OIC Summit: Erdogan and Rouhani Called for Unity of Muslim World for Rohingya
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, and Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, called for the Muslim countries to collaborate for provision of aid to Rohingya sufferers in Myanmar and those seeking refuge in Bangladesh.
During the OIC summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, last weekend, Erdogan and Rouhani stressed on the importance of Rohingya issue and summoned the Muslim countries to take action against the ongoing violence. Rouhani talked on the plight of sufferers in Rohingya besides worst situations going on in other Muslim countries including Syria, Iraq, Palestine and Yemen. Rouhani insisted on solidarity of Muslim world.
Rouhani announced Iranian aid to Rohingya, “Iran’s humanitarian aid for the Rohingya Muslims of
Myanmar will soon be shipped.”
During the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit, Erdogan said, ‘“We want to work with the
governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh to prevent the humanitarian plight in the region.”
After Rouhani’s arrival in Tehran, he reported to state media, “Although there was not much time for discussions, all the countries in attendance at the meeting agreed on the necessity of helping the displaced and applying pressure
on Myanmar’s government to suspend the genocide.”
Moreover, UN has appealed for quick provision of aid to Rohingya people facing inhumanity at large scale in south of Bangladesh. Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh number around 300,000 only after two weeks of eruption of violence in Rakhine state.
Turkey has already sent aid for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh of about 1,000 tons after Turkish Cooperation, Coordination Agency (TİKA) got permitted to aid the Rohingya with food and clothing by Aung San Suu Kyii, the Myanmar’s democratic leader. Furthermore, Turkish Agency is planning out to send 10,000 tons of medicine, food and clothing aid soon enough.
On Rohingya Situation:
Thousands have fled across border after an army attack on the villagers of Rakhine. Army officials accused Rohingya villagers to have taken the initiative of attacking their posts. But, on the other hand, the villagers reported the atrocities of militants that were being carried out.
Some reports suggest that the Muslim minority is being driven out from the Buddhist majority state of Burma because Buddhist culture feels threatened by growing Islamic community in subcontinent. A journalist Francis Wade, also author of Myanmar’s Enemy Within: Buddhist Violence and the Making of a Muslim “Other”, responded to a question in an interview with NPR that,
‘There’s long been this narrative that Myanmar and particularly its majority Buddhist faith is under threat from Islamic cultures, particularly from the subcontinent.’
Malaysia recently agreed to accommodate Rohingya refugees who have got registered with UN refugee
agency of Malaysia. Around 56,000 refugees have been accommodated so far and further efforts are
being made to help Rohingya sufferers.
