BURMA TASK FORCE NEW YORK HELD PROTEST RALLY AGAINST PRESIDENT THEIN SEIN

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.