Riyadh exerting all efforts to support cause of Rohingyas

The Arakan Rohingya Union Conference is being held at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah. (AN photo)

 7 July 2013
Arab News
Nadim Al-Hamid

Under the direction of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia is making all-out political and diplomatic efforts to support the cause of Rohingyas on the international level.

“The Kingdom is exerting pressure on the world community,” said Abdullah Maaroof, president of the International Rohingya Center and leader of the Burmese community in the Kingdom.

Speaking at the Arakan Rohingya Union Conference, which opened at the headquarters of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) yesterday, he said: “We will soon see the positive the results of these efforts.”

He described the efforts as strong and effective because of the Kingdom’s political and Islamic leverage on the international level. He said Saudi Arabia will work on many fronts to exert pressure on international organizations that have strong ties with Myanmar to put an end to the ongoing injustice and violence against Muslims. He said he was hopeful these efforts will contribute to easing the suffering of the Muslims in Myanmar.

“Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that has supported the Rohingya cause, and this conference is a clear proof of this,” said Maaroof. “There are more than a quarter million Burmese citizens in Saudi Arabia. The latest support is represented in correcting their status by giving them iqamas for four years, and facilities and services they have never dreamed of.”

OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said the government of Myanmar should be held accountable for all forms of discrimination against Muslims, and Buddhist extremists should not be allowed to incite one group against another.

His address, which was read out by the director of minorities at the organization, stated that violent acts targeting Muslims led to the murder of people and destruction of property of thousands of people. These acts should not be allowed to continue, and it is the responsibility of the authorities to root out the problem and safeguard lives and property in Myanmar.

Ihsanoglu said the organization will continue to support all efforts and national and international initiatives that aim to find permanent and peaceful solutions to problems in Myanmar. It calls for the return of refugees and the reinstatement of their rights.

He said that yesterday’s meeting was the second conference of the union since its establishment on May 30, 2011. The union was founded with a view to achieving peaceful cohabitation, democracy and human rights. Member countries of the OIC have supported the union.

He said that despite challenges such as lack of resources, the union has achieved progress and urged it to play its role as a legitimate representative of the Rohingyas throughout the world, defend their cause and improve their conditions in Myanmar and the rest of the world, in addition to helping find a solution to their problems.

The Arakan Rohingya Union Conference is being held at the OIC headquarters in Jeddah. (AN photo)

OIC conference on Rohingyas in Jeddah next week

OIC chief Ihsanoglu says targeting of Muslims in central Myanmar in March and April has been a particularly worrying development. (AN photo)

July 5, 2013
Arab News

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold on July 7 and 8 the Arakan Rohingya Union Conference at its headquarters in Jeddah.
The charter of the Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU) will be submitted to the members for discussion in preparation for its adoption.
The agenda of the conference will also include introduction of the current and new members of the union, which was established by the OIC in May 2011 to unite the Rohingya refugees around the world.
Waqarudin, director general of the first session of the union, will present his report on ARU’s achievements. The conference will look into the strategy and action plan of the union in the next session, in addition to electing officials and the formation of the Supreme Council, the committees and advisory board.
In a letter sent through his special envoy, OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu told Myanmar President Thein Sein that the organization, on behalf of the 57 heads of the member states, is ready to assist in reaching a long-term solution to problems of Muslims in Myanmar.
Special envoy Talal Daous, director of minorities department at the OIC, accompanied by Hassan Abdin, delivered the letter last week.
In the letter, the secretary-general said the OIC is ready to assist in any way to reach a long-term solution for the existing and emerging problems of all Muslims in Myanmar, who deserve nothing less than the basic rights accorded to any citizen of Myanmar, including access to urgent humanitarian assistance.
The special envoy delivered the letter to Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and during the meeting discussions focused on the importance of the secretary-general’s visit to Myanmar and the Contact Group on Myanmar.
“We believe that a long-term solution to the problems of the Rohingya Muslims can only be found through the restoration of their legal status and the recognition of their birth right, including citizenship,” said Ihsanoglu.
He said the targeting of Muslims in central Myanmar during the last week of March and last week of April has been a particularly worrying development for the reason that unlike the Rohingya Muslims, the recent events involved Muslims who are integrated in the Myanmarese society with full citizenship rights in areas outside the Rakhine region.
“We are concerned that what was once considered as a case of inter-communal violence confined to one part of Myanmar now has the danger of spreading throughout the country,” Ihsanoglu said.
The OIC chief said that with the cooperation of the authorities in Myanmar, OIC member states would be willing to establish a collaborative mechanism with Myanmar to provide economic and humanitarian assistance to all those in need, confidence building between communities, interfaith dialogue and technical expertise to assist Myanmar in its democratic transition and integration into the international community.

Rohingyas seek help from China

OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, 2nd right, addressing the OIC Contact Group meeting in Jeddah on Sunday. (Photo: Arab News)

April 15, 2013

Arab News

Nadim Al-Hamid

Wakar Uddin, director general of the Arakan Rohingya Union, called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group to persuade China to put pressure on the Myanmar government to stop acts of violence and targeted killings of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.

“It is well-known that China has strong relations with the Myanmar government and has big economic and political interests there. So we asked Chinese officials to try to persuade Myanmar to stop violence against and acts of systematic killing of the peaceful Rohingya Muslim minority,” Waqaruddin told Arab News.

