Reuters © Firefighters extinguish a fire during a riot between Buddhist and Muslims in Lashio township May 29, 2013. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
Press TV has talked with Myra Dahgaypaw, with the US Campaign for Burma from Washington D.C., to comment on the ongoing systematic persecution of Muslim Rohingyas by the extremist Buddhists in the country.
What follows is a rough transcript of the interview.
Press TV: Myra Dahgaypaw, let us look at the political developments.
We had the president of Myanmar who visited Washington recently and we also had Aung San Suu Kyi, who came out and made some statements.
Can you tell us if any of those two figures have addressed what is going on in Myanmar regarding what many are calling ethnic cleansing, when you see these types of violence erupt there.
Dahgaypaw: Well, at this point only the words are out there but no action has been taken.
Those who have to suffer, they are still suffering and those who persecute people are still persecuting.
There is no justice and accountability, nobody gets punished for it. All the abuses happen with impunity.
Press TV: We had President Thein Sein visiting Washington and that reinforces, obviously the ties that the US has in this.
Don't you think that the US should uphold what it preaches in terms of democracy and in this case apply it by pressuring the government there and not only that but pressuring Aung San Suu Kyi to come up more in defense of what is going on there, of these Muslims who are being persecuted.
Dahgaypaw: Indeed I totally agree with you that the US government as well as the international community including the UN, should pressure the Burmese authorities to do more for these people.
It is not okay to keep allowing the abuses to happen to these group of people, I mean the Rohingyas are human beings like us.
So if we are talking about the genuine reform, if we are talking about the reform for all the people, for the better lives for the people of Burma, these Rohingya people are also the people of Burma and these reforms have to also benefit them but at this point we haven't seen anything..., anybody that will be pushing the Burmese authorities and Aung San Suu Kyi to do more than what they are doing now.
Instead they keep giving them and that is why I am saying, the invitation for Thein Sein to come to the White House is like a slap on the face to the ethnic minorities, to those people who have to suffer at the hands of these Burmese military.
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