Rakib Altaf
SRINAGAR, July 18: Students of the University of Kashmir Wednesday held a sit-in demonstration to express their sympathy with Muslims who are allegedly facing human rights violations in Burma.
Although not many know what is happening in the south-east Asian country, unverified photgraphs showing dead bodies, claimed to be that of Rohingya Muslims, are galore on socal media sites like the Facebook.
Some International media have also reported of clashes between Muslims and Arakanese Buddhists in the Arakan region of Burma and also the arrest of some global aid workers.
A small group of students of the Kashmir University gathered at a lawn in the campus to show their “solidarity with the Muslims being massacred in Burma and Syria.”
Holding banners which read “Down with Buddhist terrorism in Burma” and “O’ Muslims of Syria and Burma: Kashmir is with you”, the students called for interevention by Muslim countries in the tense regions.
“The killing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma is not being highlighted in the media because of the recent transition from military to democracy, as it doesn’t want to expose killings in a democratic set-up; and its ugly underbelly,” a statement issued by the students said.
The students also accused the media of deliberately blacking-out the issue because “the victims are Muslims”.
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 Junta relied heavily on Burmese nationalism and Theravada Buddhism to bolster its rule and, according to many, discriminated heavily against them.
The Muslims in the region have been denied being considered compatriots of the Buddhist majority.
“Unity is of paramount importance in face of such atrocities and oppression. The voice against tyranny and suppression always resonates in Kashmir University no matter where it is committed,” the students said.
