OIC Firm On Need To End Atrocities Against Rohingya Community

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 (Bernama) -- The 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has sent a strong message of support for the Rohingya in Myanmar and expressed the need to end the atrocities against the oppressed community. OIC special envoy to Myanmar Syed Hamid Albar said a special session of OIC foreign ministers held here Thursday came up with resolutions which contained the message and expressed the need. He also welcomed as "a great proposal" a suggestion by over 40 civil society groups in Myanmar Wednesday on the need to establish a "truly independent" international investigation into the situation in the country's Rakhine State. Syed Hamid also called on the Myanmar government to open its doors wide to allow humanitarian aid to the affected area. "There must be a mechanism to show that the aid (they have received or will receive) reaches the target. We want Myanmar to get back its credibility," he told reporters on the sidelines of the session. Palestinian Foreign Minister Dr Riad Malki said the meeting was very important to address the issue in the Rakhine state among the OIC member states. "That is why we are here. We thought the crisis is getting worse. We appreciate very much all the steps Malaysia has taken to call for this meeting and to provide the opportunity for such an occasion," he said. His counterpart from Indonesia, Retno Marsudi, said Jakarta wanted to help Myanmar and the Rohingya to establish tolerance and a harmonious atmosphere starting from the grassroots' level. "So, that is why we open schools not only for Muslims but also for Buddhists. This is not the first time Indonesia has tried to assist Myanmar. We have been doing so for a long time in terms of capacity bulding for human rights, governance and democracy. So we want to strengthen it. "Indonesia is more than happy and we are ready to play an important role and help Myanmar and the Muslim community," she said. Retno said she would lead a delegation for a high-level meeting in Yangon soon and visit Rakhine state to have a closer look at the crisis. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said OIC member countries should mobilise the international community to deal with the issue. "The OIC member countries also should use their bilateral and multilateral relations with the Myanmar government to solve the issue," he said. Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yildiz said the Government of Turkey and its people were always enthusiastic to help the Rohingya and happy that Malaysia had hosted the meeting to discuss the matter. "I am very happy with the outcome of the meeting today (Thursday) and that we are united on the issue. We are in contact with the Myanmar authorities about how to render our assistance and we call on all international partners to do the same," he said to Bernama. Bangladesh State Minister of Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam noted that the OIC member states had obviously utilised the platform by voicing out opinion for meaningful engagement. Somali Ambassador to Malaysia Abukar Abdi Osman warned that the Rohingya situation in Myanmar was similar to the situation in Somalia in the 1990s before it evolved into a civil war. He said the civil war led to the collapse of the Somali government "which we are unable to fix for almost 20 years". The Rohingya situation could create an unstable situation for Myanmar and it would give terrorists an opportunity to intrude into the country and the region. Therefore, he said, the Myanmar government should allow the Rohingya to live in peace and harmony in the country. Burmese Muslim Association secretary Kyaw Win thanked Malaysians, especially the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Najib Razak, for supporting the plight of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar. Win said the association, which attended the meeting as an observer, was happy with the fruitful results and the resolutions passed. The OIC Council of Foreign Ministers Extraordinary Session on The Rohingya Muslim Minority in Myanmar was held at the request of the Government of Malaysia. According to reports, the ongoing crisis in Rakhine State has caused thousands of Rohingya to flee Myanmar amid reports of atrocities, including rape and murder, which have been denied by the Myanmar government. -- BERNAMA