Myanmar government must respect international law, bring an immediate end to the persecution of Muslims, protect the fundamental rights of the community and allow a fact finding mission to visit the country to probe into worst kind of human rights violations unleashed upon Rohingya Muslim minority, the leaders of Muslim world maintained this stance at a meeting, which was held on the sidelines of the first OIC Summit on science and technology in Astana, Kazakhastan on Sunday.The Muslim body expressed serious concern about the systematic brutal acts committed by Burmese armed forces against the Muslim community of Rohingya. It also demanded the government of Myanmar to accept UN monitors to carry out a thorough and independent investigation of all established violations of international human rights and bring perpetrators to justice.
The OIC asked the Myanmar government to address the root cause of tension in the region including the denial of citizenship based on the 1982 Citizenship Act which led to statelessness and deprival of rights to Rohingyas. It urged Myanmar government to take urgent measures for sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and internally and externally displaced population. Pertinently, the 57-member organization is currently headed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has vociferously raised the plight of Rohingya Muslims besides criticizing the Myanmar government for its criminal silence over the bloodbath of Muslims in the region. Lambasting the Myanmar government over the unabated persecution of Rohingya Muslims President Erdogan reiterated his country’s resolve to extend all possible assistance to mitigate sufferings of Rohingya Muslim community.
Turkey he said was trying to assist Rohingya Muslims with the cooperation of Bangladesh government. He also urged the Muslim world to press Myanmar to end these atrocities against Muslims.
President Mamnoon Hussain who is representing Pakistan at the summit met the OIC chief and discussed plight of Rohingya Muslims, which triggered broad international condemnation of Myanmar and the country’s Nobel peace prize laureate leader Aung San Suu Kyi.It is heartening to see that the Muslim body had expressed serious concerns over the prevailing soul-shattering situation of minority community in Myanmar. However, mere condemnations and voicing concerns won’t really help to improve situation in the region. The OIC being the second largest representative forum in the world must adopt a coherent policy to mitigate sufferings of Muslims who have been worst victim of state terrorism in many parts of the world. So far the Muslim body has miserably failed to address the challenges faced by Muslims across the globe. It is high time that the OIC should evolve a comprehensive mechanism in order to address the challenges faced by Muslims. The Muslim world despite being abundant in natural & human resources still lags far behind other nations. It is time that Muslim world should take a look into its weaknesses and translate their enormous economic power into political muscle, using it as a clout to sort out the most pressing issues.
