Protesters in Bradford highlight plight of persecuted Rohingya
June 21, 2015
A protest has been held in Bradford city centre to highlight the persecution inflicted upon the Rohingya people.
Groups of activists gathered to call on the international community to aid the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim ethnic group living primarily in Rakhine State in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, who are not recognised as citizens by the ruling government.
United Nations officials and human rights groups have reported evidence of severe human rights abuses inflicted upon the Rohingya people, including incitement of anti-Muslim violence.
President of the Rohingya Survival Foundation UK, Nijam Uddin, said: “We are here to remember the people of Burma, the innocent Muslims, the Rohingyan community that is being tortured.
“They are being tortured, slaughtered, raped, beaten. Their businesses are being burnt, their homes are being destroyed, all because they are not accepted in the Burmese community.”
Former Bradford West MP George Galloway also said: “For us here, our eyes are not averted from this crime. We are cursing it in our hearts, we are denouncing it from our lips and we are demanding that those who can, who have the power, to raise their hands to bring it to an end.”
Other speakers included members of the Rohingyan community, religious leaders, and former Bradford Lord Mayor Ghazanfer Khaliq.
The protest was announced a few weeks ago on social media, and over 700 people said they would attend.
