DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A grouping of Islamic countries
said Myanmar’s treatment of Rohingya Muslims is a “serious and blatant
violation of international law” and it is calling for international support in
solving the crisis.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation issued a joint
statement Sunday at the end of a two-day conference in Bangladesh, which has
taken in more than 700,000 Rohingya who have fled violence in Myanmar since
August.
Read also: Dhaka declaration of OIC CFM: https://lnkd.in/gqers3c
The statement said the grouping will continue to work the
U.N. and other global platforms to address the rights violations taking place
in Myanmar. The grouping echoed previous international statements saying ethnic
cleansing is taking place in Myanmar.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali said
delegates pledged solidarity with his country “in the face of the huge Rohingya
influx with its humanitarian and security consequences.”
Security forces in Buddhist-majority Myanmar launched a
scorched-earth campaign in late August in response to attacks by a Rohingya
insurgent group. Thousands of people are believed to have been killed in the
crackdown, which many rights activists believe was a calculated attempt to
drive Rohingya from the country.
Rohingya are denied citizenship in Myanmar, where they
have long faced persecution. Many in Myanmar see them as illegal migrants from
Bangladesh, and deride them as “Bengalis.” Most have long lived in poverty in
Myanmar’s Rakhine state, next to Bangladesh.
The hundreds of thousands who fled now live in squalid
camps across the border in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society
estimates that at least 100,000 refugees will be exposed to extreme dangers
during the coming monsoon season.