OIC tells Myanmar to Protect Rights of Rohingyas

Dhaka: Myanmar must protect the rights of its Rohingya Muslim minority, chief of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said, urging the government to work with neighbouring Muslim-majority countries to tackle a refugee crisis. About 75,000 people have fled to Bangladesh after a military crackdown. Aung San SuuKyi’s fledgling administration has denied most of the allegations and is refusing access to a United Nations panel of experts, saying its mission will aggravate the situation on the ground in the western state of Rakhine. “Myanmar should sit with Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia to find a roadmap for the solution of the crisis,” said Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen of the OIC, which represents 57 states.”We call on the Myanmar government to ensure human rights for the Rohingyas,” “Myanmar can’t deny the human rights of Rohingyas. We also call on the Myanmar government to ensure citizenship for the Rohingyas,” he said. In a meeting with Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, he said that a solution must be found through discussions between Buddhist leaders from Myanmar and Muslim leaders from Bangladesh.”Religious leaders from both the countries should attend in such discussions to help solve the Rohingya issue,” he said. Almost 400,000 Rohingya refugees live in Bangladesh.