Conference Announcement & Invitation “STOP THE GENOCIDE & RESTORE THE ROHINGYAS’ CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS IN MYANMAR (BURMA)”

Date: December 4, 2013

Conference Announcement & Invitation

 “STOP THE GENOCIDE & RESTORE THE ROHINGYAS’ CITIZENSHIP
RIGHTS IN MYANMAR (BURMA)”

We are delighted to announce the First Rohingya Conference in the USA which will be held on December 14th, 2013 (12:30 pm to 7:00 pm) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM).

The Conference is jointly sponsored by the Burmese Rohingya American Friendship Association (BRAFA) and the Rohingya Concern International (RCI). It is also co-sponsored by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Hmong Diaspora Studies Program and Risale Center of America.

We cordially invite you to join the conference which is open to the public. Your presence will greatly honor us. Registration is not required.

The Purpose of the Conference

The primary objective of the conference is to make the American people aware of the plights of the Rohingyas and draw their opinion and support in favor of the Rohingyas’ demand for restoration of their citizenship rights in Burma (Myanmar).

The Rohingyas from the Arakan State, Burma (Myanmar), whom the United Nations calls "one of the world's most persecuted minority groups in the world” and MSF predicted “as one of the ethnic groups on the brink of extinction" are the little-publicized and largely forgotten people in USA.

Although their historic lineage in Arakan dates back centuries, over the past five decades, the Rohingyas have been systematically driven out of their homeland by the Burmese Military Junta and were subjected to widespread violence, human rights abuses and the total negation of their rights to citizenship under the current quasi-military Government of Burma.

Rohingyas are a stateless Muslim minority who are victims of systematic ethnic cleansing and state- sponsored slow burning Genocide.

In examining the occurrences of mass atrocities committed against the Rohingyas  as complex and on such a large scale as the conflict in Arakan State, western Burma, the conference  with a select group of scholars and activists  from various disciplines would shed light to determine what could be learned from other invited experts in the fields of human rights, genocide, ethnicity and citizenship  to more effectively focus the attention of the world community on the crime of genocide against the Rohingyas as well as restoration of their citizenship rights  in Burma (Myanmar).

The speakers will share their first-hand knowledge about Rohingyas, their experiences with the violence in Arakan, relevant findings from research and will also determine what practical information would be useful in the field as well as in working towards future solutions for the Rohingyas.

BRAFA and RCI, the sponsors of the conference are grateful to Dr. Chia Youyee Vang (UWM), Sheikh Ziad Hamdan (ISM) and Mr. Suleyman Kurter (Risale Center of America) without whose generous support, this conference would not have been possible.

SPEAKERS

Dr. Gregory H. Stanton (President of Genocide Watch, Washington D.C., USA)

Dr. Chia Youyee Vang (Associate Professor-Department of History-UWM)

Dr. Nora E. Rowley (Human Rights Advocate for Burma)

Dr. Abid Bahar (Professor at Dawson College, Montreal, Canada)

Myra Dahgaypaw (Campaigns Coordinator for the U.S. Campaign for Burma)

Sheikh Ziad Hamdan (Imam of Islamic Society of Milwaukee-ISM)

Dr. Habib Siddiqui (Human Rights Activist, Author of many Books & Articles)

Dr. Kevin Barrett (Professor of Islamic Studies, Madison, Wisconsin)

Nurul Islam (President of Arakan Rohingya National Organization)

Mohiuddin Yusof (aka) Maung Sein (President of RCI, New York City)

Shaukhat Kyaw Soe Aung (aka) MSK Jilani (Chairman of BRAFA-Milwaukee)

Rimon Islam (Human Rights Activist, New York City)

By participating in the conference, you will have the opportunity to expand your knowledge about the Rohingyas. Your presence at our conference will be highly appreciated.

Our best regards,

Shaukhat Kyaw Soe Aung (aka) MSK Jilani

Chair,

Conference Organizing Committee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

For more information, please contact:-

MSK Jilani (1-414-7364273), Mohiuddin Yusof (1-202-5942548), Zubair (1-414-3061751)