APPEAL
THE EUROPEAN ROHINGYA COUNCIL
DECEMBER 5, 2016
ERC APPEALS WORLD LEADERS TO STOP MYANMAR’S GENOCIDE OF ROHINGYA
The European Rohingya Council (ERC) appreciates and deeply thankful to the Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak and the people of Malaysia for their solidarity with Rohingya to end the Genocide in Myanmar. ERC calls other world leaders to show similar moral responsibilities and leadership that they would not allow the Genocide of Rohingya to be completed by Myanmar security forces.
The 37-years old Myanmar’s war on Rohingya, officially began in February 1978 – slow-burning genocide according to Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen – gains its highest momentum when Myanmar security forces started collective punishment of Rohingya in response to an attack on border guard outpost by unknown assailants on October 9. The security forces are involved in summary killings, arbitrary arrests, gang rapes in hundreds and in deliberate destructions of Rohingya villages displacing more than 40,000 who are currently in desperate need of food, shelter and medicine. The access of independent media and humanitarian aids are also completely blocked. The collective punishment of Rohingya reaches to such an extent that United Nations officials described the crackdown as Myanmar’s “Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya and Crimes against Humanity.”
The shameful silence of Myanmar State Counsellor and de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi eventually ended with the defense and legitimization of bloody crackdown of Rohingya by the security forces. To make the situation worse, Aung San Suu Kyi told the Burmese speaking audience last week in Singapore that the allegations of abuse of Rohingya is “fabrications.” In addition to that, she accuses international community of stoking unrest in Myanmar. Her message to Malaysian Foreign Ministry, “If you want to see me on bilateral issues, yes; if you want to discuss on Rohingya, no.” is utterly disappointing, and shows her unwillingness to address the humanitarian disaster.
Therefore, ERC appeal world leaders –from West to East, from North to South – to come out and show moral responsibility and leadership to end the Genocide of more than one million Rohingya; and to practically implement “Never Again” slogan.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Hla Kyaw Khubybe, + 31 652358202
chairman@theerc.eu; Twitter: @drkhubyb, @the_erc
Dr. Anita Schug, +4915750685496
spokesperson@theerc.eu; Twitter: @schugAnita, @the_erc
http://www.theerc.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/ERC_Appeal_05_12_2016.pdf