21 July 2012, 13:11 (GMT+05:00)
Azerbaijan, Baku, July 21 / Trend /
Iran's
permanent representative to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaie urged
UN Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon to interfere promptly in efforts to
bring an end to ethnic cleansing of minority Muslims in Myanmar, Press
TV reported.
"The United Nations must take
urgent measures to preserve the spirit of the [UN] Charter and protect
the fundamental rights of the Muslim people in Myanmar by calling upon
the Government in Myanmar to put an end to the crackdown against
Muslims," Khazaie said in a formal letter to the UN Secretary
General.
A copy of the letter has also been
forwarded to UN's High Commissionaire for Human Rights Navi Pillay as
well as Director of the UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs Valeri Amos.
"Recent
crackdown by Myanmar security forces against Muslim minority in
Rohingya province has resulted in human losses and suffering of hundreds
of innocent civilians, destruction of mosques and homes and eviction of
people from their homeland, which constitutes violations of their
fundamental rights," the letter said.
"We
believe that ethnic and religious cleansing against Muslims under
whatever pretext is unjustifiable and inexcusable under recognized
international law," it said.
It has further
described as highly "disturbing" remarks by Myanmar authorities
suggesting attempts to strip the nation's Muslim minority of their
citizenship rights despite "the fact that Muslim
people in Rohingya have been living there for centuries."
Khazaie's
letter also calls on Secretary General to "interfere expeditiously and
outspokenly, as you did with other similar situations and to take every
appropriate measure in order to halt the current situation and to
prevent further similar tragedy to happen against Muslim people of
Myanmar."
Moreover, the document cautioned that inaction by
the international community toward the ongoing human rights violations
by the Myanmar Government "would contribute to the grave violations of
fundamental rights of Muslim inhabitants as well as the international
law and make an appalling precedent in international relations."
The
letter finally called on the Myanmar Government to address the concerns
of its Muslim citizens and the international community "in a positive
and constructive manner" and allow Rohingya Muslims to "return to their
homeland
in honor, safety and dignity."
As the result
of violence perpetrated against Rohingya Muslims by radical Buddhists
and police forces in Myanmar, over 650 Muslims have so far been killed
in the country and another 1,200 reported missing.
Last
week Friday, Myanmar's President Thein Sein declared that Rohingya
Muslims must be expelled from the country and sent to refugee camps run
by the United Nations.
The government of
Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas, who it claims are not natives
and classifies as illegal migrants, although Rohingyas are believed to
be Muslim descendants of Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Pathan origin
that migrated to Myanmar as early as the 8th century.
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