Staff Reporter :
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has expressed grave concern over the fate of more than 400,000 stateless “Rohingya” people who have fled Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh in the face of violent Myanmar security forces’ crackdown.
United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein has described the situation as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
The plight of the Rohingya is not new, but century old. It is of the gravest concern that there has been no progress, and at the same time hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to flee the country where they have lived for centuries, in the most
terrible circumstances. These people need urgent humanitarian assistance.
“For decades, the international community stood with those in Myanmar who opposed the military dictatorship, and now that the absolute grip of the military on power has not been loosened and political reform is far from fact. So, Myanmar must show that it respects international law,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.
“While extremism in any form must be condemned, at the same time the Myanmar authorities must show that they respect their international human rights obligations. Right now, all sides need to renounce the use of violence, to ensure that there are no further victims and to enable dialogue to resolve the situation with full respect for the human rights of those concerned,” he added.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has expressed grave concern over the fate of more than 400,000 stateless “Rohingya” people who have fled Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh in the face of violent Myanmar security forces’ crackdown.
United Nations Human Rights High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein has described the situation as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
The plight of the Rohingya is not new, but century old. It is of the gravest concern that there has been no progress, and at the same time hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to flee the country where they have lived for centuries, in the most
terrible circumstances. These people need urgent humanitarian assistance.
“For decades, the international community stood with those in Myanmar who opposed the military dictatorship, and now that the absolute grip of the military on power has not been loosened and political reform is far from fact. So, Myanmar must show that it respects international law,” said ITUC General Secretary Sharan Burrow.
“While extremism in any form must be condemned, at the same time the Myanmar authorities must show that they respect their international human rights obligations. Right now, all sides need to renounce the use of violence, to ensure that there are no further victims and to enable dialogue to resolve the situation with full respect for the human rights of those concerned,” he added.
