136: Rohingya Photography Exhibition Opens in
Kuala Lumpur
By Mohd Salim | December 17, 2016
Kuala Lumpur — A Rohingya Photography Exhibition titled
‘136’ opened in Kuala on December 16 evening to create awareness of the
sufferings of the Rohingya people and promote human rights around the world.
It was organized by Mr. Saiful Hoque Omi of Counter Foto, an
award-winning photo-activist, Equal Rights Trust and Fortify Rights. The
exhibition will be showcased until 22nd December.
At the opening event of the exhibition was opened and
moderated by Mr. Henry Koh, Human Rights Specialist for Malaysia, Fortify
Rights. After the opening, distinguished speakers such as Mr. Charles Sentiago,
a Malaysian MP of Klang; Mr. Richard Towle, Chief of Mission, UNHCR Malaysia;
Mr.Anwar, News Editor of Rohingya Vision; and Mr. Saiful Hoque Omi, Managing
Director of Counter Foto talked on the current situation of the Rohingya in
Arakan State, in Bangladesh and Malaysia and shared their experiences working
on the issues of of the Rohingya.
The Klang MP and Chairman of APHR (ASEAN Parliamentarians
for Human Rights) urged the foreign ministers to press hard Myanmar rather
shaking hands with one another at the emergency foreign ministry level meeting
in Myanmar next week.
He said “the meeting should be seen as an opportunity, not
just for shaking hands. They must press Aung San Suu Kyi and push her for
investigations Investigator must be able to visit the affected (in northern
Arakan State), where the crimes humanity are (reported to have been) taking
place.
“The Myanmar should be held responsible for what has
transpired today. It’s no longer internal problem of Myanmar but a regional
problem. If this opportunity is used as a political cover, it will be a waste
of the opportunity.”
The emergency foreign ministry level meeting is going to be
held on December 19 upon the call by Myanmar’s state counselor and foreign
minister Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mr. Charles Santiago also said Malaysia should rectify its
stand on the 1951 UN Refugee Convention so that the Rohingya Refugees in Malaysia
can get access to education, healthcare and livelihoods and urged Mr. Richard
Towle, the Chief of the UN Refugee Agency in Malaysia, to register more
Rohingya refugees as fast as possible.
Mr. Towle responded “the Rohingya Refugees are slow to get registered
as we do everything on our own and due to complicated application process. We
need to create a situation where NGOs, the UNHCR and the government work
together.
“It is difficult for the UNHCR alone to handle and take care
of more than 60 million refugees around the world.”
He also urged the government of Malaysia to be mild
pertaining to this issue is the refugees in Malaysia.
Briefing on the current situation of the Rohingya in
northern Arakan State, Mr. Anwar, the editor of Rohingya Vision TV, said “the
Burmese military have launched the assaults on the civilian population in
northern Maungdaw in the pretext of the crackdown on the apparent insurgents
that conducted raids on three Border Guard Police posts on October 9, 2016. The
patterns of the systematic crimes being committed against the Rohingya
population amount to ethnic cleansing and genocide.
“And the Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is rather
defending military brutal actions and using the media she controls to spread
lies and incite more racial hatred for the Rohingya among Burmese population.
It makes her complicit in the crimes against the Rohingya.”
And commenting on the International Crisis Group (ICG)
report on the apparent Rohingya Insurgency in northern Arakan state, he said
“the ICG have exaggerated the capacity of the apparent Rohingya Insurgency
named Harkatul Al Yakin or the Faith Movement in northern Maungdaw creating an
illusion among the international Community that the group is indeed too
organized and strong to be ignored, which is factually false. And the Burmese
government could use the report to justify its gross atrocities against the
Rohingya and the military could further use the report as the pretext to kill
even more Rohingyas.”
Mr. Anwar also urged the International community, ASEAN, EU,
OIC to join hands to demand the United Nations Security Council to send
peace-keeping force to Arakan State of the military doesn’t stop the violence
and pressure the Burmese government to allow critically required humanitarian
access to northern Maungdaw and other parts of Arakan State.
On the launching of the photo-exhibition in KL and his
experiences of working with the Rohingya Refugees since 2009, Mr. Saiful Hoque
Omi addressed the audiences “I became a photo-activist after my visit to a
refugee camps in Bangladesh. The dire situation of the refugees moved me and
triggered me to make me do something useful for the humanity.
“The Rohingya are at the last stage of Genocide. We have so
far failed to stop the persecution.The United Nation has failed, the EU has
failed and the US have failed. So, we cannot afford any more failures. We have
to act.”
Mr. Omi also commented on the report by the International
Crisis Group (ICG) on the Rohingya and said “the ICG is worth reading but with
much care. Most parts of the report seem conspiracies to me but I can’t call it
incredible either.
But the timing of the release of the report and the report
itself, when the Rohingya is subjected to Genocide, hugely undermines the
ongoing Genocide against the people and allow the Burmese military to commit
more crimes. Therefore, I believe a worse situation is awaiting the Rohingya.”
When asked on the skepticism surrounding the reports of the
killings of the Rohingya during the Question and Answer session, Mr. Omi said
“when people suffer so much, it is a human tendency to exaggerate something to
a certain extent. That doesn’t make his sufferings untrue. There could emerge
two to three false or fabricated reports on the sufferings of the Rohingya.
That doesn’t make many other reports wrong. Are the sufferings of the Rohingya
sound fake to you?
“I can point out more than 100 false reportings by CNN on
the situation of Afghanistan. But that doesn’t make other reports by CNN
incredible. So, all these skepticism surrounding the Rohingya plight seem
nonsense to me.”
The 136: The Rohingya Photography Exhibition will be
showcased at MAPKL-White Box Level G2-01, Block A5, Solaris Dutamas, No 1,
Jalan Dutamas 1, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia until December 22, 2016.
