Burma told by World Islamic body to protect rights of Rohingya Muslims as warns UN agency of 80,000 children starving
04 August 2017Serajul Quadir and
Rachael Revesz
Myanmar must protect the rights of its Rohingya Muslim minority, the chief of
the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said on Thursday, urging the
southeast Asian nation to join hands with Muslim-majority neighbours in
tackling a refugee crisis.
A group known as Harakah al-Yaqin attacked Myanmar border guard posts on Oct.
9, killing nine policemen and igniting the biggest crisis yet to face Nobel
peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's fledgling administration.
About 75,000 people fled to Bangladesh during the ensuing military crackdown,
which was beset by allegations of rape, torture and extrajudicial killings by
security forces.
Suu Kyi's government has denied most of the allegations and is refusing access
to a United Nations panel of experts, saying its mission will aggravate the
situation on the ground in the western state of Rakhine.
"Myanmar should sit with Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia to find a roadmap
for the solution of the crisis," said Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen of the OIC,
which represents 57 states and acts as the collective voice of the Muslim
world.
"We call on the Myanmar government to ensure human rights for the Rohingyas,"
Othaimeen told reporters during a four-day visit to the Bangladeshi capital.
"Myanmar can't deny the human rights of Rohingyas. We also call on the Myanmar
government to ensure citizenship for the Rohingyas."
Othaimeen is also expected to visit Rakhine Muslims in the Kutupalong camp and
surrounding areas in the southern resort town of Coxâ?'s Bazar on Friday,
Bangladesh foreign ministry officials said.
Thousands of Rohingya live in Bangladesh without being officially recognised
as refugees, but police rarely file immigration charges against them. Still,
their presence is a source of tension between the two countries.
Many in Myanmar see the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh,
although about 1.1 million of them live in Rakhine state and say their roots
go back generations.
Burma: 80,000 Muslim Rohingya children starving after military violence,
warns UN agency
No children that were assessed in 45 villages met the 'minimum adequate diet'
Rachael Revesz
Hundreds of thousands of children in Burma are starving and are in need of
treatment for acute malnutrition over the next year, a United Nations agency
has warned.
The World Food Programme's report was compiled after assessing 45 villages in
western Rakhine state, where around 75,000 Muslim Rohingya people have fled
military oppression and violence.
Around 80,500 children under the age of five are malnourished.
In an area where income is scarce and food prices are going up, the figures
are bleak.
No child in the assessment met the minimum adequate diet. Only 14 per cent of
women had any dietary diversity and 225,000 people need humanitarian
assistance.
One third of homes in Maungdaw, one of the areas most impacted by violence,
are suffering from extreme food deprivation, such as not eating for 24 hours
or having no food in the house.
"It is estimated that 80,500 children under the age of five are expected to be
in need of treatment for acute malnutrition over the next twelve months," the
WFP report said.
Many men have left their homes due to combat and security issues, and
single-women households were found to be the most vulnerable.
The report noted that people were "wasting", which meant they were losing
weight very fast and their immune system was being eroded as a result.
"The survey has confirmed a worsening of the food security situation in
already highly vulnerable areas following the security incidents and ensuing
violence in late 2016," the report read.
With almost half of local markets not fully operating or closing down, food
prices have become "highly volatile", and dried fish, the main supply of
proteins for local people, was "scarce".
People suffering from malnutrition will become increasingly dependent on
humanitarian aid, the report said, as the upcoming rainy season and continued
restriction to refugees' movement could exacerbate the fragile food situation.
Last October Rohingya militant attacks on border police prompted violence from
the army, with government forces using helicopters to attack villages.
Burma's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was widely criticised for the military
retaliation.
More than a dozen fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureates – she was awarded the
prize in 1991 – wrote an open letter to the UN security council warning of a
tragedy "amounting to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity" in Rakhine
state.
Authorities have denied reports of abuse. They have forbidden a UN
investigation of allegations of murder, gang rape and torture by the
government against Rohingya Muslims, who are classed as "non-citizens".
"The government should act urgently to address the devastation it has
wrought," wrote Richard Weir, a fellow at the Asia Division of Human Rights
Watch.
"And it should allow humanitarian access to all those at risk in Burma,
ensuring that the rights and welfare of all Burma's people – including the
Rohingya – are upheld."
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