Contents
1. Action Required
2. Summary
3. Background
4. Sample Letters
1. Action Required
Write letters and emails to the UN, the Chinese Foreign Minister and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) demanding that they take action against religious hatred in Myanmar targeting Muslims.
2. Summary
IHRC are urging campaigners and activists to demand the Burmese government ensure that the rights of Muslims in Burma are safeguarded and that individuals and groups spreading religious hatred are stopped.
3. Background
Muslims in total form 13% of the Burmese population. Violence in the last year including two massacres, which initially focused on the Rohingya Muslims, has recently escalated into attacks against various Muslim communities in Myanmar. These targeted attacks on Muslims have been led by groups asserting a supremacist Buddhist identity different to the local Buddhists in the massacre areas who have been rescuing Muslims, even at threat to themselves.
Reporting from Myanmar earlier this week, Assed Baig states:
“…the displaced have been fleeing to the central city of Mandalay. Buildings were burnt down and the ‘official’ death toll stood at 32, as angry mobs roamed the streets. The reality of events is very different from what we have heard on our TV screens…The displaced are scattered across the city, accommodated by fellow Muslims and are still very scared to return to their homes in Meiktila, a hundred miles away.”
IHRC calls upon the international community to speak out against the violence, intolerance and hatred that the Rohingya and now other Muslims are being subjected to in Burma.
4. Sample Letters
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Sample letters are given below for your convenience. Please note that model letters can be sent directly or adjusted as necessary to include further details. If you receive a reply to the letter you send, we request you to send a copy of the letter you send and the reply you received, to IHRC. This is very important as it helps IHRC to monitor the situation with regards to our campaigns and to improve upon the current model letters.
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a) UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay
Navanethem Pillay,
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),
Palais des Nations,
CH-1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]
Dear High Commissioner,
Re: Violence against Muslims in Burma led by Buddhist supremacists
I am deeply concerned over the violence, intolerance and hatred that the Rohingya and now other Muslims are being subjected to in Burma.
Muslims in total form 13% of the Burmese population. Violence in the last year including two massacres, which initially focused on the Rohingya Muslims, has recently escalated into attacks against various Muslim communities in Myanmar.
These targeted attacks on Muslims have been led by groups asserting a supremacist Buddhist identity different to the local Buddhists in the massacre areas who have been rescuing Muslims, even at threat to themselves.
This ongoing oppression of individuals which is a clear violation of human rights law must not be tolerated by the UN which claims to stand for justice. I urge you to ensure that the rights of Muslims in Burma are safeguarded and that individuals and groups spreading religious hatred are stopped.
I look forward to hearing back from you regarding the actions you will be taking.
Yours sincerely,
[Your signature]
[Your name]
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5. Addresses for sample letters
a) Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Yang Jiechi.
His Excellency Yang Jiechi,
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
No. 2, Chaoyangmen Nandajie,
Chaoyang District,
Beijing,
CHINA
b) H.R.H. Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brunei Darussalam (Brunei Darussalam currently chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN))
H.R.H Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Jalan Subok
Bandar Seri Begawan BD 2710
Brunei Darussalam
Tel. +673 – 2262177, +673 – 2261293
Fax. +673 – 2261100, +673 – 2262904
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“And what reason have you that you should not fight in the way of Allah and of the weak among the men and the women and the children, (of) those who say: Our Lord! Cause us to go forth from this town, whose people are oppressors, and give us from Thee a guardian and give us from Thee a helper.”
Holy Qur’an: Chapter 4, Verse 75
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