Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman has urged the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar to take stronger action to prevent the ongoing persecution of Rohingya Muslims.
The remarks come after a fresh wave of violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State has triggered a bigger influx of refugees into neighboring Malaysia.
“Myanmar has to address the problem,” Aman told reporters at a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ministers in Brunei on Sunday.
“I know it’s complex but they have to address the problem in a transparent manner so that we can see what actions had been taken…. I think the perpetrators have to be brought to justice so that it does not occur again,” the foreign minister added.
Meanwhile, the existing refugee groups inside Malaysia are trying to ease the suffering of Rohingyas despite their limited resources.
The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, has called on Myanmar’s neighboring countries to accept Rohingya Muslims fleeing the state-sponsored bloody communal violence.
The developments come after dozens of Muslims were killed in recent attacks by Buddhist extremists in Myanmar as a new wave of ethnic and sectarian violence targeted Rohingya Muslims in the troubled Rakhine State.
Last year Rakhine saw a wave of violence against the Muslim community that left more than 200 people dead.
International bodies and human rights organizations accuse the government of turning a blind eye to the violence.
Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar account for about five percent of the countryâ„¢s population of nearly 60 million. They have been persecuted and faced torture, neglect, and repression since the country’s independence in 1948.
Myanmarâ„¢s government has been repeatedly criticized for failing to protect the Rohingya Muslims.
JR/PR/SS
Republished with permission from:: Press TV