The Stateless Rohingya Blog

By Sarah Naeem ARU News October 05, 2014  New York . The OIC Ministerial Contact Group convened at the 69th United Nations General Assembly in New York.  Important issues on Rohingya ethnic minority and strategies to find a permanent and lasting solution were discussed in the meeting. Delegations from several countries have expressed their concerns on the lack of progress on Rohingya issues in Arakan. They discussed strategies on engagement with the Government of Burma not only by OIC perspective, but also from the ASEAN perspectives as bilateral relations with Burma that many countries maintain. Among all the Ministerial delegations, they agreed that efforts in dialogue for ethnic and communal reconciliation in Arakan must be stepped up, but there are also needs for more serious and urgent approach for short-term solutions that could set the stage for long-term dialogue and reconciliation efforts. The Special Envoy of the OIC to Myanmar, Tan Sri Dr. Syed...

By Bernama September 26, 2014 Kuala Lumpur : The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group Meeting on Rohingya has ADOPTED the action plan recommended by the OIC Special Envoy for Myanmar, Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, which calls on the Myanmar government to take action against people promoting hate speech and instigating violence. The plan included holding inter-community and interfaith dialogue, allowing internally displaced people (IDPs) to return to their homes and invests in the socio-economic development of the Rakhine region and to open up for international humanitarian assistance to reach the community affected by the ethnic violence that broke out in 2012. The decision was made during the OIC Contact Group meeting held Thursday in New York, on the sidelines of the Annual Coordination Meeting of the OIC Foreign Ministers under the chairmanship of the OIC secretary-general Iyad Ameen Madani, the OIC said in a statement. Syed Hamid, former Malaysi...

By   Pakistan Observer April 17, 2014 Jeddah  — The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Iyad Ameen Madani, expressed concern about the recently conducted national population census in Myanmar and the government’s decision not to allow census respondents to self-identify as Rohingya, stating that this decision does not conform with international census standards as set by the United Nations Population Fund nor does it conform with basic human rights principles in terms of non-discrimination.  The Secretary General reiterated that as a result of lack of adherence to principles of international law and infringement of the rights of the Rohingya people, a wave of condemnable violence again erupted including the burning of several Rohingya homes and the arbitrary detention of women. He further expressed concern at the deteriorating situation of humanitarian aid workers in Rakhine State and regretted the reported attacks on their...

Secretary-general of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Prof. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu. (PHOTO: OIC) By  Colin Hinshelwood DVB News December 11, 2013 The secretary-general of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Prof. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, spoke with DVB about his recent trip to Burm a where he pledged OIC assistance to all communities in Arakan state – Buddhist and Muslim alike. We asked him about Rohingya rights, Rule of Law, and the path to a peaceful future. Q: Several figures in Burma/ Myanmar have expressed opinions that the major reason for sectarian violence or anti-Muslim riots in the country is a fundamental lack of rule of law. To what extent do you believe law enforcement (or a lack thereof) is to blame? And, is this the major reason for the violence? If not, what is? A: From 13-17 November 2013, a seven-member OIC Ministerial Contact Group Delegation visited Myanmar at the invitation of the President to assess the ...

Buddhist monks at Rangoon’s Shwedagon Pagoda protest in November against an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) delegation that is currently visiting Burma’s troubled Arakan State. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) By  Lawi Weng Irrawaddy News December 2, 2013  RANGOON  — Burma’s government says it will take action against Buddhist protesters who allegedly carried a banner insulting Islam during a demonstration against a visiting delegation of global Islamic leaders last month. The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that protesters in Rangoon’s Bahan Township received permission to demonstrate against the delegation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), but not to hold the banner, which the newspaper described as “assaulting faith.” Buddhists in mid-November staged protests across the country, accusing the OIC of trying to interfere in Burmese affairs. The OIC, the world’s largest bloc of Islamic countries, sent...

ONE FAITH: Speaking passionately through an interpreter, OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told the emotional crowd of Rohingya Muslims: “We are here to tell you that you are not alone, you are not abandoned.” (AN photos by Maha Akeel) By  Arab News November 28, 2013 A high-level delegation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), headed by Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, visited Myanmar (previously Burma) last week in what was described as a landmark visit.  Not everyone welcomed the good will visit. Protests by radical Buddhist monks greeted the delegation outside Yangon airport on Nov. 13, and the day before their arrival, hundreds marched down the streets of Yangon objecting to the delegation’s visit, seeing it as a form of interference in the country’s internal affairs. The delegation did not spend time in Yangon. It was swiftly whisked away to the administrative capital, Nay Pyi Taw. The delegation spent Thursday in meetings with...

