TIM MCLAUGHLIN

timothy. mclaughlin3 @ gmail. com

THE Rohingya of Rakhine State have been the subject of increased media coverage over the past two years, due in large part to the relaxation of censorship and outbreaks of deadly communal violence.

One phrase in particular that has been pervasive in media reports on the Rohingya, who are usually referred to as Bengalis in Myanmar, states that they are“ described by the UN as among the most persecuted minority groups in the world”. While few would argue that conditions for Muslims in Rakhine State are extremely dire, it is unclear whether the UN has ever made this statement.

The point was raised in a recent statement by Network Myanmar, a non-profit group based in the United Kingdom.

The UN spokesman in Yangon, U Aye Win, said that he had been asked about the statement by colleagues and“ to my knowledge, none of the papers that I came across has used this expression”. He said he had not looked into it because until now“ no one has raised anything about the use of this expression”.

A review of the“ Collected reports to the UN General Assembly by the Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Myanmar”, compiled by the Online Burma / Myanmar Library and last

A Muslim woman cleans dishes outside her tent in the Mizigawon IDP camp in Rakhine State. Photo: Aung Htay Hlaing

updated in February 2009, found that the comprehensive collection made no mention of the Rohingya as one of the world’ s most persecuted minorities.

The phrase, nonetheless, has become a popular one among media outlets reporting on the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State.

On April 22 the British Broadcasting Corporation published a piece titled“ Q & A: Communal violence in Burma” in which it said,“ The United Nations describes the Rohingya as a religious and linguistic minority from western Burma. It says the Rohingya are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.”

An April 23 report on Al Jazeera,“ Report documents‘ Rohingya persecution’,” similarly stated,“ The UN has described the Rohingya as one of the most persecuted

minorities in the world.”

News agency Agence France-Presse has also used the UN description regularly in stories filed about the Rohingya in recent years.

Politicians have also evoked the UN“ statement” when expressing concern over the situation in Rakhine State.

In June, a British member of the European Parliament and vice president of the European Parliament for Democracy and Human Rights, Edward McMillan-Scott, said that“ the UN classes the Rohingya Muslims as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world”. In an opinion piece for The Huffington Post the same month, the British shadow minister for international development, Rushanara Ali, also used the line:“ Stripped of their Burmese citizenship in 1982 and subjected to shockingly discriminatory laws and practices, the minority Muslim Rohingya community in Burma has been described by the United Nations as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.”

How did the UN become attached to the statement? It is difficult to say and unclear when the term was first used. A 2006 BBC report from Mike Thompson titled“ Burma’ s forgotten Rohingya” said“ they have been called one of the world’ s most persecuted people”.

Called by whom? Somewhere along the way it seems that it became the UN, giving the statement an air of international authority. Though there is no doubt that the Rohingya are suffering extreme persecution, when and if the UN has ever said so remains in doubt.

Retired civil servants collect their pension on July 6, 2011, one week after the government announced a significant increase.

EI THAE THAE NAING eithaethaenaing @ gmail. com

ALL pensioners will be notified of increases for the 2013- 14 financial year by the end of this month, an official from the Pension Department said last week.

The increase, which is effective from April 1, varies depending on the person’ s salary and length of service. It was approved by parliament in March as part of a K385 billion( US $ 395 million) package of salary increases for civil servants.

It follows a substantial increase in July 2011 that brought all pensioners onto the same rate.

U Win Aung, director general of the Pension Department, said 97 percent of former civil servants had already received the increased pension.

“ The remaining 3pc will receive notification of their increase soon,” he said, adding that payments will be backdated to April 1.

He said the delay was because of documentation errors and missing information related to a changeover to electronic records.

“ In the past our system was not computerised and we didn’ t have these kinds of errors. Now we are using a computer

program and some of the data is inaccurate.

“ We will try to notify those people who have problems with their documentation and find out what was wrong.”

Retired civil servants have to withdraw their pension from the ministry or enterprise they worked for or from government banks.

“ I retired in 1995 and my pension was increased in July 2012 and again in April this year,” said one 68-year-old retiree who formerly worked as an assistant manager at the Myanmar Paper and Chemical Corporation.

However, a number of people said they still had not got the 2013 increase, casting doubt on whether the documentation errors were confined to only 3pc of all pensioners.

“ While I received the pension increase in April... some people who retired at the same time as me did not. I don’ t know why they haven’ t got the increase yet,” said U Thein Zaw, who was formerly a joint assistant supervisor at a railway station.

One retired high school teacher said she also had so far missed out on the increase.

“ I don’ t know when it will be my turn to get the increase,” said Daw San Tin.

Internal Audit Manager

World Vision is an international non-governmental organization which is focused on improving the well-being of vulnerable children and families in Myanmar.

Your major contribution will be;

1) Audit Engagement: Plan, implement and monitor risk-based audit engagements for WV Myanmar according to WV Global Internal Audit( GIA) Risk Based Integrated Audit and general accepted internal audit standard.

2) Risk Advisory: To provide risk consultation service to WV Myanmar management.

3) Quality Assurance Improvement Program( QAIP):

Develop and maintain a quality assurance and improvement and program that cover all the aspects of the internal audit activity.

4) Managing Internal Audit Team: Managing WV MyanmarInternal Audit Team efficiently and effectively. This also includes spiritual development of staff and team member

5) Assisting WV GIA Audit and external audit

6) Internal and External Coordination and Liaison

To be considered you must have;

▪ At least 5 years of recognized Audit Experience

▪ Good knowledge on Systems, Business Processes, Internal Controls

▪ Very Good knowledge on Government Regulations / Rules( Legal Know-How)

▪ A professional certification such as- ACCA, CPA, CIA

▪ 3 years in supervisory level

▪ Working knowledge of Community Transformational Development

Please visit www. worldvision. org. mm for more information about each of these positions. Please submit applications to myajobapps @ wvi. org or drop in application box at No.( 18), Shin Saw Pu Road, AhloneTownship, Yangon by July 23, 2013.