LOC12:48
09:48 GMT
JEDDAH, Nov 4 (KUNA) -- The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
announced Sunday it will be holding a special session during the next meeting
of its foreign ministers council, which will be held in Djibouti on November
15-17 to discuss the recent developments in Myanmar.
In a statement, OIC said that many of the Rohingya Muslim villages were
under attack from Buddhist groups, which forced thousands of Muslims to flee,
noting that the organization is working to mobilize efforts to discuss this
issue at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Deliberate and systematic violence against Rohingya Muslims is a form of
ethnic cleansing that must be highly considered by the international
community, the statement added.
OIC added that it will continue its efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to
victims affected by the violence carried out by non-governmental
organizations, in spite of the recent announcement made by Myanmar's
government, claiming it will not allow OIC to open an office for humanitarian
coordination in Rakhine State.
In the statement, OIC considered the announcement to be disappointing,
since the government of Myanmar has already signed an agreement with the
organization to open a coordination office.
Furthermore, OIC confirmed that it is still trying to find a solution for
the plight of the Rohingya Muslims, noting that Makkah's August 2012 summit's
resolutions adopted productive concrete actions such as providing financial
support and assigning a special envoy to OIC.
OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu sent two delegations to Myanmar
where they met with the President of Myanmar, Thein Sein, senior officials and
members of the community of Rakhine State in order to investigate the current
issues.
The Secretary-General also sent letters to the President Sein,
Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights Navi Pillay and UN Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, founder
and chair of Burma's National League for Democracy (NLD).
The Rohingya Muslim villages in Rakhine were attacked in the last few days
by the so-called Buddhist vigilantes from Rakhine State itself.
Between October 21-26, last year, more than 30 Rohingya villages and 5086
houses in the southern state of Rakhine were burned, resulting in the
displacement of some 9,000 people and about 70,000 Rohingyas before the
outbreak of the recent violent conflicts, Media reports said. (end)
yms.ba
KUNA 041248 Nov 12NNNN