Myanmar rebuffs Malaysia for organizing OIC meeting on
Rohingya issue
By Mir Ahmed Siddiquee
Myanmar rebuffed Malaysia for organizing a meeting of Muslim
governments to put pressure on Myanmar over the plight of Rohingya Muslims
following a military crackdown that sent at least 66,000 people fleeing to
Bangladesh.
Hosting a meeting of representatives from the Organisation
of Islamic Cooperation on Thursday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak called
on Myanmar to stop attacking, and discriminating against the Rohingya minority.
Najib urged the OIC, which groups 57 Muslim nations, to act to end the
unfolding "humanitarian tragedy". Read here: https://mirsdq.blogspot.com/2017/01/oic-foreign-ministers-hold.html
Final Communiqué Extraordinary Session of the OIC Council of
Foreign Ministers (CFM) on the Situation of Rohingya Muslim Minority in Myanmar:
Read here: https://mirsdq.blogspot.com/2017/01/final-communique-extraordinary-session.html
OIC to send high-level team to Rakhine state: https://youtu.be/WecyCxfKCEM
In response, Myanmar, a mostly Buddhist country, said it was
"regrettable" that Malaysia had called the meeting, and accused Kuala
Lumpur of exploiting the crisis "to promote a certain political
agenda" and disregard for the government's efforts to address it.
"The Government has been endeavoring to safeguard lives
and ensure the security of the people from the violent attacks of new
extremists," said Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement
printed in the country's state-run daily, the Global New Light of Myanmar.
Myanmar’s press release read here: https://www.facebook.com/MyanmarSCOInfoCom/posts/673066262866483
The ministry is run by Nobel Peace Prize winner and de facto
leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, who won 2015 elections in a landslide
after decades of pro-democracy struggle, ushering in Myanmar's first civilian
government for about half a century.
Myanmar authorities say the military launched a security
sweep in response to what they say was an attack in October by Rohingya
insurgents on border posts near Myanmar's border with Bangladesh in which nine
police officers were killed.
Since then, at least 86 people (according Myanmar
government) have been killed and the United Nations says at least 66,000
Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh.
Residents and refugees accuse the military of extra judicial
killing, raping, brutally beating and arbitrarily detaining civilians while
burning villages in northwestern Rakhine State. Video: https://youtu.be/Gyfb-FjUqes
The government denies the accusations and insists a lawful
counter-insurgency operation is underway but a self-type video clip appeared in
New Year days, proved their atrocities. Read
here: Police to investigate abuse of
Rohingya caught on video @AJENews http://aje.io/rkk5 Watch here: https://youtu.be/OvxgnJfFzXo
On Friday, a United Nations human rights investigator
criticized Myanmar's operation and urged the military to respect the law and
human rights.
The European Union, together with Canada, the Organisation
of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United States, co-organised at the United
Nations headquarters a High Level Forum on Combating Anti-Muslim Discrimination
and Hatred on 17 January in New York. Read here: https://mirsdq.blogspot.com/2017/01/high-level-forum-on-anti-muslim.html
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said:
"Anti-Muslim hate crimes and other forms of bigotry are on the rise. We
must resist cynical efforts to divide communities...Discrimination diminishes
us all." https://twitter.com/UN/status/821387039631212545