ARAKAN ROHINGYA UNION, ADDRESSES CANADIAN PARLIAMENT AND TESTIFIES BEFORE THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

DR. WAKAR UDDIN, DIRECTROR GENERAL OF ARAKAN ROHINGYA UNION, ADDRESSES CANADIAN PARLIAMENT AND TESTIFIES BEFORE THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

The Canadian Parliament conducted a hearing on Rohingya human rights and political rights, and the current violence in Arakan State , Burma (Myanmar), on June 19, 2012. Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin, the Director General of Arakan Rohingya Union, addressed the Canadian Parliament on Rohingya human rights and political situation in Burma (Myanmar), and testified in a hearing before the Foreign Affairs Committee, presided by Hon. Scott Reid (Conservative Party), Chairman of the International Human Rights sub-committee. In his address, Dr. Uddin brought a wide range of issues that Rohingya ethnic minority is facing in Arakan State, Burma, to the attention of the committee.

He outlined the Rohingya issues through an audio-visual presentation, beginning with demographic background information on Rohingya, some highlights of the roles of Rohingya in the multi-ethnic political process during the during and post-colonial periods of Burma, how the military dictatorship have systematically revoked the citizenship of Rohingya, the persistent human rights violations and persecution of Rohingya by the Burmese government forces, coordinated ethnic cleansing in Rohingya areas in Arakan, the ultra-nationalist and racist ideology of Rakhine as a confounding factor, implication of Burmanization schemes in ethnic minority areas in Burma, and the current ongoing violence against Rohingya in Arakan.

During hearing, a closed door session, the parliamentarian asked specific questions on various issues that Dr. Uddin had articulated during his address earlier in the parliament. Those specific questions and answers to the questions currently remain classified; therefore they could not be made public. However, in the summary, the committee members from all parties (Conservative Party,Liberal Party, and New Democratic Party), were stunned to hear the magnitude and intensity of the persecution that the Rohingya people are facing. The response from the committee to the Rohingya issue was extraordinary and unanimous. The unequivocal support for the cause of Rohingya political and human rights echoed throughout the room during the hearing in the parliament.