JNN 30 July 2012 Moscow : Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Iran, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia , Russia and other countries to condemn the massacre of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.Shia Muslims in Russia have lashed out at international organizations for keeping silent about the mass slaughter of ethnic Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
Iranian worshippers across the country held demonstrations after Friday prayers to express their solidarity with Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar who are experiencing an appalling situation.
The demonstrators called on international organizations to take action to stop the killing of Muslims in Myanmar and urged Muslims all over the world to adopt a united stance in this regard.
The protesters also criticized the inaction of international human rights organizations on the issue of Myanmar.
The UN says decades of discrimination have left the Rohingyas stateless, with Myanmar implementing restrictions on their movement and withholding land rights, education and public services.
Large groups of Rohingyas have already sailed to neighboring Bangladesh, many of whom have died during the journey. The Bangladeshi government, however, deports Rohingyas calling them illegal migrants and the UN refugee center says it will not accept Rohingya Muslims as it is not interested in more refugees.
The government of Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas, who it claims are not natives and classifies them as illegal migrants, although they have lived in the country for generations.
On July 19, Myanmar’s President Thein Sein said the “only solution” to the plight of Rohingya Muslims is to send the country’s nearly one million Muslims to a third country or UN-run refugee camps. However, the world body has ruled out setting up refugee camps to accommodate the Rohingyas.
During a special ceremony in Moscow on Friday, the Shia Muslims from Russia and different Asian, European and African countries called for an end to the killing of Muslims in Myanmar, IRNA reported.
They chanted slogans such as ‘killing of Muslims in Myanmar is condemned’ and ‘Stop the genocide in Myanmar’ to express their wrath at the massacre of tens of thousands of innocent Muslims in Myanmar.
The head of the Shia community in Russia said most of the countries of the world and the press are keeping silent on the massacre of Muslims in Myanmar.
He added that Muslim countries shoulder a heavy responsibility to defend innocent Muslims in Myanmar.
He lauded efforts made by certain Muslim countries such as Iran at international organizations, including the United Nations, to put an end to the killing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and expressed hope that oppression against Muslims would be stopped in cooperation with Muslim countries.
The government of Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas, who it claims are not natives, and classifies them as illegal migrants. This comes as the Rohingyas are said to be Muslim descendants of Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Pathan origin, who migrated to Myanmar as early as the 8th century.
The UN has described Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim community as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.
They are deprived of basic rights including education and employment and are subject to forced labor, extortion and other coercive measures.