(Vatican Radio) Human rights groups have accused Burma’s government of trying to cover up abuses against civilians in a Muslim-majority part of the country’s Rakhine State.The accusation comes after an investigation panel appointed by the government dismissed claims a crackdown by security forces there amounts to "genocide".Troops have flooded into northern Rakhine since insurgents, believed to be from the mostly stateless Rohingya minority, attacked border posts on October 9, killing nine police officers.Rohingya residents and refugees accuse security forces of summary executions, arbitrary arrest, rape and burning down homes as part of what the government has termed its "clearance operations" in search of attackers.Listen: Speaking to Lydia O’Kane, the Executive Director of the Burma Campaign UK, Anna Roberts said, “the fact that this commission has no independence or credibility just underlines the need for an independent invest...
(Vatican Radio) Human rights groups have accused Burma’s government of trying to cover up abuses against civilians in a Muslim-majority part of the country’s Rakhine State.
The accusation comes after an investigation panel appointed by the government dismissed claims a crackdown by security forces there amounts to "genocide".
Troops have flooded into northern Rakhine since insurgents, believed to be from the mostly stateless Rohingya minority, attacked border posts on October 9, killing nine police officers.
Rohingya residents and refugees accuse security forces of summary executions, arbitrary arrest, rape and burning down homes as part of what the government has termed its "clearance operations" in search of attackers.
Listen:
Speaking to Lydia O’Kane, the Executive Director of the Burma Campaign UK, Anna Roberts said, “the fact that this commission has no independence or credibility just underlines the need for an independent investigation, one that should be led by the UN.”
She also went on to say that they have been receiving reports of people being force to flee, houses being burned, beatings, killings of civilians, rape of women too. Journalists have not been allowed free access; humanitarian aid has also been blocked or restricted”.
The government of Burma, also known as Myanmar, has flatly denied allegations that abuses have been committed, but has prevented journalists and aid workers from accessing parts of northern Rakhine.
null / Credit: Juthamat8899/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a new report on Wednesday highlighting the countries with the worst religious persecution in the world.From this report, which is released annually, USCIRF makes recommendations to the State Department on how to best advocate for religious freedom. The suggestions typically translate into sanctions from the U.S. against violating countries to pressure them to improve their religious tolerance. This year, the countries topping USCIRF's list of the world's most egregious religious freedom violators were Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.USCIRF recommends these nations be designated as "countries of particul...
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Catholics in the Archdiocese of Baltimore pack the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen during a concluding listening session on the archdiocese's major parish restructuring plan on April 30, 2024. / Credit: Matthew BalanBaltimore, Md., May 1, 2024 / 18:10 pm (CNA).Hundreds of Catholic residents of Baltimore packed the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on Tuesday evening to give their often-impassioned reactions to a process that could lead to the closure of nearly two-thirds of the city's parishes.Several parishes from the state's largest city organized large contingents to attend the April 30 meeting, which was the final of three listening sessions for the Archdiocese of Baltimore's "Seek the City" parish restructuring proposal. They made their presence known with custom-made T-shirts or ethnic attire, with some even carrying large banners that begged Archbishop William Lori to spare their churches.Parishioners from the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in the Mount Washington neighborhood of...