Latest Highlight

RB Channel


ARU DIRECTOR GENERAL ADDRESSES THE OIC MINISTERIAL CONTACT GROUP AT UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY; HIGHLIGHTED THE CURRENT SITUATION AND THE IMMEDIATE/LONGTERM NEEDS FOR ROHINGYA

During the General Assembly convened September 26-28 at the United Nations in New York, the OIC Ministerial Contact Group Meeting on Rohingya issue was one of the events that received widespread attention from many delegates from around the world. The meeting was presided by the OIC Secretary General HE Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, and the participants were OIC Ambassador to the United Nations, HE Ufuk Gokcen, several delegates from OIC member states, and ARU Director General Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin. In his keynote speech, Secretary General HE Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu detailed all the developments in Rohingya issues at the OIC starting from the Rohingya Convention on May 31, 2011, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to the recent engagement with Myanmar Government on situation on the ground in Rohingya regions in Arakan state in Myanmar.

The Secretary General also provided the details of the Resolution No. 4/38-MM that was passed unanimously by the member states calling on Myanmar Government to address all the plights of Rohingya and the OIC recognizing the Arakan Rohingya Union that represents Rohingya people worldwide. Following the keynote speech by the Secretary General, ARU Director General Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin addressed the delegates emphasizing the most serious issues that the Rohingya people are currently facing in Arakan, particularly the atrocities and violence by the Myanmar police force that are committing against Rohingya people, rape cases, and the dire humanitarian situations in Rohingya camps and villages in several townships. Dr. Uddin appealed the OIC members states and the international community to have a strong coordination with U.S. Government and the member countries of United Nations to pressure Myanmar Government to address the current humanitarian issues urgently and the lingering citizenship issue. 


Dr. Uddin also appealed the member states to lobby United Nations for appointment of an independent Commission of Inquiry to replace the Myanmar Government appointed Commission of Inquiry that is seriously tainted because of the inclusion of Rakhine masterminds of the recent violence and exclusion of Rohingya leaders in Myanmar in the government’s commission. Further, as longterm objectives for advancement of young generations of Rohingya, Dr. Uddin urged the OIC member states to host Rohingya students in the institutions of higher education in their countries and also development of an educational foundation at OIC for unprivileged Rohingya students. He stressed that this foundation is needed to address the needs of Rohingya students as they have certian specific needs. Several OIC member states, particularly Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Senegal, Djibuti, Indonesia, and Afghanistan echoed the statements that Dr. Uddin made in his appeals. Malaysian delegate stressed the engagement of Rohingya with Myanmar Government and Rakhine ethnic group with dialogue. Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Dr. Dipu Moni, expressed deep sympathy for Rohingya victims and showed strong supports for Rohingya people through diplomacy. 


Dr. Moni explained that the stalling of Rohingya refugee repatriation to their native Arakan in Myanmar is due to some political reasons emerged recently in both countries. Dr. Uddin was given the floor for the second time to make the final statement, and he expressed the deep gratitude by Rohingya people to OIC member states, the Muslim Umma, and the international community for their sympathy and relentless support for the Rohingya victims. “Bangladesh is a neighboring Muslim country to Myanmar, and supports from people and the Government of Bangladesh for Rohingya people is of paramount importance while the government of Bangladesh maintains a healthy diplomatic relation with the government of Myanmar” Dr. Uddin concluded.


ARU Director General, Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin, addresses the OIC Ministerial Contact Group at the UN General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.

Foreign Minister of Bangladesh, Dr. Dipu Moni, addresses the OIC Ministerial Contact Group at the UN General Assembly of the United Nations in New York


RB News Desk





ARU DIRECTOR GENERAL PROF. DR. WAKAR UDDIN ATTENDS THE MAKKAH SUMMIT CONVENED BY HRH KING ABDULLAH OF SAUDI ARABIA

Director General of the Arakan Rohingya Union, Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin, as part of the delegation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, attended the Islamic Solidarity Summit, which was convened by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah at the Royal Palace in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. The OIC delegation includes H.E. Secretary General Prof. Dr. Ehsanoglu, Assistant Secretary Generals H.E. Ambassador Atta Al-Manan Bakhit and H.E. Ambassador Abdul Moiz Bhukhari, H.E. Ambassador to the United Nations Ufuk Gokcen, Director General of the Political Affairs Ambassador Mahdy Fathallah, Muslim Minority and Community Department’s Political Officer Ms. Dina Madani, and others. Dr. Uddin appealed to the entire Muslim Ummah to come together and press the Rohingya issue collectively. 

