YANGON — The government of Myanmar agreed to allow the entry of Islamic relief organizations into its territory to provide needed assistance to the displaced Rohingya Muslims after the bloody events that took place over the last few months in the country resulting in thousands of dead, injured and displaced.
The Myanmar government gave the go ahead after a delegation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) met President of Myanmar Thein Sein in Yangon Friday.
The OIC delegation relayed to President Thein Sein the concern of the Muslim world over the deplorable humanitarian developments in Arakan province of Myanmar and the concern of the Muslim civil society over the condition of Rohingya Muslims. The delegation expressed the willingness of the Islamic humanitarian organizations to provide emergency aid to the Arakan province without discrimination. The delegation also spoke about the efforts exerted by the OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu to help the minority Rohingya.
The President of Myanmar welcomed the OIC delegation asserting that what happened was not a result of religious differences as much as it was a “social problem between the various nationalities there.”
He reiterated that his country is known for its multiple ethnicities and religions. He stressed that he will not allow these events to hinder the democratic transition taking place in the country. He also pointed out that the international media distorted the events and presented, as he claimed, wrong information and exaggerated the events.
President Thein Sein stressed his eagerness for the Muslim world in particular to know the truth about what occurred in Arakan. In this regard, he mentioned that he had sent an invitation to the OIC Secretary General recently to visit Myanmar to observe first-hand the real situation there.
The president said that the invitation to Ihsanoglu is the first and only of its kind addressed to the head of an international organization to visit Myanmar, hoping that the visit would take place as soon as possible.
He welcomed the OIC humanitarian delegation’s visit to Arakan to observe the situation of the displaced on the ground. He agreed to allow the OIC and its partner organizations to provide humanitarian aid to the province in an urgent manner and to open an office in the region in coordination with the central government in Yangon and the local authorities in the province. He instructed the ministries concerned to sign an agreement with the OC to complete the arrangements. — SG
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