ARU's DG meets the Ambassadors of OIC and Saudi to the U.N.

DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ARU MEETS THE AMBASSADORS OF OIC AND SAUDI TO THE UNITED NATIONS IN NEW YORK AND DISCUSSES THE STRATEGIES FOR UPCOMING HUMAN RIGHT COUNCIL MEETING RESOLUTION

RB News

May 11, 2013

The Director General of Arakan Rohingya Union, Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin, met with OIC Ambassador, HE Ufuk Gokcen, and Saudi Ambassador, HE Dr. Abdallah Al-Mouellimi, at the Saudi Mission at the United Nations in New York on May 7, 2013. 

A number of Rohingya Political and Human Rights issues were discussed during the meeting. The major theme of the meeting was the most serious Rohingya issues related to the resolution in the upcoming UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. During the discussion, Dr. Uddin stressed the need for sustaining a unified, strong, and firm language in the OIC Human Rights Commission meeting resolution ahead of the UN Human Rights Council meeting. Dr. Uddin also urged the ambassadors to continue their efforts to garner support from all the OIC member states, including the three ASEAN member states, in reflecting their voices and concerns for Rohingya political and human rights expressed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Gulf States, and several other OIC members. 

“A strong resolution from the UN Human Rights Council is needed to pave the way for materializing the appointment of an independent and unbiased international team to investigate the massacre in Arakan state and Central Burma” Dr. Uddin asked the ambassadors. “The Burmese Government-appointed commission has clearly undermined its own report by explicitly showing biasness in the report that is rife with hostility toward Rohingya people, such as the blunt description of Rohingya as ‘Bengali’, false allegation of Rohingya population outburst, and stating the Rakhine opposition to returns of Rohingya and Kamen IDPs to their homes in Arakan. Such misconducts, not to mention the rejection of a Rohingya member and expulsion of Myanmar Muslim members from the Commission, warrant a transparent and unbiased team of investigators from the UN” Dr. Uddin said. 

“We welcome certain positive recommendations made by the Myanmar Government-appointed commission on economic, social, and educational infrastructure development in Arakan state, if these recommendations are meant to benefit all the citizens of Arakan, including Rohingya” Dr. Uddin added. “50 years of deprivation of basic education to Rohingya people in rural areas in Arakan, has made them not to be able to speak and write Bama language of mainland Burma – Rohingya people maintains their own ethnic language and culture, and it is deplorable that the commission is talking about proficiency in Bama language as the criterion for Rohingya people to be judged as citizens.” Dr. Uddin explained and brought this to the attention of the ambassadors. 

“A significant number of ethnic minorities from the eastern and northern frontier areas of Burma cannot speak or write Bama language because they also maintain their own languages as the Rohingya ethnic minority does; therefore, the Commission’s language requirement issue does not make sense; Nonetheless, we all can learn the Government’s preferred language without getting punishment for not knowing enough now” Dr. Uddin stressed. Several other undisclosed matters pertaining to the UN Human Right Council were also discussed during the meeting with the ambassadors.