In an open letter to the US Senators and Congressmen Dr. Habib Siddiqui
has urged the U.S. Congress not to lift its ban on any trade and
commerce with Myanmar until a fundamental change takes place positively
impacting the lives of those Rohingya and other minorities, guaranteeing
their citizenship as equals and rights and privileges restored and
secured.
Given below the full text of the letter by Dr. Habib Siddiqui :
Dear Congressman/Senator,
I was rather surprised to learn of the decision of the U.S. Congress to
bestow its highest honor - the Congressional Medal of Honor to Suu Kyi
of Myanmar. Through her silence and equivocation during the latest
Rohingya crisis she has proven that she does not deserve such an honor,
and that she is not a serious partner for either human rights or
democracy. She remains a fanatic and racist Burman Buddhist, very
similar to the very regime that she complained about while in house
arrest.
In its entire history, racism and bigotry have defined, and sadly,
continue to define Myanmar and there is no place for non-Buddhists in
that Buddhist majority country of 56 million people today.
The so-called reform movement inside Myanmar, initiated by Thein Sein,
remains all a part of a very calculated gimmick to lift official bans
against Myanmar, which requires hard cash to get out of being the
poorest country in the ASEAN. Suu Kyi was released by the
civilian-dressed military regime so that she could work as its emissary.
And that is what Suu Kyi has been doing to promote Myanmarism - an
explosive cocktail of ultra-nationalism and Buddhist religious
fanaticism. In this new Myanmarism, there is no place for people of
other races, ethnic backgrounds and religions.
No, Myanmar does not deserve any benefit from our nation. Minorities
like the Rohingya have been declared stateless, courtesy of a racist law
- Burma Citizenship Law of 1982. As a result of this national project
towards ethnic cleansing, half the 4 million Rohingyas have been pushed
out of the country since 1962 who now live as unwanted refugees in
places like Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and
UAE. And this in spite of the fact that they were one of the early
inhabitants of the land of Arakan since time immemorial, predating
Burmese or Tibeto-Burman influx to the soil of Arakan. The other half
lives in the living hell inside Myanmar with no right of movement,
education, health, safety, employment, property, marriage, religion,
etc. The government does not honor any of the 30 rights of the UNDHR
when it comes to the Rohingya and other persecuted minorities. It still
holds on to the 1982 Citizenship Law and nullifies citizenship of
millions simply because they are not Buddhists. It forces slave labor
and even kills anyone suspected of being Rohingya. It is no accident
that per UN and international agencies, the Rohingyas are considered the
worst persecuted people on earth.
And yet, Suu Kyi is fine with such a marginalization of the Rohingya.
What a shameful attitude for someone to be honored with a Nobel Prize
for Peace, and now this Congressional Medal of Honor! These awards are
becoming jokes like putting a pearl necklace on a swine!
Dear sir, as a result of government cover-ups, we may never know how
many Rohingyas were killed during the latest pogrom that started in June
of this year by a joint coordinated force of Buddhist mob and security
forces. As a result, there is hardly a Rohingya town or village that is
intact. They have been destroyed beyond recognition and look like as if
they are bomb-ravaged places after a war. Not a single Rohingya place of
worship is open; they are mostly burned down and demolished. The
Rohingya-owned stores were looted and later gutted to fire.
Their homes were burned to ashes, and their paddy fields set on fire -
forcing more than 200,000 internally displaced Rohingyas to live without
any shelter or roof over their head. Not a single government aid came
to them. Worse yet, the local Buddhist Rakhines (including racist monks)
obstructed the sale of food and other necessities to these Rohingya
victims.
And yet, the so-called Democracy Icon - Suu Kyi shamelessly did not
utter a single word of condemnation against such gross violations of
human rights. She is okay with such a savage 1982 law - formed during
the dictator Ne Win's era - that nullified citizenship of millions of
Rohingya people simply because they are non-Buddhists. Simply put, she
is a Buddhist fanatic. She has been sent by the regime to soften the US
attitude.
I would like to urge the U.S. Congress not to lift its ban on any trade
and commerce with Myanmar until a fundamental change takes place
positively impacting the lives of those Rohingya and other minorities,
guaranteeing their citizenship as equals and rights and privileges
restored and secured. If Suu Kyi is serious about Myanmar's future, let
her behave like a leader that shuns racism and bigotry advocating for a
change with the 1982 Citizenship Law, thus ensuring rights of the
Rohingya people. She can't promote trade with Myanmar when it is still
locked up in its savage past of racism and bigotry. For the U.S. to fall
for such a gimmick would be utterly foolish!
Regards,
Habib Siddiqui
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