Mohammad Rafique, a Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar (center), pleads with a Bangladeshi Coast Guard official at Shahporir Dwip in Taknaf not to send his family back to Myanmar. (File photo)
Iranian Ambassador to Seoul Ahmad Ma’soumifar has called on the South Korean Buddhist and Christian leaders to condemn the recent massacre of the ethnic Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and help ease the plight of the minority in the Southeast Asian state.
In a letter to the South Korean Buddhist monk Kyung-sik Lee on Monday, Ma’soumifar denounced the violence against the Rohingya Muslims.
“Unfortunately, these crimes have been committed by people who claim to be Buddhist followers. This is while such vicious behavior runs counter to the fundamentals of Buddhism, and Muslims have co-existed peacefully with Asian Buddhist communities for centuries,” the Iranian ambassador pointed out.
The Iranian envoy also urged South Korean archbishop Kim Hee-jung to help end the violence in Myanmar.
The government of Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas, who it claims are not natives, and classifies them as illegal migrants. This comes while the Rohingya are said to be Muslim descendants of Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Pathan origin, who migrated to Myanmar as early as the 8th century.
Over the past two years, waves of ethnic Muslims have attempted to flee by boats in the face of systematic oppression by the Myanmar government.
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