By ROBIN McDOWELL /  AP WRITER November 18, 2013  RANGOON — The secretary general of the world’s largest bloc of Islamic countries said emotional visits with members of the long-persecuted Rohingya Muslim community — chased from their homes in Burma by Buddhist mobs and arsonists — brought him to tears. “I’ve never had such a feeling,” Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said late Saturday, as he and other delegates from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation wrapped up a three-day tour to Burma that included talks with the president, government ministers, interfaith groups and U.N. agencies. But he said it was the huge, emotional crowds living in trash-strewn camps outside the Arakan State capital, Sittwe, that made the biggest impression. “I was crying,” Ihsanoglu said. Burma, a predominantly Buddhist nation of 60 million, emerged from a half-century of military rule in 2011, but its transition to democracy has been marred by sectarian violence that has left ...

OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, center, and other delegates arrive at Rangoon International Airport to leave Burma on Sunday, 17 November 2013. (AP PHOTO)  By DVB News November 18, 2013 A delegation from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) wrapped up a four-day visit to Burma on Saturday, pledging humanitarian and rehabilitation assistance to the communities affected and displaced by communal violence in Arakan state. In a joint statement with the Central Committee for Implementation of Stability and Development in Rakhine State issued on Sunday, the OIC delegation said it had “assured the [Burmese] government of the principled position of the OIC, OIC institutions and its member states not to discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity and religion in the provision of humanitarian assistance.” It further stated that any assistance would be provided “on a non-discriminatory basis” though the Burmese government. The OIC delegation also called on...

Buddhist monks in Mandalay protest last year against an attempt by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to open an office in Burma. (Photo: Man Thar Lay / The Irrawaddy) Irrawaddy News By Lawi Weng November 11, 2013 RANGOON — Hundreds of  Buddhists  in Rangoon and the Arakan State capital of Sittwe are planning to protest against a visit to Burma by a high-level delegation fro m the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) this week. The 57-member alliance of Muslim countries is planning to investigate the conditions in which displaced Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State are living. Tens of thousands of Rohingya are have been in temporary camps for more than a year, after they fled outbreaks of violence between Buddhists and Muslims. Tensions in the area remain high, and rights groups say the stateless Rohingya continue to face abuses and restrictions. Tun Hlaing, an Arakanese activist, said he is organizing a protest against the OIC when they arrive...

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu Hassan Cheruppa Saudi Gazette November 10, 2013 JEDDAH — Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu will lead a high-level OIC delegation to Myanmar on Tuesday.  The delegation, which  will include seven foreign ministers and senior officials from the OIC member countries, will meet top government officials as well as political leaders of Myanmar. In their bid to find a lasting solution to the Rohingya Muslim minority in the Buddhist-dominated Asian country, the Muslim leaders will also hold talks with Buddhist parliament members and leaders of Rohingya community, according to OIC sources. The delegation will also make field visits to the riot-torn regions in the Rakhine region to take stock of the conditions of Muslims living there. Ihsanoglu said the issue of Rohingya Muslims was one of the most pressing issues he addressed during his nine-year tenure as the secretary...

A group of six foreign ministers and OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu will visit Myanmar.  World Bulletin  October 29, 2013 A group of six foreign ministers and  OIC  Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu will visit Myanmar in a bid to take up the violence targeting Muslims residing in this country in two weeks. Ihsanoglu told AA following a special session held at UN Security Council that they will visit Myanmar to make an emphasis on  Rohingya Muslims ’ right of citizenship in their own country. Ihsanoglu said  Rohingya Muslims  were not regarded as the citizens of Myanmar (Burma) with a decision in 1982 and the second basic problem was related to their right to live.  OIC  Secretary General also said that he has been in contact with US President Barack Obama, EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton regarding the Myanmar issue since the first day he came into...

World Bulletin October 28, 2013 UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Quintana told AA., Myanmar Muslims are now facing “segregation that is becoming permanent,” since they are living in isolated shelters built by government  The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) with some other states at the United Nations Headquarters -- is pursuing its own resolution on human rights record in Myanmar and the suffering of the local  Muslim  population in Rakhine State, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in  Myanmar,  Tomás Ojea Quintana told AA. “It seems that there is going to be a resolution by consent (at the United Nations) and with the consent of the government of  Myanmar, ” Quintana told AA. He stressed that is a “good news,” since UN always was looking for intergovernmental engagement. OIC takes initiative    “The government of Myanmar is now engaging with OIC. ...