An international diplomatic delegation, which visited the Rohingya Muslims in the western province of Arakan, expressed solidarity and support for them.
The government to allow more fact-finding missions and humanitarian aid to enter the affected areas, which displaced more than 500 thousand Muslims.This came after a one-day visit on last Monday by foreign diplomats and UN officials in the commercial capital of Yangon, which included three different areas north of Arakan, where Rohingya Muslims are subjected to massacres committed by the military.In a statement, the international delegation said that “this initiative has given us the opportunity to express directly to the Muslims of Rohingya our solidarity and continued support for them.”
“We call on the government of Myanmar to allow more fact-finding missions and humanitarian aid to enter the affected areas, where the villages of the Rohingya Muslims have been burned and their people displaced.”
He explained that “this delegation does not represent an investigative mission, since the investigation of allegations of human rights violations must be carried out by specialized experts.”
The delegation condemned in the strongest terms the acts of violence, racial discrimination and physical attacks against the Muslim minority in the Territory and called upon the Government to take immediate action to protect them.
Diplomats urged Myanmar authorities to protect those they met during their tour, saying, “We hope to protect all those who have met Rohingya Muslims from reprisals such as physical attacks or arbitrary detention.”
Since August 25, Myanmar’s army and Buddhist militias have committed crimes, attacks and brutal massacres against the Muslim minority of Rohingya, which have killed thousands and displaced tens of thousands of innocent people, according to local activists.
The international delegation also expressed its readiness to cooperate with the Government in Myanmar to promote peace and stability in the region.
“We hope that this visit will be the first step to facilitate the access of all stakeholders, including the media, to Arakan,” the statement said.
The statement was signed by 48 international and foreign diplomats, as well as ambassadors to Myanmar, including Scott Marcel, Australia’s Nicolas Koppel, Canadian Karin MacArthur, Czech’s Jaroslav Dulisk, Denmark’s Peter Lecholt Hansen, France’s Olivier Richard, New Zealand’s Steve Marshall and British’s David Hall.
Last Thursday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that the number of Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh from Arakan had risen to 501,000.
