Threat of Rohingya Genocide Hangs Over US-ASEAN Summit in Sunnylands, CA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Erik Leaver, eleaver@endgenocide.org, 202-556-2130
Threat of Rohingya Genocide Hangs Over US-ASEAN Summit in Sunnylands, CA
Anti-Genocide Group Warns of Dangerous Signs of Genocide in Burma
Urges President Obama, ASEAN nations to act
United to End Genocide, a U.S. based human rights advocacy group, today called on President Obama to use the upcoming U.S.-ASEAN summit to demand an end to the attacks against Burma’s ethnic minority Rohingya.
“News coverage of Burma has been upbeat – focusing on Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi’s party winning the elections. But what is not being reported are the warning signs of genocide and the fact that no one - including Aung San Suu Kyi and her party – are speaking out, let alone taking action on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children who are in grave danger,” said former U.S. Congressman Tom Andrews, President of United to End Genocide.
“By choosing to release a new hate speech video directed at the ethnic minority Rohingya last week, the radical monk Wirathu and his “Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion” is sending a dangerous challenge to the incoming government: no matter who is in power in Burma, they will continue to incite hate, discrimination and violence against the ethnic minority Rohingya.
A spokesperson for the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party, has said that dealing with the Rohingya will not be a priority of the new government.
Last year, tens of thousands of desperate Rohingya fled Burma in rickety boats and were stranded at sea off the shore of ASEAN countries. Many Rohingya perished. ASEAN governments met to address the crisis but failed to address the root causes of the mass exodus from Burma that still exists today – the systematic persecution and the march to genocide against the Rohingya.
The summit in California provides an important opportunity for President Obama to raise this issue and urge action. We will all be watching.”
Andrews is available for interviews. Contact Erik Leaver, eleaver@endgenocide.org, 202-556-2130.
To read United to End Genocide’s report, “Marching to Genocide in Burma” visit:
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United to End Genocide is an advocacy organization dedicated to preventing and ending genocide and mass atrocities worldwide. For more information visit: endgenocide.org.
