Malaysian PM urges intervention to stop 'genocide' of
Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims
By Reuters
December 4, 2016
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib
Razak called for foreign intervention to stop the "genocide" of
Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar on Sunday, as he joined thousands of Rohingya
protesters in Kuala Lumpur.
Muslim-Majority Malaysia has
been increasingly critical of Myanmar's handling of violence and allegations of
state abuses in northern Rakhine state, which has driven hundreds of ethnic
Rohingya to flee across the borders to Bangladesh.
It described the violence as
"ethnic cleansing" on Saturday.
Najib called on the United
Nations, the International Criminal Court and the Organisation of Islamic
Cooperation to intervene.
"The world cannot just sit
by and watch genocide taking place," he told the crowd.
Najib's attendance came despite
warnings from Myanmar that Malaysia risked violating the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) principle of non-interference in other
members' internal affairs.
In response, Najib said ASEAN,
which agreed to declare itself a single community last year, had also pledged
in its charter to uphold basic human rights.
He also accused Myanmar leader
and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi of inaction, saying that she had
declared the Rohingya issue off-limits during bilateral discussions.
"How can this be? We
should be allowed to discuss everything," he said.
The gathering, organised by
Najib's ruling United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) and the Pan-Malaysian
Islamic Party, attracted around 10,000 people, mostly Rohingya.
Malaysia summoned Myanmar's
ambassador last week to express concern over the crackdown on Rohingya. It also
cancelled the national soccer team's friendly under-22 matches with Myanmar in
protest.
Rohingya Society in Malaysia
president Faisal Islam Muhammad Kassim said he appreciated Malaysia's efforts
to find a solution to the crisis.
"We want the Malaysian
government to (send a) message to the Muslim world and the Western countries,
to pressure the Myanmar government to solve this Rohingya issue," he said.
The violence in Myanmar is the
most serious bloodshed in Rakhine since communal clashes in 2012 that killed
hundreds.
Persecution and poverty led
thousands of Rohingya to flee Myanmar following the violence between Buddhists
and Muslims there four years ago. Many of them were smuggled or trafficked to
neighbouring countries, mostly to Thailand and Malaysia.
Najib, who has been buffeted by
graft allegations he denies, vowed on Thursday to fight to the end for Malays
and Islam, as he called on UMNO to prepare for elections that are "coming
soon".