Thousands Protest in Malaysia against Ethnic Cleaning of
Rohingya in Myanmar
The protesters held banners
with the slogans such as “Stop Extrajudicial Killings, Stop Raping Women, Give
us Our Citizenship Back, and Rohingya needs Your Voice to End Ethnic Cleansing”
and called on the conerened quarters to step up to end the sufferings of
Rohingya.
Malaysian PM Najid Razak,
Deputy PM Zahid Hamidi and the opposition leader, Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS)
President Abdul Hadi Awang have all joined the mass rally organized Islamic
NGOs in Malaysia.
Mr Najib said “they warned me
(not to participate in the rally). But I don’t care. I am here to represent the
community (Rohingya) and the people of Malaysia.”
Earlier, U Zaw Htay, the deputy
director of the President Office of Myanmar, called the participation of the PM
in the rally as ‘Interfering in Myanmar’s internal affairs.’
The Malaysian foreign ministry
has hit out at Zaw Htay stating that the persecution of Rohingya is not an
internal of Myanmar anymore but a serious concern for the stability and
security of the ASEAN nations and an international humanitarian concern.
 |
| Thousands in Kuala Lumpur held rallies on Sunday against the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Rohingya minority in Myanmar’s Arakan state. |
In the rally today, the PM
responded to the accusation by Myanmar “don’t read the ASEAN charter
selectively. The ASEAN Charter also defends human rights.
“We must defend them not only
because they are of the same faith with us but also because they are humans and
their lives matter.”
Mr. Najid added that he would
call on his Indonesian counterpart ‘Joko Widodo’ to lead the Indonesian
community to protest against the Myanmar’s persecution of Rohingya.
He also said that Myanmar’s
state counselor Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has turned down his call to meet him to
discuss over the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya and hence undermining the
credentials of her Nobel Peace Prize.
Meanwhile, the PAS President
Abdul Hadi Awang said “the international community also needs to stand up for
Rohingya. Where are those powerful countries? Where is humanity?
 |
| Thousands in Kuala Lumpur held rallies on Sunday against the ongoing ethnic cleansing of Rohingya minority in Myanmar’s Arakan state. |
Today, we are to protest
against the persecution of Rohingya not just because we are Muslims, but
because it is a matter of grave humanitarian concern.”
Mr. Hadi Awang asked the
Malaysian government to ask to other countries and find diplomatic channels to
end the barbaric treatments of Rohingyas.
Malaysia hosts more than 50,000
Rohingya refugees registered by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), whereas many thousands are still unregistered.