A memorandum of Appeal to Save Rohingya ethnic minority from Genocide and protect their rights

Press release by Rohingya Organizations in Malaysia, Date: April 8, 2014

 

We express our serious concern over the planned exclusion of Rohingya population from the ongoing UN sponsored census that began on 30 March 2014.

 

For decades the successive Burmese military regimes have subjected the Rohingya people to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, and the ruling military backed  Thein Sein government has surpassed all previous records of 'Rohingya persecution'. The central government and Arakan State authorities with the state patronized extremist Rakhines and Buddhist monks are grossly involved in carrying out series of deadly violence and genocide onslaughts against the ethnic Rohingya, with intent to annihilate them from their ancestral homeland of Arakan. The Buddhist Rakhine ceased-fire groups and other Rakhine extremists and their armed gangs are being invited from Bangladesh, India and China in order to intensify their anti-Rohingya movement through genocide.

 

The Burmese Government has already betrayed the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Department for International Development (DFID), donor countries and agencies as it has backed from earlier promises to implement the census in accordance with international standards. In addition, the 26-27 March Buddhist Rakhine's systematic ransacking and attacks on UN and humanitarian INGO offices and residences in Arakan's capital (Akyab) Sittwe could not be carried out without the backing of the authorities. The intention of the perpetrators is to stop anyone helping the vulnerable Rohingyas, who have no access to government facilities, so as to make them die of hunger and diseases; and to carry out  genocide against them without outside knowledge.  Without humanitarian aids, their situation is very dire now, with people dying every day.  It warrants immediate attention of the international community to save the lives of the innocent people.

 

In this regard, we appeal to the international community to take the following measures:

 

1.          To push United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to arrange an emergency session to send urgent United Nations Peacekeeping Mission to Arakan State, Burma, in order protect further killings and destruction in the country.

 

2.          To exert effective pressure on Burma for urgent suspension of the census and to re-conduct a fresh census with international standards allowing ethnic Rohingya to self-identify their original ethnic name "ROHINGYA" and stop dubbing them "BENGALI" unlawfully.

 

3.          To retrieve the funds of UNFPA, DFID and other donors and to reject the ongoing census; and to protect the innocent, defenceless and helpless indigenous Rohingya ethnic minority enabling them to live peacefully and honourably with all human dignity and rights as natural citizens of Burma.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mohammad Sadek                                          Mohammed Rafique                      Ustaz Jaber

Program Coordinator                                     Chairman                                             President

Rohingya Arakanese Refugee                    Ethnic Rohingya Committee        Rohingya Ulama Council

Committee (RARC), Malaysia                      of Arakan (ERCA)                             in Malaysia (MUR)

Tel: 0163094599                                                Tel: 0163635720                                Tel: 0173549311

                                                                    

 

His Excellency Joseph Y. Yun

Honorable Ambassador

Embassy of the United States to Malaysia
376 Jalan Tun Razak
50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Telephone: 60-3-2302 3988

Fax: 60-3-2148-5801

Email: klconsular@state.gov

 

His Excellency Simon Featherstone CMG

British High Commissioner to Malaysia

Level 27 Menara Binjai
2 Jalan Binjai, Kuala Lumpur 50450, Malaysia

E-mail: Kualalumpur

Email consular.mail@fco.gov.uk

Telephone+6 03 2170 2200

Fax: 0321702390

 

Her Excellency Mme Martine Dorance,

Ambassador of France

Embassy of France

196, Jalan Ampang,

50450, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Tel : (+603) 20 53 55 00
Fax : (+603) 20 53 55 02

 

Her Excellency Vorobyeva Lyudmila Georgievna

The Embassy Of Russian Federation

205 Lorong Ampang 2,

Taman U Thant, Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia

Tel: 03-42563949

Fax: 03-4252-9139

E-mail: rusembmalaysia@yandex.ru

 

His Excellency Huang Huikang

Ambassador Extraordinary

People's Republic of China

Lot 276, Block 10, Jalan Ong Tiang Swee,

93200 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia

Tel: 006082-240344006082-240344, 238344

Fax: 006082-232344

 

His Excellency Luc Vandebon
Ambassador & Head of Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia

Menara Tan & Tan, Suite 10.01
207 Jalan Tun Razak
50400 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia

Tel: +60 3 2723 7373+60 3 2723 7373

Fax: +60 3 2723 7337

E-mail: delegation-malaysia@eeas.europa.eu

 

His Excellency Michelle Gyles-McDonnough

UN Resident Coordinator

UNDP Resident Representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam,
United Nations Development Programme,
Wisma UN, Block C, Kompleks Pejabat Damansara
Jalan Dungun, Damansara Heights
50490 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA

Tel: 603 2095 9122
Fax: 603 2095 2870
Email: registry.my@undp.org