House Delegation To Leave For Myanmar

Jakarta, Aug 8 (ANTARA) - A delegation composing of House of Representatives (DPR) members and mass organization activists will soon leave for Myanmar to urge the Myanmarese government to stop conflict that befell Muslim Rohingnya, a legislator said. "We are now attending to the issuance of visas and if they could be issued soon we can leave on Thursday," Almuzzammil Yusuf, a member of the DPR`s Commission I on foreign affairs said here on Tuesday. Mass organizations delegates who will leave for Mynamar represent 14 mass organizations such as the Syarikat Islam, PUI, Persistri, BMOIWI, Matlaul Anwar, KBPII, Rabitha Alawiyah, Mapadi and others. He said that of the delegates leaving for Mynamar, no one will go to Bangladesh. Almuzzammil said that the delegates will monitor the conditions and met with the Myanmarese parliament to insist on its government to end the conflict. Apart from that the Rohingya refugees in various ASEAN member countries should also be protected and be given a clear status of citizenship under the coordination of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation. The ethnic Rohingya minority in Mynamar has suffered from violence by the Myanmar troops for years. According to the latest report nearly 650 out of almost 1 million Rohingya Muslims have been killed in a clash in Myanmar`s western area of Rakhine, while 1,200 others are missing, and more than 90,000 others were being neglected. The Myanmar government does not recognize Rohingya Muslims as its citizens and calls them illegal immigrants although they have been living in the country for decades. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported the Myanmar security force is behind the attempt of eliminating Rohingya ethnic group. Over 80,000 have become refugees. House Speaker Marzuki Alie has also called on the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC) to show solidarity to Rohingya Muslims. "That would be in line with resolution No. 11, which was adopted at the Seventh Session of PUIC in Palembang, South Sumatra, early this year," said Marzuki, who is also the PUIC president, here on Monday. He added that the resolution called for solidarity and unity among Muslims amid the increasing challenges facing Muslim communities across the world. "Therefore, I am asking the concerned bodies to take some action," Marzuki stated. "President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has already asked the Myanmar government to protect the Rohingya ethnic minority," he added.