A huge rally organised by the Muslim Coordination Committee here on Wednesday evening in support of Rohingya Muslims called for stopping the genocide against the stateless people from Rakhine State of Myanmar.
Addressing the rally, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) State president Panakkad Syed Hyderali Shihab Thangal said that on the one hand, the Rohingya faced violence by the Myanmar government and the military, and on the other many countries pushed the fleeing refugees into perpetual agony.
He said the Rohingya had the right to live peacefully in their land of birth. However, until a favourable situation emerged, the Centre should allow them to remain in India under the UN Refugee Agency, a programme mandated to protect and support refugees from other countries, he said.
He accused the Centre of labelling Rohingya refugees, including women, children and aged people, as terrorists. “Why is the government reluctant to accept them as human beings and follow the humanitarian guidelines of the United Nations. Do the decision of the Centre show its double standards,” he asked.
He pointed out that the Centre had approved citizenship for Chakma and Hajong refugees and it was deplorable that it treated Rohingya as terrorists. This did not augur well for a country that stood on the lofty ideals of Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu, he added.
Tibetan refugees
“India had a tradition of accepting Tibetan refugees during the onslaught of the mighty Chinese. Similarly, the country stood in solidarity with Palestinians and Africans facing brutalities from their governments,” he said.
Muslim League national organising secretary E.T. Mohammed Basheer, treasurer P.V. Abdul Wahab, and CPI national council member Binoy Viswam were among those who spoke.