Islamic bloc chief: Plans for Myanmar aid office in limbo amid sectarian tensions
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia — The head of the world’s biggest Islamic political bloc says Myanmar seeks to delay the group’s plans to open an office there amid tensions between Muslims and majority Buddhists, but there is no word on whether the move is fully blocked.
Plans by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to open an aid office in Yangon have brought a backlash. Sectarian tensions are high in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state after clashes in June between Buddhists and Muslims left nearly 90 dead.
The secretary-general of the 57-nation OIC, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, says the group received an “indirect request” from Myanmar’s Border Ministry to postpone opening an office. But he told reporters Wednesday that there has been no official order.
The issue will be further discussed at an IOC meeting next month in Djibouti.
Sources Here:
Plans by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to open an aid office in Yangon have brought a backlash. Sectarian tensions are high in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state after clashes in June between Buddhists and Muslims left nearly 90 dead.
The secretary-general of the 57-nation OIC, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, says the group received an “indirect request” from Myanmar’s Border Ministry to postpone opening an office. But he told reporters Wednesday that there has been no official order.
The issue will be further discussed at an IOC meeting next month in Djibouti.
Sources Here:
