Skip to main content

International Community Urged to Stop the 'Silent Genocide' of Rohingya Muslims

January  26, 2014 

According to the country's law, Rohingya are not a recognised minority group and have no rights of citizenship. Due to their statelessness, they are subject to systematic persecution and have been victims of violence and discrimination.

(GLASGOW) - A Scotland-based human rights organisation is calling on the international community to intervene in what is being called the ‘silent genocide’ of the Burmese Rohingya Muslims, who the United Nations has called the most persecuted minority group in the world.

Global Minorities Alliance, a human rights group which advocates for the rights of persecuted minority groups around the world, is deeply concerned about the recent escalation of human rights abuses against the Rohingya minority and criticised the Burmese government for their ongoing sub-human treatment to one of the most vulnerable communities in the world, and for their unwillingness to ensure any protection.

The recent call for the protection and the promotion of the human rights in Burma came amidst the fresh riots between Buddhists and Muslims in the Rakhine state, killing at least 48 including children and a local policeman.

According to the BBC, the recent killing follows reports of clashes between Rohingya Muslims and the police in the Maungdaw in the Rakhine State in the Western Myanmar. Tensions escalated due to several reports that many Rohingya Muslims had been killed trying to flee over the border into Bangladesh. A policeman is also presumed dead, which further aggravated the situation. Local Buddhists, allegedly with the help of the local authorities, took revenge and launched an attack.

Global Minorities Alliance's Vice-Chairperson, Shahid Khan, called on the United Nations as well as the international community to intervene to stop human rights abuses through an independent enquiry and hold those accountable according to international criminal law:

“Rohingya are said to be the most vulnerable community in the world and they are being systematically victimised by the state and military in a silent genocide. It is unimaginable that people are being made homeless in the neighbourhood where they have been living for generations. We urge the Burmese government to restore citizenship rights to the Rohingya minority and call for understanding and tolerance between Buddhists and Muslims in Burma.”

In a statement made available to the Global Minorities Alliance, the Director of Burma Campaign Mark Farmaner, stressed the need for international intervention to stop the ongoing persecution of Rohingya:

“To simply repeat a call on the government of Burma to investigate the most recent attacks, when similar calls have already been ignored on countless occasions, is not an adequate response to human rights abuses which violate international law and where there is evidence of ethnic cleansing.

"The only way any kind of impartial investigation is going to happen is if it is conducted by the international community."

According to the country's law, Rohingya are not a recognised minority group and have no rights of citizenship. Due to their statelessness, they are subject to systematic persecution and have been victims of violence and discrimination.

Last year more than 200 Rohingya Muslims died during the clashes between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims.

About Global Minorities Alliance

Global Minorities Alliance (GMA) is a human rights organisation which campaigns for the rights of minority groups and communities across the world, regardless of race, colour, religion or belief, faith or no faith, gender, or membership of another particular social group.

GMA works for global peace, interfaith harmony, equality in law and society, empowerment of women, access to education and justice for all. This is achieved through working with likeminded partner agencies, policy makers, NGOs, community/faith groups the world over to affect change for better.

GMA endeavours to achieve this through advocacy for groups or individuals, practical help in humanitarian crises, small business projects, education projects and awareness raising campaigns.

Our vision is of a world free from persecution; a world where no-one will be disadvantaged because they belong to a certain group,” says GMA’s Chairperson, Manassi Bernard. “We believe that there is more that unites us than divides us, and that every human has inalienable rights that should not be curtailed because of who they are. We strive for justice, peace and equality.”

For more information go to www.globalminorities.co.uk.

