Posted by: Nadia Shabir Tags: Arakan, ARU. ARakan Rohingya Union, Dr Waqar Uddin, ethnic violence myanmar,global peace and unity 2013, GPU international charity awards 2013, Human rights Global peace and unity 2013,HUMAN RIGHTS ROHINGYA, Muslim countries and Rohingya Muslims, Myanmar Rohingya Muslims, OIC, Organization of Islamic Countries, Tensions myanmar, Tha Pri Chaung, UN Rohingya Muslims Posted date: December 10, 2013
The Global Peace and Unity (GPU) conference took place in London from November 23-24, 2013 at the renowned landmark arena ExCel exhibition centre. GPU invited speakers from the human rights field to speak on current human rights development in the world and to highlight strategies that contribute to immediate or progressive realization of human rights. The GPU Conference differs from the other peace conferences in that it does not just provide a platform for activists, it also celebrates the contributions people have made to peace over the years. The GPU international charity awards 2013 celebrated the steps organizations and different NGOs are taking to prevent abuse of the state monopoly on violence across the world.
This year, the theme of Global Peace and Unity was ‘Freedom for all’. Aside from highlighting conflicts and struggles in the Middle East, GPU highlighted Rohingya Muslims’ human rights situation in Myanmar. Burma has had a long history of wars, civil strife, corruption and ethnic divisions. However, since 2012, the human rights situation in Burma has deteriorated considerably with clashes between Rohingya Muslims and Buddhist monks in the Western Myanmar state of Rakhine. In May 2012, the rape and murder of an ethnic Rakhine woman by a three Muslims youths near her village Tha Pri Chaung further fueled the tension between these two groups, the outcome being Muslim villages burnt to the ground and thousands of Rohingya Muslims being displaced. According to the UN, Rohingyas are one of the world’s most persecuted minorities. The government’s continuous attempt for the past 10 years to suppress 135 ethnic minorities has resulted in 530,000 displaced people and the destruction of 3,200 villages in Eastern Burma. Over 2,000 Burmese have been forced to seek refuge in neighboring Thailand.
Toonari Post met Dr. Waqar Uddin, Director of Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU) in London on November 23, 2013 to discuss the current Human Rights situation in Burma regarding Rohingya Muslims. Dr Waqar Uddin has dedicated his life to this cause and to bring attention to the plight and suffering of the Rohingya community of Myanmar.
Toonari Post (TP): Please tell us about the current situation in Myanmar.
Dr Waqar Uddin (DWU): The current situation in Myanmar has worsened dramatically due to the conflict of the past year. Since June of last year there have been Rohingiyas set on fire by Buddhist mobs and monks and so many of Muslim families and villages have been burnt. There was carnage, violence and dozens were killed. Due to the ongoing civil strife and tension, there have been 130,000 Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Rakhine state and all of them are Muslims. These people were driven out of their homeland and have been subjected to torture and the total denial of their rights and citizenship within Myanmar. Rohingyas are a stateless Muslim minority.
TP: Please tell us more about your organization Arakan Rohingiya Union (ARU).
DWU: Rohingya Union is a global confederation and we are an organization of 61 different Rohingya organizations worldwide and that includes five organizations from inside Myanmar. I am a Director General of ARU and I have been elected for the seven year term. I am running this organization under Secretariat and the Secretariat has a Director General and we have 11 different departments with chair person and teams of people running each department.
TP: How did you become involved in Arakan Rohingiya Union, and do you have a background in human rights?
DWU: By profession I am a scientist, I am a micro biologist. I have been involved in the Rohingya issue for several years now, working with the State Department to highlight the seriousness of plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. In 2010 OIC the Organization of Islamic Corporation from Jeddah felt that all Rohingiyas, Rohingya organizations and parties need to come together and form a union for confederation and for elective vote.
At that time I was running BRANA. I am a founder of BRANA and was a Chairman of BRANA. BRANA is Burmese Rohingiya Association of North America. It was formed in 2010, and is an advocacy organization. I was trying to work with the US senate, US state of Department, Canadian government, and various NGOs on issues facing the Rohingya people in Burma. Therefore, we are a part of those 61 organizations and that’s how we got involved with ARU. I was elected by the members to lead the organization and that explains my involvement with ARU. The OIC is backing us now with its 57 Muslim member states, which originally formed and founded ARU, a real legitimate Rohingiya organization that is representing Rohingya people and their interests.
The OIC is very active in working with ARU and Rohingiya issues and last week they went to Myanmar as a seven Foreign Ministery delegation to discuss the plight and suffering of Rohingya Muslims. There is a forming relationship between Burmese government and the OIC, therefore as you can see ARU is instrumental behind all these activities of OIC.
TP: You have spoken about the international community’s response to the Rohingya conflict but tell us what Muslim communities and nations have done to help de-escalate the conflict in Myanmar and to help the Rohingya Muslims?
DWU: This is a very good question; the Muslim nations effort has been tremendous and came from different channels. The main response came from OIC and its 57 members of Muslim states. On the public level there has been a tremendous effort by Muslim organizations, NGOs and aid organizations, and countries like Indonesia, Malaysia also have been very active in Rohingya Muslim issue.
The community here in the UK also stepped forward to offer their help and support and asked us ‘what can we do for you’? SO I feel that on public, international and on governmental level the message has gone out and more and more countries and Muslims across the world are now becoming aware of this Rohingya situation. Years ago even in Burma the term Rohingya was foreign, there was a lack of understanding onto what Rohingya is and who Rohingya Muslims are. I feel getting this message across to masses has been a tremendous achievement by ARU so far.
TP: We have seen scores of massacres and genocides in the 21st century, intervention came too late and thousands of lives were lost in Bosnia, Chechnya, Uganda, and Rwanda to name a few, do you think an intervention by the international community came at the right time in Burma?
DWU: It was little bit late, we lost thousands of lives but we didn’t lose hundred thousands of lives, so it could have been far worst. But it would have been better if local, national, international and Muslim community had gotten involved five years ago. That would have saved more lives. Muslim Rohingyas have experienced discrimination, ethnic cleansing and marginalization since 1962. Racism and marginalization is like a cancer that has been eating away the Rohingya community slowly since 1962. People have been leaving the country and faced systematic discrimination. In June of 2012, things exploded and once the news got out via international and social media, we got a response from the international community. Sadly this awareness came with the price of killings of thousands of Rohingya Muslims.
Nonetheless it is not too late, the International community has stepped in and in about right time.
Read the second half of the interview with Dr. Waqar Uddin here.
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