Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia’s leaders joined thousands of ethnic Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday to protest what they called “ethnic cleansing” of the Muslim minority group in Burma.
Myanmar has accused Malaysia, which hosts 56,000 Rohingya asylum seekers, of breaching the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) policy of non-interference with other member countries.
“I don’t care!” proclaimed Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak in a fiery speech against Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Naypyidaw.
“Someone tell Myanmar that the ASEAN Charter also protects human rights. Are they blind? They cannot just interpret whatever they like.
“What do you expect us to do? We are a community of nations. Do they expect me, a leader of over 30 million people, to close my eyes? To stay silent? I will not!” said Najib, who also poked fun at Suu Kyi’s Nobel Peace Prize award.
At the rally, attended by about 10,000 refugees and political allies, Najib said Malaysia would continue to pressure Myanmar, the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to address the Rohingya humanitarian crisis.
Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, has refused to recognise the Muslim Rohingyas as citizens, branding them as Bangladeshi immigrants.
Despite having lived in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state for generations, the ethnic group are not granted rights of citizens and are targets of violence, forcing them to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh and Malaysia.
Tensions in Rakhine swelled again in October when nine police officers were killed during an ambush, which military blamed on Rohingya radicals aided by militants overseas.
The rally will likely strain relations between Myanmar and Malaysia, the country’s seventh largest trade partner, though Malaysian political pundits view the protest as a means for Najib to shore up support among Malaysia’s Muslim voters ahead of a General Election expected next year.
-dpa
