| Submit your comments on this article |
| Southeast Asia |
| Myanmar claims 'Jamaat link' |
| 2012-06-15 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] The Myanmar government has conveyed its anxiety to the Bangladesh mission there that the Jamaat-e-Islami ... The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independentbranch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... had been helping the Rohingya groups in Bangladesh with arms to incite sectarian festivities in Myanmar. Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said this in a statement in parliament yesterday. "For the sake of its national security, Bangladesh will not allow any more Rohingya in," she said. Referring to appeals from different human rights ...which are usually open to widely divergent definitions... bodies and non-government organizations to allow the Rohingyas to enter Bangladesh, Dipu Moni said Dhaka was not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. "Therefore, under no convention or protocol are we obliged to shelter the Rohingyas. "Although we are not bound by any international laws, considering our experience of the 1971 [Liberation War], we have been sheltering the Rohingyas on humanitarian grounds," she told the House. Remembering Bangladesh refugees taking shelter in India during the Liberation War, she said, "We have never forgotten it and that's why Bangladesh always extends its helping hands when such incidents take place." "In 1971, there was a war going on in Bangladesh. There was mass killing, looting and rape taking place.... We are grateful that the Indira Gandhi government and the people of India stood beside the Bangladesh refugees." But Myanmar's situation is not similar to that of Bangladesh in 1971, she added. "The situation is not as if the Rohingya people have no place to go. We ourselves face many problems. We have allowed many Rohingyas to live in our country and we do not want to add to our problems by allowing more of them in. "The country [Myanmar] is not forcing its citizens to leave the country. This is a sectarian clash in which the state is not involved. The Myanmar government is rather working to resolve the problem," she added. |
| Posted by:Fred |