Last week, I dealt with the plight of the Rohingya Muslims who are victims of racial discrimination and ethnic cleansing at the hands of Buddhist extremists in Rakhine state in western Myanmar. The article shed light on the growing demand from some world leaders and human rights activists to save the Rohingya who have been subjected to killing and displacement. These prominent figures raised their voices in support of these people saying that there must no longer be silence about the flagrant violation of their human rights. These figures included the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, South African Bishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, American actor Matt Dillon, and philanthropist and business tycoon George Soros. One of the leading figures from the Islamic world who has made a similar clarion call to save these hapless people is Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, former prime minister of Malaysia. He demanded that Myanmar should be expelled from ASEAN for the genocide of Rohingya Muslims. He said ASEAN as well as the United Nations should act against Myanmar. Delivering his keynote speech at an international conference with the theme “Plight of the Rohingya, crime against humanity” held in Kuala Lumpur recently, Dr. Mahathir said with regard to Myanmar: “Countries like these only give us (ASEAN) a bad name. So if you want to commit genocide, leave ASEAN.” Mahathir noted that Myanmar has not responded to requests to be more humane. “Instead, it continues the merciless killing of people,” he said, adding that the Rohingya did not deserve such a fate. “I even wrote a letter to Aung San Suu Kyi on this matter, but there has been no response. So, the fate of the people there needs to be defended from the outside,” he said. While emphasizing that the “boat people situation” would not have existed if not for Myanmar, Mahathir added that ASEAN's “no interference” policy had limitations, which had been breached by Myanmar. If it is a political matter, then yes, it is acceptable. But there should be a limit to what constitutes noninterference. Although it is internal, the killing of people should not be tolerated, they should not have the right to treat people that way. In fact, it should be a practice worldwide, where a code of human behavior should be set. If it is breached, then other countries should have the right to interfere, he said. The former prime minister said the Rohingya had been a part of Myanmar for over 800 years and it was against the law to expel people based on their origin. He said that he respects Buddhism because it calls for peace, but that what is being carried out in the name of this religion now is the killing people and setting their houses on fire, and of course this is rejected not only by the Buddhist religion but by all other religions as well. In Pakistan, the issue of the Rohingya genocide was raised in both houses of parliament. In the Senate, several members condemned the persecution of the Muslim minority at the hands of the majority Buddhists. Moving a resolution in this regard, Senator Muhammad Mohsin Khan Leghari drew attention to the plight of the Rohingya people. Leghari called for taking practical measures instead of just passing a resolution on the issue. He said that the Pakistan government should dispatch relief items through the navy to help the Rohingya Muslims stranded at sea. Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed said the issue of the Rohingya Muslims was not a local issue but had become of international concern. He said the Rohingya Muslims were butchered ruthlessly, adding that they were stranded at sea for many days. He said the massacre was being done in a systematic and organized way, and, therefore, the government should mobilize the international community to stop the Myanmar government from such barbaric actions. Syed said the government should demand that the United Nations dispatch its special representatives to Myanmar to restrain its government from such inhuman acts. He said even Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was also leader of the opposition in Myanmar, had remained silent on the issue. Senator Taj Haider said that Muslims living in Myanmar were helpless as no one in the world was raising their voices for them. Deputy Chairman of the Senate Abdul Ghafoor Haidry said the prime minister should take personal interest in this issue and mobilize the world community on a diplomatic level, together with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations. Senator Sajid Mir said that it was the responsibility of the international community to intervene in this issue and use military force against Myanmar to stop it from its inhuman actions against Muslims. He said the Muslim world should jointly move forward to assist the Rohingya Muslims. Senator Muzaffar Hussain Shah urged the Bangladesh government to extend assistance to the boat people stranded at sea. Some other Senators, including Nighat Mirza and Chaudhry Tanvir also participated in the debate. There is no doubt that the issue of the flagrant violation of the rights of Rohingya Muslims and their persecution has received wide media coverage and attention from human rights activists and political figures. But this is not enough. The OIC must mount pressure on the Myanmar government to restore the citizenship of the Rohingya Muslims and treat them the same as other citizens, in addition to protecting them from the persecution of Buddhist extremists, especially the 969 movement. — Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at [email protected]
