Young Rohingya hacks to death Bangladeshi amid rising tensions

A young Rohingya man hacked to death a Bangladeshi man on Saturday, police said, amid growing tensions in southeastern Bangladesh which has seen a massive influx of refugees from neighbouring Myanmar.

More than 600,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh since a military crackdown in Myanmar in August triggered an exodus, straining resources in the impoverished country.

Police said the attack by the Rohingya man was linked to a family dispute. It is the latest of a string of crimes in the area which have alarmed local authorities.

"We've stepped up security after these incidents," deputy chief of Cox's Bazar district Afruzul Haq Tutul told AFP.

The district's state prosecutor Mamtaz Ahmed told AFP that crime had recently increased in the area.

The UN has described Myanmar's crackdown on the Rohingya as "textbook" ethnic cleansing, and many of the refugees who arrive in Bangladesh bring horrific stories of brutalities including murders, rapes and arson.

This has prompted an unprecedented outpouring of sympathy in Muslim majority Bangladesh.

But Rohingya now outnumber Bangladeshis by two to one in the two main refugee towns of Teknaf and Ukhia in Cox's Bazar district, and local tensions are rising.
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Myanmar chief Suu Kyi loses 'Freedom of Oxford' honour over Rohingya crisis

An honour bestowed on Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi by the city of Oxford has been withdrawn as a reaction to her perceived inadequate response to the plight of Rohingya Muslims in the country.

The 'Freedom of Oxford' had been granted to the de facto leader of Myanmar in 1997 for her "long struggle for democracy" by the Oxford City Council.

A cross-party motion was unanimously passed by the council yesterday which said it was "no longer appropriate" for her to hold the honour.

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price supported the motion to remove her honour and confirmed it was an "unprecedented step" for the local authority.

The city council will hold a special meeting to confirm that the honour is removed on November 27.

Suu Kyi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has close links to the city of Oxford, having lived in Park Town with her family and earlierattended St Hugh's College from 1964 until 1967.

The city council's move comes days after her alma mater, St Hugh's, removed her portrait from the main college entrance.
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Pak summons Myanmar envoy to protest violence against the Rohingyas

Pakistan today summoned the Myanmar envoy and lodged a strong protest over the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state, leading to the exodus of about 270,000 refugees to Bangladesh.

Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua summoned Myanmar's Ambassador to Pakistan U Win Myint and sought effective measures to prevent the recurrence of such violence, providing security to Rohingya Muslims, the Foreign Office said.

She conveyed "a strong protest of the government and people of Pakistan at the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state in Myanmar", it said.

Janjua asked for upholding their rights to live and move without fear and discriminations, urgent investigations into recent violence against the Rohingya Muslims and holding accountable those involved in these serious crimes, it said.

She said that as part of a durable settlement of the problem, the swift implementation of the recommendations of the Kofi Annan Commission was emphasised, which include urgent and sustained action to prevent violence, maintain peace, foster reconciliation, assure unhindered humanitarian access and address the issue of citizenship.
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