Rohingya crisis: Malala slams Myanmar govt, urges fellow Nobel laureate Suu Kyi to take steps
Releasing a statement, the 20-year-old UN Ambassador has urged the Myanmar government to grant citizenship to Rohingya Muslims.
Placing her argument, Malala said: "If their home in not Myanmar, where they have lived for generations, then where is it? Rohingya people should be given citizenship in Myanmar, the country where they were born."
Rohingyas are Muslim minorities in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
Speaking about the atrocities carried out by Burmese security forces on the Rohingya community, she said: "Stop the violence. Today we have seen pictures of small children killed by Myanmar's security forces. These children attacked no one, but still their home were burned to the ground."
The recent findings released by UNHCR in its new report on mixed movements in south-east Asia indicate that more than 168,000 Rohingya members could have fled Myanmar in the last five years.
The total number of Rohingya refugees in the region and those internally displaced is estimated at 420,000 and 120,000 respectively.
Last week, at least 16 bodies of Rohingya Muslims washed up ashore at Bangladesh's Cox's Bazaar district of Chittagong province, forcing the local police to start an investigation into the killings.
Malala has lauded Bangladesh for aiding the Rohingyas, while urging other nations to be a bit more compassionate towards the already battered community.
She said: "Other countries, including my own country Pakistan, should follow Bangladesh's example and give food, shelter and access to education to Rohingya families fleeing violence and terror."
However, according to UN Human Rights experts, the families seeking refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh, remain highly vulnerable and risk being “re-victimized even in exile”, unless urgent action is taken.
Concluding her statement, the founder of Malala Fund said that she hoped that fellow Nobel Peace Prize recipient Suu Kyi will take up the matter and condemn the incidents.
"Over the last several years, I have repeatedly condemned this tragic and shameful treatment. I am still waiting for my fellow Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to do the same. The world is waiting and the Rohingya Muslims are waiting," Malala added.
