Burrma Task Force USA, (BTF---www.burmamuslims.org)
a national alliance of Muslim organizations of the US that includes
Rohingya groups protested against the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya and
against President Thein Sein's inaction in securing justice for the
persecuted minority during his speech at the Asia Society on September
27, 2012
President Thein Sein seemed spooked and flustered when he found his
entourage surrounded by the protesters chanting against the ethnic
cleansing of Rohingyas when he stepped out of his car. He was quickly
ushered away from the peaceful protesters by his security detail.
Rohingya Muslims of Burma have been subjected to repeated waves of
ethnic cleansing during the last six decades. Hundreds of thousands of
have been forced to flee the country. The recent wave of ethnic
cleansing started this June that resulted in mass murder, mass rapes and
mass displacement. A 1982 law has taken away the citizenship rights of
Rohingya Muslims who have lived in Burma for centuries.
"The military junta has brainwashed generations of Burmese to hold the
darker skinned Rohingya in contempt. It is the only genocide in the
world where the twin evils of racism and religious bigotry are at work.
We will continue our campaign against the government of Burma till it
restores the citizenship rights of Rohingya, rehabilitate the hundreds
of thousands of Rohingya refugees, bring the perpetrators to justice and
institute anti-racism curriculum in Burmese schools," said Habeeb
Ahmed, a board member of BTF-New York.
The protesters were addressed by Rohingya leaders including Yosef
Mohideen. Other leaders who spoke included Habeeb Ahmed, the human
rights commissioner of Nassau County of New York, Mahtab Ahmed of Human
Rights and Development for Bangladesh, Shah Jahan of Council of American
Islamic Relations - New York and Dr. Shaik Ubaid, the convener of Burma
Task Force New York.
In his speech Dr. Ubaid made the following demands:
1) To fully cooperate with the international community to immediately
cease the arrest of Rohingya men. There have been hundreds of arbitrary
arrests, and now Burmese/Rakhine court is involved in its issuing arrest
warrants only against Rohingya victims and no arrests of Rakhine
vigilantes have been made.
2) To give the international media and humanitarian organizations
unconditional access to the Northern Arakan State to provide food and
shelter to prevent starvation and disease outbreak during the current
monsoon season.
3) To provide complete protection to the Rohingya residences from the Rakhine incendiaries and attacks
4) To move swiftly to start rebuilding all the properties that were burned down or destroyed
5) To dissolve the government's Commission of Inquiry that includes
alleged Rakhine masterminds of the recent violence against Rohingya. No
Rohingya is allowed in the commission.
6) To accept an independent Commission of Inquiry from the international community
7) To repeal the Military's 1982 citizenship law, and reconstitute a new citizenship law conforming to international standards.
We hope that you will take the above-mentioned steps in a timely fashion
so that, Burma can reenter the communities of nation and take its
deserved place.
Burma task Force has held rallies over the last week in multiple cities
across the US and Canada on the occasion of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's visit
showing solidarity with her struggle and asking her to speak up on the
persecution of the Rohingya community. More rallies are planned in the
coming days including in Boston, Detroit, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
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