Indian Muslims protest against persecution of Rohingyas

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Led by the leaders of the Muslim organisations and civil society, the protesters, carrying banners and posters against the killings, urged the Myanmar government to end the bloodshed and sectarian violence against the country’s Rohingya minorities. They also raised slogans against the government of Myanmar and asked it to stop attack on innocent Muslims and rehabilitate the affected. Earlier, the protesters were addressed by the leaders. They in one voice condemn the Myanmar government in the strongest terms for its inaction and urged it to stop violence against and expulsion of its Rohingya population. They said the persecution of Rohingyas started way back in the 1960s. In 1982, under a strange “law” they were stripped of their citizenship unless they proved that their ancestors live in Burma way back in 1832. No such law exists anywhere in the world and most Myanmarese will lose their citizenship if is applied to all. “The current wave of persecution and ethnic cleansing spearheaded by Buddhist monks started in February last year when murder, destruction and torching of thousands of houses and community facilities and expulsion of Rohingyas from their villages started with the connivance of the Myanmar government,” the leaders added. They accused both security forces and ethnic Rakhine Buddists of increasing attacks on the Rohingya Muslims, killing, rape, arbitrary detention of Muslims and destroying their properties. The leaders noted that an estimated 150,000 Rohingyas have since fled their country taking refuge in Bangladesh, India, Thailand and Malaysia where they are living in pitiful conditions. Many have drowned while attempting to flee in small boats. Criticising the Suu Kyi, the leaders said: “We find it highly disappointing that supporters of the on-going democracy process in Myanmar, led by the Nobel Laureate Ang San SuuKyi, have refused to stand for these hapless citizens of Myanmar. They also called upon the United Nation to take earnest efforts to control and address all forms of violence. The protest was jointly organized by the All India Muslim Majlis Mushawwarat (AIMMM), Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind ((JUH), Indian National League (INL), Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and Workers Party of India (WPI).End item/ 149