The author of this press release is Claire Fuller, GMA’s Press Secretary, who can be contacted at info@globalminorities.co.uk.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rohingya MP U Shwe Maung undergoes questioning

Rohingya MP U Shwe Maung By Kayleigh Long Myanmar Times February 07, 2014 Union Solidarity and Development Party MP U Shwe Maung has been questioned by police in Nay Pyi Taw over comments he made to Democratic Voice of Burma about possible police involvement in a fire that broke out in a Muslim village in Rakhine State late last month. More than a dozen homes were destroyed in the blaze at Du Chee Yar Tan West village near Maungdaw in northern Rakhine State on January 28. U Shwe Maung said the February 4 interrogation came at the behest of President U Thein Sein, who sent a letter to Pyidaungsu Hluttaw Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann requesting permission for police question the MP. The interview lasted about 90 minutes and was conducted at his USDP living quarters in Nay Pyi Taw. It focused on allegations that U Shwe Maung, a Rohingya, had defamed the state and police by saying that residents believed security forces were involved in starting the fire. ...

ERC representatives and Dr.Maung Zarni partook a seminar in Sweden

ERC Delegation Meet Dr. Zarni Mohamed Farooq ( Mayu Press) May 7, 2013 The Stockholm University of Sweden held a seminar on “Forum for Asian Studies” at William Olsson Hall, the department of geological science on 3rd May 2013. It depicts Rohingya tragedy and Human Right Eradication in western Burma. Burma (Myanmar) is a nation with ambition to make their name and discharge their White Man’s Burden, one of the world’s hottest assignments in the world of diplomats, development consultants, NGO experts and academic researchers, a lucrative ‘frontier’ market for investors, venture capitalists and multinationals, a must-go for both citizen-tourists and global luminaries. This lecture will critically discuss the rose-tinted view of reforms in Burma against the troubling realties as lived by the people of that country, including full-scale Rohingya genocide of 40 years, the 60-years of Burmese army’s un-ending internal colonial wars against the Christian Kachins, the Kare...

রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থীদের কোনো ভবিষ্যৎ নেই

বাংলাদেশের আশ্রয়শিবিরে বসবাসকারী রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থীদের কোনোই ভবিষ্যৎ নেই বলে মন্তব্য করেছেন রোহিঙ্গা বিষয়ক আইনজীবী রাজিয়া সুলতানা। তিনি এই আশ্রয়শিবিরকে চিড়িয়াখানার সঙ্গে তুলনা করেছেন এবং রোহিঙ্গাদের ফেরত পাঠানোর জন্য একটি উপযুক্ত কৌশল নির্ধারণের আহ্বান জানিয়েছেন। কয়েকদিন আগে যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের পররাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রণালয়ের ইন্টারন্যাশনাল ওমেন অব কারেজ এওয়ার্ড (আইডব্লিউসিএ) পুরস্কার পান রাজিয়া সুলতানা। সাহসিকতা দেখানোর জন্য সারা বিশ্ব থেকে বাছাই করা ১০ জন নারীকে এ পুরস্কার দেয়া হয়।  রাজিয়া সুলতানার একটি সাক্ষাৎকার নিয়েছে বার্তা সংস্থা রয়টার্স। তাতে তিনি রোহিঙ্গাদের পরিণতি নিয়ে হতাশা প্রকাশ করেন। রাজিয়া সুলতানা বলেন, মিয়ানমারের মুসলিম সংখ্যালঘু সম্প্রদায়ের রোহিঙ্গা শরণার্থীদের মধ্যে আশার অভাব রয়েছে। ২০১৭ সালের আগস্টে মিয়ানমারের সেনাবাহিনীর নৃশংস নির্যাতনের ফলে তারা পালিয়ে এসে বাংলাদেশে আশ্রয় নিতে বাধ্য হয়। রাজিয়া সুলতানা বলেন, এই আশ্রয় শিবিরে যত বেশি সময় শরণার্থীরা থাকবেন ততই পরিস্থিতির অবনতি ঘটতে থাকবে। ওই সাক্ষাৎকারে তিনি আরো বলেন, হ্যাঁ, এ কথা সত্য যে, শরণার্থীরা খাবার পাচ্ছে। কিন...