The Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar rank among the most persecuted communities in the world.
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Burmese authorities are carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya Muslim minority in the country’s western Arakan state, a senior United Nations official said, as the military continues to sweep the area for what it has labeled Islamic militants.
In a statement, she also urged the worldwide community, neighbouring, other Muslim countries and the Bangladesh government to make strong diplomatic efforts so that the Rohingyas can permanently live in their own country with security and all civic rights after returning there. “While there are more than 30,000 registered refugees in the country, authorities estimate that 300,000 to 500,000 unregistered Rohingya are also already living in Bangladesh”, she said.
Human Rights Watch reported over 1,000 homes were torched in Rohingya villages while the U.N.’s refugee agency in Bangladesh accused Myanmar troops of killing scores of Rohingya Muslims and raping Rohingya women.
The deputy premier also said the gathering would discuss, and state the country’s stance, on calls for the withdrawal of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, now the country’s state counselor-cum-foreign minister.
Eighteen year-old Mosammat Samira (R), and her sister Mosammat Habiba, 20, who were gang-raped by the army at their village, Udang in the northern part of Rakhine state a week ago, pose for a photograph in Teknaf, in southern Cox’s Bazar district.
Hundreds protest Aung San Suu Kyi panel on Rohingya Muslims in MyanmarIBTimes US. Since crossing, seven people are reported missing.
Khaleda termed “genocide” the persecution of the Rohingyas in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
With the new humanitarian crisis unfolding in Myanmar, the global community must take a united stand to put a stop to the brutality of Myanmar’s military troops in Rakhine state, which houses some one million Rohingya.
Protesters in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok.
Maungdaw Township in the troubled state’s north has been under military lockdown since October 9 when nine police were killed after an armed group attacked three police station outposts. A lot of them have lived in Rakhine state for generations, but have been denied basic rights by the government. The BBC can not visit the area to verify what is occurring there, as journalists and aid workers have been barred.
It is sad to know that the Rohingya, despite residing in Myanmar for decades, are treated as illegal immigrants and denied citizenship, with laws restricting marriages and their children not being issued birth certificates.
Human rights groups accuse the Myanmarese army of abuses against the Rohingya minority, including killings, rapes and burning of homes.
He appeals for worldwide recognition of the situation and of the Rohingya cause and for humanitarian intervention or else – he says “the Rohingyas will be wiped out” from Burma.
Speaking at a discussion, he further said the people who are fleeing from Myanmar to save their lives are not allowed to come to Bangladesh.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) Thousands of Bangladeshis marched in the capital’s streets Friday to protest the persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, one of several similar rallies in the region.
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“This is what’s happening to the Rohingyas in Myanmar now”.
