SAVE ROHINGYAS FROM CONTINUOUS GENOCIDE IN MYANMAR

Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM), Zafar Ahmad Bin Abdul Ghani

Jakarta, 17 Rajab 1434/27 Mei 2013 (MINA) – Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) strongly condemned the new policy introduced by the Myanmar government that restricted the minority Rohingya Muslim from having more than two children. This is a gross human rights violation as it’s contradicting the basic human rights as stated in UDHR. This new policy only applies to the minority Rohingya Muslim in the country. As of now Myanmar is the only country in the world that practices this kind of sanction towards a particular religion.

MERHROM cannot accept the fact that the new policy was introduced as an effort to reduce the ethnic conflict between the Buddhist and Muslim. We could not understand how the reduction of the numbers of minority Rohingya will reduce the conflict as the number of minority Rohingya is already very low, 4% from the total population 60 million. Furthermore we are not the one who creating the violence as we do not have any means to do that. We are fully controlled by the government and we are Stateless in our own land.

The minority Rohingya is the victim of Genocide in our own country. How could we become the threat to the majority Buddhist population? The aim of the new policy is not to reduce the ethnic conflict but this is ethnic cleansing targeting minority Rohingya Muslim in Myanmar.

We regret this happen after the Presiden Thein Sein meet with President Barrack Obama. During the meeting the President Obama urged the President Thein Sein to stop the violence and the killing towards minority Rohingya. Though the President Thein Sein promised to solve the conflict but it was not transpired through his new policy. The Myanmar government already has so many policies in place as part of their ethnic cleansing policy towards minority Rohingya Muslim in Myanmar. One of the policies is restriction of marriage where the Rohingya have to apply for the marriage and wait for the government’s approval for years. The approval of marriage can be from 1-4 years or more. The government also demanding high fee for marriage application and this is one of the reasons we have to postpone the marriage until we have the sufficient money.

We have many incidents where the Rohingya women were raped by the government officers while making the application for marriage. Due to this incident the victims refused to get married and some resulted in committing suicide.

Currently in Arakan State, the Security Forces and the Immigration Department are forcing the Rohingya to sign a document stating that we are the Benggali. If they refuse, they will be arrested, beaten, threaten, killed and their properties will be confiscated. Many of them are missing after being arrested by the security forces.

The Rohingya has been told by the security forces that the government and Rakhine Buddhist can confiscate our house and other properties as we are not the citizen of Myanmar. We were told that we cannot complaint or lodge a report as we are not the citizen of Myanmar and our properties is belong to the Myanmar citizen. They can confiscate our properties and business at any time.

MERHROM is very frustrated by the slow Intervention by the United Nations and the World Leaders towards our plight despite knowing very well what we went through inside and outside Myanmar. We were wondering why until now the United Nations fails to send the Peace Keeping Mission to Arakan State? Is it because we are Muslim? The violence towards minority Rohingya especially in Arakan State is still continuing silently.

The United Nations, World Leaders and International Communities has witness how the minority Rohingya were discriminated and prosecuted by the Myanmar government. But why there is no real action taken towards the Presidents of Myanmar government who are the real perpetrators in human crime. They must be prosecuted for Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity. They must be brought to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for killing, raping, torturing, detaining and abusing Minority Muslims and other ethnics.

MERHROM tirelessly urge the United Nations, World Leaders and International Communities to act fast to stop the Genocide towards ethnic minority Rohingya. (T/P015/P04)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)