November 23, 2017
PRESS RELEASE
MYANMAR TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THE ROHINGYA REFUGEES PRIOR TO THE REPATRIATION PROCESS
The European Rohingya Council urge the Myanmar Government to end the violence unconditionally and to ensure the safety of the Rohingya before starting the repatriation process. Myanmar also is urged to end the entrenched discrimination that has trapped the Rohingya in a cycle of deprivation and abuse for decades.
While Amnesty International reported the oppression against the Rohingya as ‘apartheid’, the European Rohingya Council believes that the Rakhine crisis should be labelled as genocide. Any other term, would be downplaying the years of oppression faced by the Rohingya.
“We lauded the effort by Bangladesh and Myanmar to discuss the safe return of Rohingya to their homes, however this must be a voluntary process, in safety and dignity, and for them to return to their homes and not into camps and if there’s any loss of properties and lives, it must be compensated fairly,” said Tengku Emma Zuriana, Ambassador To Malaysia of The European Rohingya Council.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees were returned from Bangladesh to Myanmar in a large scale repatriation operation, with the assistance of the UN Refugee Agency but they continued to face systematic state sponsored discrimination and waves of violence in Rakhine State as reported by Amnesty International on 4th October 2017.
The European Rohingya Council is also concerned about the announcement by the Myanmar authorities that they will established displacement camps and settlement zones in northern Rakhine State.
“This will only allow the cycle of abuse to continue and this has happened so many times. Until Myanmar government is serious to improve the situation, Bangladesh government should not agree to any repatriation plan,” said Tengku Emma Zuriana.
Therefore the European Rohingya Council is calling the Myanmar authorities:
1. To grant full citizenship to the Rohingya and review the 1982 Citizenship Law.
2. To urgently draw a comprehensive action plan to combat discrimination and segregation with active consultation and monitored by the UN, and also review all policies, laws and practices which discriminate on racial, ethnic or religious grounds and bring them into line with the international human rights law and standards.
3. To allow unhindered access to aid workers.
4. To ensure the perpetrators of crime against humanity and other serious human rights violations must be brought to justice.
The European Rohingya Council would also call upon the UN to observe the repatriation process closely and to ensure no human rights violations occurs.
The international community should send a clear message to Myanmar that it would not tolerate any violence and further abuse on the Rohingya and to support strongly and monitor all investigations and prosecutions by Myanmar or through carrying them out under universal jurisdiction.
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ABOUT THE EUROPEAN ROHINGYA COUNCIL
The European Rohingya Council (ERC) is an European umbrella organization registered (KvK- 56454791) and based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We research and document the state persecution of Rohingya in Myanmar; lobby European governments so that the EU stands for rights of Rohingya; and organize awareness campaigns such as conferences, protests, etc. Most importantly, we also facilitate higher education of Rohingya students. We are independent non-profit and non-government organization, and our ultimate goal is to restore the loss rights of Rohingya in Myanmar.
Contacts
Tengku Emma Zuriana bt. Tengku Azmi
Ambassador To Malaysia, ERC
Tel : +60124131809
Email : pray4rohingya@gmail.com