His urgent appeals include intervention by the international community (Muslim Ummah and the Western countries) to pressure the Government of Myanmar to permanently put stop to ongoing violence by Buddhist Rakhine mobs aided by the Burmese forces, immediately stop the arrests of Rohingya men and women, rush the aid to Rohingya victims in all areas and distribute the aid supplies under international supervision, return and resettlement of Rohingya victims at their original homes and properties, protect the Rohingya people from all human right abuses, make concrete steps towards addressing the citizenship issue, and development of educational and economic infrastructure through the aid from Saudi Arabia, Gulf States, Western countries, OIC and other NGOs, and charity groups worldwide, and others. H.E. Prof. Dr. Ihsanoglu also made it very clear to the Burmese government that 1.5 billion Muslims of the world and the 57 nations of the OIC stood solidly behind the Rohingya Muslims. Quoting from the final OIC communique "The summit denounced the policy of brutalization and violence exercised by the Myanmar government against the Muslim Rohingya community, which is contrary to all the principles of human rights, values and international law.” 

Base on ARU Director General, Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin’ s speech at the Executive Committee Meeting’s final Communique was adopted at the Summit of the 57 head of states. The Communique states: 

1. Member States to support the United Arab Emirate’s call for a special session of the Human Rights Council and urgently request to file a collective complain to the UNHRC urgently requesting to dispatch a Commission of Inquiry. The council should also ask Myanmar to cooperate fully with the Commission and to take measures to ensure the accountability of all violations of human rights in order to prevent their repetition and continue to monitor the situation. 

2. Request the OIC Secretary General and Member States to explore all possible means through engagements with the United Nations including tabling of a Rohingya Muslim specific resolution in the 3rd Committee of the UN General Assembly at the 66th Session of the UNGA. 

3. Member States request the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) to examine the situation of Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar as a priority issue on its agenda requiring immediate attention and action while presenting concrete recommendations to the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) towards addressing the issue in an effective manner. 

4. Call on all Member States and non-Member States and local and international NGOs to provide Humanitarian assistance to Rohingya Refugees as well as to the internally displaced in Myanmar. 

5. OIC Member States to use their diplomatic contacts at the highest level to help alleviate the sufferings of the Muslim population of Arakan. 

6. Urges OIC Member States, international organizations, along with Islamic and international civil society organizations to move promptly and provide necessary and urgent humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya people and to assist them in surmounting this grave crisis, in line with the statement issued by the OIC Secretary General in which he appealed to OIC Member States and humanitarian international organizations to do so. 

7. Decides to establish an OIC contact group in close coordination with Arakan Rohingya Union composed of all ASEAN Member States who are Member States of the OIC (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia) along with a representative of ASEAN Secretary General and OIC Secretary General. The rest of the membership will be decided by consultation between the OIC Secretary General and interested Member States. The group is mandated to consider ways, means, and mechanisms to ensure the halt of human rights violations against Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar and the return of their citizenship rights. 

8. Recommend the Secretary General to appoint a special envoy for this important issue. 

9. OIC Secretary General to submit his report to the 4th Extra-ordinary Summit on 14-15 August 2012 in Makkah Al-Mukaramah and the 39th CFM for necessary actions. 

10. Send a High- level OIC Representative to Myanmar stand-alone and/or with the OIC Contact Group in Naypidaw. 

11. Requests the UN Secretary General to intensify UN activities in order to immediately and unconditionally halt the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and alleviate their suffering 

12. Requests the OIC Group in Geneva to follow up the request of the United Arab Emirates’ call for a special session of the Human Rights Council and ensure all OIC Member states to play a positive role in adopting all recommendations specifically a Commission of Inquiry; 

13. Call upon world leaders to speak out against these crimes against humanity and urge the Myanmar Government to eliminate the discriminatory law and any other discriminatory practices against the Rohingya people. 

14. OIC Member States to remain seized on this matter and requests the Secretary General to provide progress reports on the matter 

For the entirety of the Communique Click here

The summit referred to the historical marginalization of the Rohingya Muslims and called on the Myanmar government to ensure an all-inclusive policy towards it's minorities, including Rohingya Muslims, as an integral part of the ongoing democratization and reform process in the country. The summit asked the government to allow full access for humanitarian assistance to the affected people. 

