Rakib Altaf
SRINAGAR, July 29: Senior separatist leader and chairman of the hard-line faction of Hurriyat Conference has castigated the role of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) for “keeping quiet” on human rights violations of Rohingya Muslims by Arakanese Buddhists in Burma.
The Hurriyat hawk has also taken a dig at New Delhi for, what he says, was its lax approach in dealing with the crisis in Assam where more than 40 people have been killed and more than a hundred thousand rendered homeless in violent clashes between native Bodos and migrant Muslims.
“The silence of the international community on killings in Myanmar is criminal and it has also exposed the hatred and double standards of so called torch bearers of justice when it comes to raising voice for Muslims. Also the OIC has turned into a meaningless and useless forum and is like the part of the body which can no longer be used,” Geelani said in a statement.
‘Irresponsible’
The OIC is the largest international organisation outside the United Nations consisting of 57 member states. The organisation was set up to safeguard the interests of Muslims and is considered by many as the UN of the Islamic world.
Recently the United Nations called for an independent investigation following claims of abuses by security forces in Burma’s Rakhine state where at least 80,000 people are said to have been displaced due to inter-communal violence.
UN’s Human rights chief Navi Pillay said forces sent to quash violence in the northern state were reported to be targeting Muslims, the BBC reported.
However the OIC, Geelani said, had largely failed in its responsibilities. “After feeling that the attitude of the western community had changed towards Muslims after 9/11, we hoped that the OIC will unite in raising its voice against their suffering and injustice against them. But the organisation has not been able to change its pro-west stand.”
The separatist leader also said he was saddened at the silence of Nobel Laureate Aung Suu Kyi who was recently elected as the opposition leader in the newly democratic set up in the country.
“Although she has spent years in jail for fighting for the rights of people, yet she has not spoken a word on the plight of the Burmese Muslims and has not even conveyed a word,” Geelani said.
The Burmese Muslims or the Rohingyas have been subject to persecution in the country especially since the military Junta which ruled Burma for half a century.
The Muslims in the region have been denied being considered compatriots of the Buddhist majority.
‘Assam Violence’
Geelani has accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of delaying action in dealing with communal violence in Kokhrajar area of Assam where dozens of people have been killed in communal clashes between Muslims and native Bodos.
“This is not for the first time that the government has maintained silence. Whenever Muslims were targeted by rioters they would delay intervention till the damage was done,” Geelani said.
The violence between Bodo and Muslim groups broke out in July after four members of the Bodo tribal community were allegedly hacked to death by residents of a Muslim-dominated village in Kokrajhar.
Clashes, in which more than 40 people have died and more than one hundred thousand forced to leave homes, follow pre-existing ethnic tensions between the indigenous Bodo community and the migrant Muslim settlers in the region.
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