JEDDAH – A fact-finding mission from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is traveling to Myanmar (Burma) Wednesday for ten days to investigate into the recent violence against Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine region and the repression and human rights violations, according to a press release issued here, Wednesday. The mission will visit the capital Naypyidaw to meet government officials and from there it will visit villages in Rakhine (formerly Arakan) affected by the violence including Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Sittwe. The fact-finding mission will also set up the visit by the OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, which will follow soon. The mission is expected to prepare a report on its findings, which will be presented to the Contact Group on Myanmar that will meet in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly at the end of September. The decision to send a fact-finding mission and form a Contact Group at the ministerial level was made at the extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee held on August 5th at OIC Headquarters in Jeddah and adopted by the 4th Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit held in Makkah on August 14. — SG
