Officials in Savannakhet province said the families moved out of Phin...
Atrocities Mark New Nightmare of Mutilated Women in Thailand’s Southern War
NEW YORK: Separatist groups in Thailand's southern border provinces have killed at least five Thai Buddhist women, mutilating three of their bodies, since February 2014, Human Rights Watch said today.
The insurgents should immediately end their attacks targeting civilians, which are war crimes, Human Rights Watch said.
''Southern insurgents are killing...
Selangor trying to ‘wash its hands’ of seized bibles, say lawyers
KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — The Selangor government is worsening the confusion over the seizure of 300 indigenous language bibles by trying to force the federal government to resolve the state matter, lawyers critical of the decision have said.
Pointing out that while the raid was conducted in January by...
Burnings and beheadings strike fear in south Thailand
The recent burning and beheading of female victims in Thailand’s southern Muslim provinces marks a renewed campaign of terror by insurgent groups, according to a Human Rights Watch statement released today.
At least three Thai Buddhist women have been killed and mutilated by insurgents since February, according to HRW.
“Southern insurgents...
Myanmar: Rohingya Muslims Can Call Themselves Bengali
TEHRAN (FNA)- Myanmar will not allow Muslims to register as ‘Rohingya’ in the country’s first census in three decades despite UN assurances.
Ye Htut, a government spokesman, says Rohingya Muslims can call themselves Bengali as they register for the first census in the past 30 years, press tv reported. The...
