Press Release: Rohingya Solidarity Rally in The Hague

Press Release 

17 September 2017 

Rohingya Solidarity Rally in The Hague 

Since 25th August 2017, Myanmar security armed forces launched an “ethnic cleansing operation” against Rohingya civilians in the name of counter insurgency operations. Over the last two weeks, Myanmar armed forces together with Rakhine mobs killed or burnt more than 5, 000 Rohingya civilians, most of them are children and women. A considerable number of Rohingya have died from starvation, sickness and drowning while trying to escape atrocity crimes committed by the security forces. Nearly 200 Rohingya hamlets were burnt down to the ground. According to the United Nations, more than 400, 000 Rohingya were forced to flee to Bangladesh while many were internally displaced. Several thousand Rohingya are on their way to Bangladesh. Myanmar security forces buried land mines along the way Rohingya are fleeing. Some Rohingya were affected by the land mines recently. United Nations has described Myanmar’s operation against Rohingya as “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”

Since 1978, successive military and quasi-civilian governments of Myanmar have been persecuting the Rohingya in Western Myanmar. Myanmar military has viewed Rohingya Muslims, who are pre-nation state borderlands people living along the present-day Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) and present-day Myanmar as a ‘threat to national security’ because they are the only Muslim community with their own historical ancestral land, which is adjacent to one of the largest Muslim countries. This is a manufactured claim by the military institution which is neither based on the facts nor reality. 

The persecution is commonly acknowledged as genocidal by various human rights organizations and investigators or researchers including the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, International State Crime Institute, Genocide Watch, former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (2008-2014) Mr Tomas Ojea Quintana, leading scholars of genocide George Stanton and William Schabas, anti-apartheid leader Desmond Tutu and Amartya Sen. 

Despite international outrage and call on Myanmar government to stop atrocity crimes against Rohingya, Myanmar pays no heeds so far and continues inflicting massive suffering on Rohingya.

Therefore we call upon: 

· Dutch government to put direct diplomatic pressure on Myanmar government to stop atrocity crimes against Rohingya civilians; and to initiate necessary measures through European Union, and United Nations to stop Myanmar committing atrocity crimes; and to bring all those who have been committing “ethnic cleansing of Rohingya” into justice.

· International Court of Justice to initiate process to bring perpetrators of “ethnic cleansing of Rohingya” into justice. 

· Dutch media to bring Myanmar’s “ethnic cleansing of Rohingya” into public attention and to inform Dutch public with what have been unfolding against Rohingya people. 

Signatories:

• The European Rohingya Council 
• Care 4 Humanity 
• Dialoog – Sociaal Cultureel Centrum Moskee Noeroel Islam
• Raad van Oelama Nederland (RON)
• Kashmir Peace Council
• Pakistan Wefare Association The Haque
• Pak Islamic & Culture Centre The Haque Netherlands
• Dastak International Organization
• Palestine Huis in Nederland
• Stichting Welzijn voor Moslim te Den Haag omstreken
• Het Turks Platform Den Haag
• Moskee Mescid-i Kuba
• Moskee Mescid -i Aksa
• Moskee Ahi Evran
• Stichting Islamitische Centrum Den Haag (Moskee Delfselaan)
• Turkse Vereniging Escamp Den Haag
• Turkse Islamitische Culturele Vereniging
• Stichting Solidariteit Erzurum
• Stichting Dialooghuis
• Stichting Yozgat
• Vadercentrum Adam
• Stichting Sanatolia
• Demet TV
• Dabdar Stichting
• Turkse Museum
• Turkse Huis
• Turks Vereniging Molenwijk
• Muraqba Hall Holland
• Foundation Noorani Islamic Research Institute
• Stichting Noor Ul Huda
• Stichting vereniging Roekoen Islam Den Haag
• Darga Ajmer Sharif India
• Chishty Foundation Ajmer Sharief
• Chishitya Ribaat Sufi Studie center Pakistan
• Al Karam Moskee Amsterdam
• Al Ghausia Moskee Amsterdam
• Al Ghausia Moskee Rotterdam 
• Al Kurtaba Moskee Rotterdam
• Taqwa Moskee Zoetermeer
• Bangladesh Foundation Netherlands
• Buurtvaders Schilderswijk West
• Stichting Dalmar Den Haag
• Stichting Soneco Den Haag
• Naqshidandi Al Haqqani Tarikat (stated by Shaykh Ahmad Dede Netherlands)
• Stichting SOS Shaam
• Moskee Taibah Amsterdam
• World Islamic Mission (WIM)
• Stichting Welzijn voor Moslim Amsterdam en omstreken
• Djamia Medinatul Islam
• Moskee Al Firduas Lelystad
• Moskee Anware Medina Eindhoven
• Moskee Fariedul Islam Amsterdam
• Minhaj Ul Quran Den Haag
• Federatie Somalische Landelijke organisatie FSAN
• Global Security Institute USA Amerika

Media contact:

Dr. Hla Kyaw: +31 652358202