IAWM Statement on the Massacres and Oppression of the Rohingya people

IRISH ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT (IAWM) PRESS RELEASE: 17 SEPTEMBER 2017
IAWM Statement on the Massacres and Oppression of the Rohingya people
The IAWM unequivocally condemns the appalling treatment of the Rohingya people by the Myanmar regime.
Almost 400,000 Rohingya Muslims have been forced to flee their homes in western Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Hundreds have died making the perilous journey into neighbouring Bangladesh in recent weeks.
They are fleeing from the Myanmar military regime’s latest crackdown. Entire villages have been burned to the ground and widespread killings and rapes have been reported.
The senior United Nations (UN) human rights official, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, has described the treatment of the Rohingya as a “textbook example” of ethnic cleansing.
Around a quarter of the Rohingya population has now been forced out of Myanmar by fear and terror.
As Muslims the Rohingya do not have citizenship rights under racist laws in Myanmar, a Buddhist majority country.
The military dictatorship that has ruled Myanmar since 1962 has persecuted the Rohingya, but sadly it is not just the country’s military rulers that are to blame.
Mynamar’s Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi has denied the latest atrocities have even taken place, blaming “terrorists” for spreading an “iceberg of misinformation”.
When the latest military crackdown began, Aung San Suu Kyi claimed the Rohingya were “Bengalis” and that they had set fire to their own homes. Aung San Suu Kyi is not just complicit in what’s going on, but explicit about supporting it.
The Irish Anti-War Movement also condemns the British and other Western governments for their support for the Burmese military and calls on the Irish government to make a clear statement of condemnation of what is being done to the Rohingya people and to express opposition to any collaboration with the Regime.
END
Contact:

IRISH ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT (IAWM) PRESS RELEASE: 17 SEPTEMBER 2017
IAWM Statement on the Massacres and Oppression of the Rohingya people
The IAWM unequivocally condemns the appalling treatment of the Rohingya people by the Myanmar regime.
Almost 400,000 Rohingya Muslims have been forced to flee their homes in western Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Hundreds have died making the perilous journey into neighbouring Bangladesh in recent weeks.
They are fleeing from the Myanmar military regime’s latest crackdown. Entire villages have been burned to the ground and widespread killings and rapes have been reported.
The senior United Nations (UN) human rights official, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, has described the treatment of the Rohingya as a “textbook example” of ethnic cleansing.
Around a quarter of the Rohingya population has now been forced out of Myanmar by fear and terror.
As Muslims the Rohingya do not have citizenship rights under racist laws in Myanmar, a Buddhist majority country.
The military dictatorship that has ruled Myanmar since 1962 has persecuted the Rohingya, but sadly it is not just the country’s military rulers that are to blame.
Mynamar’s Prime Minister Aung San Suu Kyi has denied the latest atrocities have even taken place, blaming “terrorists” for spreading an “iceberg of misinformation”.
When the latest military crackdown began, Aung San Suu Kyi claimed the Rohingya were “Bengalis” and that they had set fire to their own homes. Aung San Suu Kyi is not just complicit in what’s going on, but explicit about supporting it.
The Irish Anti-War Movement also condemns the British and other Western governments for their support for the Burmese military and calls on the Irish government to make a clear statement of condemnation of what is being done to the Rohingya people and to express opposition to any collaboration with the Regime.
END
Contact:
John Molyneux, Secretary, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 085 735 6424
Jim Roche, PRO, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 087 647 2737
Edward Horgan, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 085 851 9623
Glenda Cimino, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 086 124 9456
Michael Youlton, Chair, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 086 815 9487
Memet Uludag, Steering Committee IAWM, Tel. 087 7919307
For more information on the IAWM see:
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@IrishAntiWarMvt https://twitter.com/#!/IrishAntiWarMvt
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