The multinational Organization of Islamic Cooperation said on Thursday that Myanmar must stop the oppression of its Rohingya population and prevent extremist groups from fanning religious hatred in Rakhine State, home to most of the country's minority Muslim population.
In a one-day special session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, held in the Malaysian capital, the 57-member bloc adopted a resolution urging Myanmar to stop human rights abuses against the Rohingya people, who account for a fraction of the country's predominantly Buddhist population.
"[We urge] the government of Myanmar to take effective measures to prevent their recurrence, implement the rule of law, provide security for all and uphold the rights of each individual to live and move without fear and persecution based on their religion or ethnicity," the resolution read.
The meeting, which was initiated by Malaysia, follows a December gathering in Yangon of foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Violence erupted in early October when Myanmar authorities launched sweeping military operations in response to armed attacks by Islamic militants on policemen in the Maungdaw region, in northern Rakhine bordering Bangladesh.
The crackdown, which has drawn allegations of abuses including torture, rape and the destruction of more than 1,500 Muslim homes, has prompted more than 65,000 Rohingya refugees to flee to Bangladesh.
An estimated 120,000 Rohingya displaced by earlier waves of sectarian violence in 2012 and 2013 still live in makeshift camps scattered around Rakhine. Tens of thousands more have fled the country by boat over the last few years, often falling prey to human traffickers.
Source: daily-sun.com
