17:33
Ulama
Members of the Rohingya community within and outside Myanmar
were initially encouraged by the news that the Myanmarese Government
had signed an agreement with the OIC to allow it to establish a liaison office
in the country to coordinate the delivery of humanitarian aid to Myanmarese
citizens of Rohinyga decent. However, this hope was quickly dashed when
President Thein Sein promptly withdrew his Government's agreement with the OIC
after Buddhist monks from Sittwe and Mandalay staged forceful but
peaceful demonstrations in these two cities on 10 and 12 October respectively.
President Thein Sein’s flip-flop decision to dishonour the one-month
old agreement with the OIC shows that it is still too early to believe that his
government is really serious in embarking upon political reforms that he had
assured the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of during their meeting at the UN
HQ in New York last month.
The Majlis Ulama Rohingya (MUR)’s leadership is of the opinion that
Thein Sein may be engaged in a shrewd political game in which hatred towards
the Rohingyas is quietly allowed to fester in the country while no genuine
efforts are made towards bringing about
national reconciliation between the Buddhists and Rohinya
communities.
We repost below a more in-depth report on the response of the OIC
towards the cancellation of the Mynamar-OIC agreement. The original article may
be viewed at: http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/16610
17
Oct 2012
By
LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY| October 16, 2012 |
The
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has blasted the Burmese government
for reneging on its commitment to allow the group to open an office in Burma,
saying that it is not serious about humanitarian issues.
Speaking
to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday from the OIC headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,
the director of the Muslim Minorities and Communities Department, Talal Daous,
said, “It is an unfortunate thing to happen, because this office is only for
humanitarian purposes.
“We
have already signed an agreement, but it seems the government of Myanmar
[Burma] is not serious about humanitarian issues,” he said.
Hla
Thein, a Muslim community leader in Rangoon, said, “The current announcement by
the President’s office not to allow the OIC to base [in Burma] is favorable
only to the Rakhine people.
Naypyidaw’s
move to backtrack on its agreement with the Islamic bloc came after
Buddhist
monks led demonstrations in several cities across the country to protest the
decision to allow the OIC to open an office.
The
President’s Office in Naypyidaw issued a statement on its website on Tuesday
saying that it is the wishes of the people that the OIC not be given the right
to set up an office in Burma.
However,
Talal Daous said that the OIC had not received any official statement from the
Burmese government and is still waiting for an answer.
The
OIC signed an MoU with the Burmese government on Aug. 11 to open offices for
humanitarian purposes in Rangoon and Sittwe. A delegation from the OIC then
traveled to Arakan State in September to inspect the aftermath of communal
clashes between Muslims and Buddhists in the strife-torn region.
The
OIC said that it intends to distribute humanitarian aid to victims from both
the Arakanese Buddhist and Muslim Rohingya communities without discrimination.
“We
are also urging the international community to help the victims,” said Talal
Daous. “From a humanitarian point of view, we are seeking to help all people
who were effected by violence.”
He
said that the victims continue to suffer.
Hla Thein, a Muslim community leader in
Rangoon, said, “The current announcement by the President’s office not to allow
the OIC to base [in Burma] is favorable only to the Rakhine people.
“No
one will trust this government,” he said. “The Myitsone dam was a similar case
when they signed an agreement, but then withdrew it again. In fact, they should not sign an agreement in
the first place if they’re going to act like that.”
Chris
Lewa, an NGO coordinator working with the Rohingya in western Arakan State,
said, “I can understand why people feel threatened by an OIC presence in
Sittwe, although I don’t see why the OIC should not have a diplomatic presence
in Yangon [Rangoon] as other regional bodies do.
“The
Burmese government has now changed its mind as it already has too many
conflicts on its hands and does not want to antagonize people, especially monks
with a strong moral authority, and it wants to avoid at all costs any further
unrest [which] could be exploited and spread beyond Arakan.”
Lewa,
who visited Sittwe as a consultant for Refugees International in September,
said, “A lot of humanitarian funding has already been pledged but so far little
has actually materialized through the UN and the Myanmar Red Cross Society. The
serious dilemma is the issue of segregation. That is why aid has focused on
emergency assistance for the displaced—building shelters, food relief and
drinking water. But there is an urgent need to also provide better sanitation,
health services and education.”
Hla
Thein said that Rohingya refugees who do not have enough food will face
starvation.
According
to Lewa: “The segregation policy in Sittwe is shocking and unacceptable and it
will only increase tensions. The government should take drastic action to stop
and prosecute extremist Rakhine elements harassing the Muslim population and
actively work for a solution and to restore peace and the rule of law.
“Humanitarian
assistance alone is not a solution,” she said. “Development assistance should
help both communities in the long term once life in Arakan State returns to
normalcy. If people in Burma feel that the OIC presence is an interference in
the internal affairs of the country, they and the monks should immediately and
urgently take responsibility to resolve the conflict peacefully.”
