Darul Ihsan Centre strongly condemns the blatant persecution and ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population by the military of Myanmar and militia groups.

According to the United Nations the flow of desperate Rohingya fleeing across the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh ‘is unprecedented in terms of volume and speed.’

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that almost 400,000 vulnerable and traumatized Rohingya have fled across the border into Bangladesh.

About 60 per cent of the Rohingya refugees are children, according to Jean Lieby, Chief of Child Protection at the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Bangladesh.

The Rohingya remain persecuted by the government of Myanmar in the form of systematic persecution, rape, torture, murder and arson at the hands of the Myanmar junta.

More than 40 villages have been burnt to the ground and, in the most recent violence by the Myanmar junta, more than 2,000 people have been killed. More than 300,000 have fled as homeless refugees.

We call, together with other justice loving civil society organisations, upon the Myanmar military to end the atrocities against the Rohingya population and, most importantly, to grant them equal rights, citizenship with the rest of Myanmar society and rehabilitate them fully.

As South African’s having lived through a racist and oppressive regime it is our duty to stand up for those being persecuted. Myanmar should NOT be allowed to continue this genocide of Rohingya.

We call upon the South African Government to intervene and take a decisive stand against Myanmar for these human rights violations which have continued for so many decades.

Darul Ihsan Media Desk