Iranian official urges Buddhist leader to help crisis in Myanmar

In his Saturday message to Nyanissara, Abouzar Ebrahimi asked Buddhist leader to change gloomy situation into peace, friendship and compromise.

The turbulent world of today is suffering seriously from extremism acting under the name of religion or race, he said. 'Every day we see the sad scene of killing innocent people, destroying cities and holy places by people who call themselves as believers and tend to accuse others and kill them,' Ebrahimi added.

He pointed to aggressive behavior against some people in Myanmar, and stressed on negotiations as the best solution to these hostilities.

He also expressed Iran's readiness in solving the humanitarian crisis through holding meetings with Sitagu International Buddhist Academy (SIBA).

Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar have been subject to brutal ethnic cleansing in h past two years. Prior to the 2015 Rohingya refugee crisis and the military crackdown in 2016 and 2017, the Rohingya population in Myanmar was around 1.1 to 1.3 million. They reside mainly in the northern Rakhine townships.

Many Rohingyas have fled to neighboring states. More than 100,000 Rohingyas in Myanmar live in camps for internally displaced persons, not allowed by authorities to leave.

International media and human rights organizations have often described Rohingyas as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. According to the United Nations, the human rights violations against Rohingyas could be termed as 'crimes against humanity'.


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