PRESS RELEASE
UNITED NATIONS, ASEAN AND WORLD LEADERS MUST SERIOUSLY DISCUSS ON ENDING THE ROHINGYA GENOCIDE & ATROCITIES IN MYANMAR DURING 43rd ASEAN SUMMIT (INDONESIA, 4-7 SEPTEMBER), G20 SUMMIT (INDIA, 9-10 SEPTEMBER) & 78th UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY (USA, 18-26 SEPTEMBER).
Myanmar Ethnic Human Rights Organization in Malaysia (MERHROM) call upon United Nations, ASEAN, and World Leaders to seriously find durable solution to the long decades of Rohingya genocide and atrocities in Myanmar. MERHROM calls upon the United Nations and world leaders to stop war and conflict around the globe to ensure peace and safety to the global citizens. During these meeting, we hope YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysian Prime Minister and ASEAN Leaders will lead the discussion to find durable solution for the Rohingya genocide and atrocities in Myanmar.
We regret that until now the Myanmar junta is still attending the ASEAN meeting. Recently, the Military Council’s Union Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs U Min Thein Zan, attended the 7th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Sports (AMMS-7) and related meetings held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 30 August to 2 September. This should not happen as Junta is a genocider and not elected by the people of Myanmar.
On the other development, we welcome the recent adoption of sanctions by the United States on two Myanmar state-owned banks, the issuance of a determination on the jet fuel sector, and sanctions targeting a supplier of jet fuel to the Myanmar military. These are significant measures to further weaken the Myanmar junta’s ability to access the weapons. With this development, we urge the other countries to adopt stronger sanctions on Myanmar especially on military state-owned banks, military-owned businesses, weapons, their assets, and companies. We must emphasize that the sanctions to Myanmar must be done holistically and collectively by many more countries to ensure significant outcomes. We urge the United Kingdom, EU, Canada, and Australia to adopt stronger sanctions on Myanmar.
We must emphazise the impacts of Rohingya genocide does not remain in Rakhine State but also spread to Cox’s Bazar refugee camps and in transit countries where we seek protection. The crimes in the refugee camps were intolerable without concrete actions to end it. We were further victimized and persecuted. We became victims of human trafficking while searching for safety.
Until now the Rohingya in the IDP camps in Rakhine State cannot return to their villages. This obviously proves that the repatriation of Rohingya will only put their life at risk. This must be prevented as we know the outcomes. The transfer of Rohingya refugees from Cox’s Bazar refugee camps to the concentration camps in Myanmar will further prosecute the ethnic Rohingya. The repatriation plan will force the Rohingya to flee the refugee camps and fall into human trafficker’s hand which further victimized the victims of long decades of genocide. Thousands of Rohingya became victims of human trafficking and died in the hands of human traffickers over decades.
As the Myanmar junta continues killing us, we urge no more selling and buying arms with the Myanmar junta for killing the Rohingya and the people of Myanmar. The humanitarian aid cannot compensate for the blood of every Rohingya and Myanmar people that you killed. The humanitarian aid cannot heal the trauma, the cries, the pain, and the humiliation we went through. By cutting the food aid for Rohingya in the refugee camps Cox’s Bazar by the WFP to $8 per month making their lives more difficult as we cannot guarantee their basic rights to food nor ending the Rohingya genocide. The United Nations must ensure food security and food sovereignty for refugees all over the world.
We urge all Myanmar Military Generals to be prosecuted for genocide against the ethnic Rohingya. The International Criminal Court (ICC) and The International Court of Justice (ICJ) process must be speed up to stop the ongoing genocide and to protect the ethnic Rohingya in Myanmar. If we cannot stop the Rohingya genocide today, next we will celebrate the 100 years of Rohingya genocide.
Lots of ethnic Rohingya fleeing genocide were arrested in transit countries in the region including children. Many of them were trapped in the dire refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar where they face ongoing security problems which is the pushing factor for the ethnic Rohingya to flee from the refugee camps.
Victims of human trafficking are very much in need of protection and support from the relevant agencies and transit countries. However, many of them were detained for very long where they suffered mental health issues in detention without treatment and care. We call upon UN member states and ASEAN to protect the victims of trafficking.
Finally, we hope the UNHCR, and the resettlement countries will increase the resettlement quota for the ethnic Rohingya as we cannot return to Myanmar. Resettlement is the only durable solution for the Rohingya as we were made stateless by the Junta. Through resettlement we will be able to access education and to rebuild our broken lives.
“JUSTICE DELAYED IS JUSTICE DENIED”.