He was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of an urgent meeting of the OIC contact group here yesterday.

“Arab and Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have strong relations with China, and we hope that these countries come together to play their role. What we are witnessing in Myanmar is a human tragedy in the full sense of the term. What is going on there is unspeakable violence beyond comprehension,” he said. “Islamic identity in Myanmar is at risk of being eradicated, and we appeal to the conscience of all good people to help stop the killing,” he said.

OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu warned of the escalation of violence in other areas, a clear reference to the acts of violence by extremist Buddhists against Sri Lankan Muslims.

“Violence directed against Myanmar’s Muslim population is unacceptable. It is a clear indication of the negative attitude of the government in dealing with ethnic and religious tension in the area,” he said.

“Extremist Buddhists felt that they have the blessing of the government for their atrocities and so they have expanded their actions in other areas,” he said.

He said the OIC has taken a number of actions since last June and that it has tried repeatedly to contact the Myanmar Embassy in Riyadh to no avail.

He called on members of the contact group who have diplomatic missions in Myanmar to use their offices to try to advance the case for the Muslim minority.

OIC to raise issue of violence in Myanmar

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  Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary general of OIC, at the contact group meeting on the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar that was held in Jeddah on Saturday. (AN photo)
  
  
  
  
  
  

 31 March 2013
Arabnews
IBRAHIM NAFFEE

JEDDAH: The head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation announced yesterday that ministers from OIC states will meet on April 14 in Saudi Arabia to discuss violence against Muslims in Myanmar.

Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said the organization was “ready to take all necessary measures and actions” in dealing with the impending crisis.
Ihsanoglu also urged the government of Myanmar to “put an end to Buddhist extremism and hate campaigns, as well as ethnic cleansing.”

State media in Myanmar reported yesterday that the death toll from communal violence in the center of the country over the past 10 days has risen to 43, with more than 1,300 homes and buildings destroyed.
“The OIC intends to raise the issue in the Security Council and the Human Rights Council to find a solution that contributes to putting an end to religious persecution against Muslims in Myanmar.

 The OIC had previously tried to contact government officials in Myanmar to no avail. There has also been an Egyptian proposition to send a special delegation headed by the Secretary General of the OIC, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, and includes a number of foreign ministers of member countries to Myanmar, but this visit has been postponed. The OIC attempted to open an office in Myanmar over the past year to supply aid to Muslims in Myanmar but extremist Buddhists demonstrated against this attempt,” an OIC official told Arab News.
“Violence has extended to target all Muslims in Myanmar. The recent violence in the central regions of the country confirms all to well that there is religious persecution,” he added.
On Friday, Myanmar strongly rejected comments by the UN’s special rapporteur, Tomas Ojea Quintana, on Myanmar's human rights record. Quintana had allegedly “received reports of state involvement in some of the acts of violence.”

Buddhist mobs have marauded through several towns in central Myanmar since religious violence erupted on March 20, prompting the government to impose emergency rule and curfews in some areas. It is the worst sectarian strife to hit the country. Violence between Buddhists and Muslims in the western state of Rakhine left at least 180 people dead and more than 110,000 displaced last year.


Source:Here

OIC and UN discussed the situation of Rohingya

February 14, 2013

Arab News

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation intends to establish a secure financial network to support the Palestinians, OIC Secretary-General Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said yesterday.

Ihsanoglu made this announcement during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York. The two also discussed the developments in Syria and Mali as well as the situation of Rohingya in Myanmar. The OIC chief told the UN secretary-general the need to take necessary measures for protecting the Muslim minority in Myanmar and putting an end to the violence against them. Ihsanoglu met Ban to inform him about the resolutions taken by the recently concluded OIC summit in Cairo, which had instructed him to take necessary steps to solve the issues of Palestine, Syria, Mali and Myanmar with the support of the United Nations.

Speaking about the financial network, the OIC chief said it aims at meeting major needs of the Palestinian people in response to Israel’s scaling up of measures against them, imposing new taxes and making their life difficult.

Earlier addressing a meeting of the UN Security Council, the OIC chief said the powerful international body has a big responsibility in protecting civilians in Syria and finding a peaceful solution to the crisis. “The Security Council and the international community has so far failed in the test of protecting civilians in Syria,” the OIC chief said.

“The seizure of Palestinian lands and construction of more settlements in occupied territories by Israel have affected the council’s credibility,” Ihsanoglu said while reiterating the Palestinians right to have an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

KSA gives $ 1.88 m for Rohingya resettlement

Monday 21 January 2013
ARAB NEWS

Saudi Arabia yesterday announced a contribution of $ 1.88 million toward UNHCR’s humanitarian program in Myanmar providing shelter to Rohingyas in Rakhine state.

A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed by Yousef Al-Bassam of the Saudi Fund for Development and Imran Riza, UNHCR’s regional representative in Riyadh.
The contribution will enable the UNHCR to provide temporary and permanent shelters for around 75,000 displaced people.

After signing the agreement, Riza highlighted the importance of such assistance in terms of value, timing and significance in improving the living conditions of many of displaced people in Rakhine state.

On behalf of High Commissioner Antonio Guterres, Riza expressed his highest appreciation and deep gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, for this generous contribution which clearly reflects the Saudi leadership's response to humanitarian crises.

The partnership with the Saudi Find for Development involves collaboration with Pakistan in terms of providing permanent shelters to the displaced people.