It was stated that the policy of repression and violence that the Myanmar government against the Muslim Rohingya community and which can be characterized only as crimes against humanity must be denounced as a source of grave concern for the people and states of the Islamic world in particular, and the rest of the world in general. "Myanmar must immediately cease those practices and grant the Rohingya people their rights as citizens, and the international community must assume its legal and moral responsibility," the summit said in its final declaration. 

The conference of the 57 heads of the OIC member countries and the guests, including OIC delegation, presided by HRH King Abdullah, was a closed-door session with no media coverage allowed during the presentations and deliberations. 


ARU DIRECTOR GENERAL PROF. DR. WAKAR UDDIN MEETS WITH THE FOREIGN MINISTER OF JORDAN H.E. NASSER JUDEH AT THE OIC FOREIGN MINISTERS CONFERENCE








The Foreign Minister of Jordan H. E. Nasser Judeh met the Director General of Arakan Rohingya Union, Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin, at the OIC Foreign Ministers Conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The meeting was also attended by Jordanian Foreign Ministry officials and Jordanian Press. The meeting with the Foreign Minister covered the current situation in Arakan and chronic political and human right issues faced by Rohingya ethnic minority in Burma/Myanmar. 

The Foreign Minister asked Dr. Uddin to provide the details of the cause of the recent violence by Buddhist Rakhine against Rohingya people. Dr. Uddin provided two different perspectives that occurred concurrently in Myanmar. “There is a long standing hate and bigotry against Rohingya by Buddhist Rakhine prior to independence. Dr. Uddin told the Foreign Minister that these types of violence against Rohingya by Buddhist Rakhine are chronic problems which are fueled by the immense hostility against Rohingya by former Burmese military regime and current government. “It is absolutely deplorable that the new government, despite so-called democratic reforms, is continuing the same policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide” He added. He further elaborated the recent response to UN officials by President Thein Sein that Rohingya people are not citizens of Myanmar, and they should be transferred to a third country or just keep them in camps. “His such incendiary statements instigated Rakhine to further commit the violence against Rohingya – this was not just a slip of his tongue, but it was something that the government wants to believe” Dr. Uddin explained. The Foreign Minister was stunned when Dr. Uddin indicated that Rohingya people, who the President Thein Sein evidently abhors, overwhelmingly voted for him and his USDP party candidates. “Strangely enough, now the President is saying that these people who voted for him are not citizens of Burma. I believe he will have a lot of explaining to do to the international community and the civilized community of nations of the world” Dr. Uddin stated. He also explained how the violence by Buddhist Rakhine has quickly transitioned to cold blooded murders of Rohingya by Burmese police force in Arakan. “They are arresting hundreds of Rohingya men and women, and they are reportedly kept in various prisons in Arakan. 


There are horrifying reports coming out from the prisons that the Rohingya men and women are kept together in the same halls without clothes. Discharge of dead bodies from the prisons has also been seen, according to reports” he stated. 


Another important point he mentioned was that the military hardliners in the current military-dominated Burmese government was poised to deprive Rohingya people the flavor of democracy because true democracy guarantees human rights. “All evidences gathered from the sequence of events on the ground in Arakan and the Burmese media war on Rohingya are clearly pointing straight to preplanning and coordination violence by Rakhine and the military hardliners. They evidently did not want democracy in Arakan, rather a military rule – that is happening now; therefore, they can continue their old policy of ethnic cleansing without any legal ramification” Dr. Uddin added. Other issues discussed were the long history of Rohingya in Rohang region of Arakan and more importantly the current humanitarian crisis faced by Rohingya in various townships in Arakan. “The Rohingya victims are not getting supplies in most areas because local Rakhine and Burmese officials are diverting the food supplies to Rakhine people. The OIC, United Nations, and other international organizations present must be present on the ground, working side by side with the Burmese officials. “The supplies given to Rohingya people recently by the visiting Turkish Foreign Minister were robbed from Rohingya by police, after his delegation left Arakan. Also, the government-picked interpreter reportedly falsified statements made by the victims when they met the Foreign Minister; how can you trust these people in the Burmese government?” he emphatically said. He appealed to the Foreign Minister for urgent humanitarian aid “We are running out of time. The Rohingya victims are facing starvation in several areas. Losing one day in supplying food, medicine, and shelter could result in losing hundreds of Rohingya lives” Dr. Uddin stressed.

The Jordanian Foreign Minister H.E. Nasser Judeh assures Dr. Uddin of commitment of full support for Rohingya people by HRH King Abdullah of Jordan




RB News Desk.

    • Rohingya Exodus