PRESS RELEASE
ERC condemns Aung San Suu Kyi’s deceptive approach to Rohingya crisis, calls for stronger ASEAN and international responses
Amsterdam: The European Rohingya Council (ERC) strongly condemns Aung San Suu Kyi’s deceptive approach to the Rohingya Genocide, and calls for stronger international and ASEAN responses to Rohingya crisis.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s briefing to ASEAN foreign ministers on December 19 is nothing more than a public relation initiative with sweet-talk to divert international pressure and block any stronger ASEAN response, if any, to the Myanmar’s “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya. While she pleaded for ‘time and space’ in the briefing, the security forces are committing wholescale human rights abuses such as raping, killing and arresting of Rohingya. The meeting ended with no concrete plan of actions, which is utterly disappointing.
In the statement released by the government of Myanmar after the meeting stated its readiness to grant humanitarian access. However, according to the report of BBC Bangla, Aung San Suu Kyi reportedly told that the humanitarian access will be granted to the Southern part of Maungdaw and elsewhere, not in Northern Maungdaw where Myanmar troops have been committing the crimes against humanity on Rohingya. This shows her government’s unwillingness to address the humanitarian needs of the most affected Rohingya. Instead, the government’s eagerness to receive international and regional aid and to distribute to the unaffected non-Rohingya community, is highly condemnable.
On December 19, the Ministry of Information released a statement under the title “Journalist team including local and foreign media will go to Maungdaw.” The spokesperson U Ye Naing from the ministry said that the selection of the independent media team was conducted after negotiating with the “Foreign Correspondent Club of Myanmar (FFCM)”, which the FCCM denied in a statement released on December 20. In addition, the listed local media outlets are engaged in the denial of existence of Rohingya and biased reporting on the crisis of Rohingya which create and promote anti-Rohingya sentiments among Myanmar public. They have been official mouth-piece of the military to cover up the evidences of government troops’ crimes against Rohingya. The so-called lists of independent media do not reflect the “true independent.”
Therefore, ERC believes that it is an attempt of the government to conceal all the crimes being committed by the security forces against Rohingya, and it must be rejected.
Furthermore, ERC urges the United Nations, the ASEANS and the Western governments to come up with stronger response to stop Myanmar’s heinous crimes against Rohingya – the slow-burning genocide. The presence of UN-led observers and investigation team is the only viable solution to stop the crimes and unearth the nature of crimes. We also urge the international community to take all the necessary steps so that immediate humanitarian aid and independent journalists can reach to the affected areas, and the security forces immediately stop ongoing persecution of Rohingya.
For more information:
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-condemns-Aung-San-Suu-Kyi’s-deceptive-approach-to-Rohingya-crisis-calls-for-stronger-ASEAN-and-international-responses.pdf
