OIC chief slams violence against Muslims in Myanmar

IINA News

March 26, 2013

The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu strongly condemned the recent spreading of the violence against Muslims in Myanmar at the hands of extremist Buddhists. 

Violence in Arakan in the West of the country continues uninterrupted since last June and has spread to other cities and areas, particularly in the Miektila city in the Mandalay region in the middle of the country, according to an OIC statement. As a result of this violence, scores of Muslims were killed and their homes and properties burnt, in addition to the burning of eight mosques and a number of schools. Hundreds of families fled their homes. 

Expressing concern over the Myanmar government’s failure to protect the lives of its innocent civilians, the secretary general urged that such violence should not continue. It is the responsibility of the authorities to address the root causes of the issue and safeguard the lives and property of all the peoples of Myanmar. The OIC chief recalled resolutions passed by the summits of OIC in Makkah in August 2012 and Cairo in February 2013 as well as the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Djibouti in November 2012 seeking an end to repression against the Muslim Minority in Myanmar with particular reference to the right of citizenship for Rohingya Muslims in the Arakan Region. He added that the recent outbreak of violence highlighted the urgency for evolving a comprehensive approach to address the root causes of the issue. 

The secretary general shared the deepening concern of the international community on the situation of human rights in Myanmar as reflected in the recent Resolution adopted by Human Rights Council in Geneva. 

He called upon the government of Myanmar to address the concerns of the international community as reflected in the relevant UN and OIC Resolutions in particular the restoration of the citizenship of the Rohingya Muslim minority as well as the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar. 

The secretary general clearly indicated that the situation of Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar was a priority item on the OIC agenda and that he was consistently in touch with the international political fora as well as the OIC Groups in Geneva and New York with a view to ensuring all possible assistance by the Organization towards alleviating their sufferings. He reiterated OIC’S willingness to provide humanitarian assistance, without discrimination, to the affected Arakan Region and called on the Myanmar authorities to remove obstacles hindering the delivery of the urgent humanitarian assistance. He added that OIC was willing to cooperate and coordinate for humanitarian assistance with the Aid Agencies, NGOs and other national and international organizations working in the region.