Turkey raises over $21 million donation for Rohingya

ANKARA Turkey has raised a donation of more than 80 million liras ($21 million) since 2012 to help Rohingya being persecuted in Myanmar’s Rakine state, head of the country’s emergency management authority said. “More than 60 million Turkish ($16.2 million) liras have been collected to date. Turkish Red Crescent also raised over 20 million Turkish liras ($5.4 million),” Mehmet Gulluoglu, head of Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), told Anadolu Agency. He said Turkey is still waiting for the allocation of the land in Bangladesh to set up a camp for Rohingya Muslims. Since Aug. 25, more than 603,000 Rohingya have crossed from western state of Rakhine into Bangladesh, according to the UN's migration agency’s latest report on Monday. The refugees are fleeing a military operation in which Myanmar’s armed forces and Buddhist mobs have killed men, women and children, looted homes and torched Rohingya villages. According to Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali, around 3,000 Rohingya have been killed in the crackdown. Launched on Sept. 11, “Rakhine Weeps, Turkey Lends Hand”, a campaign by AFAD, Turkish Red Crescent and Turkish Religious Foundation (TDV) has been raising donations for Rohingya Muslims. Gulluoglu said that Turkish people, alongside the government, become participants of aid campaigns. People can donate 10 Turkish liras ($3) by typing "ARAKAN" (old name of Rakhine) in an SMS and send it to 2868 or else through bank transfers, Gulluoglu reminded. The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012. Last October, following attacks on border posts in Rakhine's Maungdaw district, security forces launched a five-month crackdown in which, according to Rohingya groups, around 400 people were killed. The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel. In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.