Iran UN envoy:

Contact group to be formed for Myanmar killings

TEHRAN(defapress)– Iran’s Ambassador to the UN condemned the crimes against Rohingya Muslims on Wednesday and called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to create a contact group to help stop the crimes.

News ID: 65864

Date: 07 September 2017 - 14:34

Gholam-Ali Khoshrou told defapress, "Over the past days, I have made several contacts with the envoys of Muslim countries, and the contact group of Islamic countries was agreed to be formed at the level of ministers and ambassadors.”

Khoshrou said that Myanmar’s more than one million Rohingya Muslims have been living in Myanmar for centuries, but have never enjoyed civil rights and have always been under pressure.

Myanmar Army, their supporters and agents have attacked the people. Thousands of buildings were torched over past few days and hundreds of people are fleeing towards Bangladesh through mountains, he added.

Khoshrou said the Myanmar Muslims have been forced to leave their without any facilities and considering the huge number of children and women among them, 'a humanitarian catastrophe' is being created.

He said, "Everyone should devote efforts to prevent this human catastrophe.”

Khoshrou underlined, in order to stop the catastrophe, the first step would be to end the pressure on Rohingya Muslims and deliver humanitarian assistance to them, adding that the next step should be efforts aimed at recognition of Rohingya Muslims’ right to have a "dignified life” in their homeland.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Wednesday that the Iranian Red Crescent would send help to Rohingya Muslims and would provide any possible aid.

Khoshrou also said that Myanmar’s forces have reportedly been putting landmines in their territory along the barbed-wire fence between a series of border pillars over the few three days to prevent the return of the Rohingya who have already fled to Bangladesh.

Displacing people by force cannot be accepted by any religion and the conscience of free people, and the global community shouldn’t stand such conditions, said the Iranian ambassador to the UN.

Ambassadors' session will most probably be held in the coming week, and the ministers' session will be held in the first week of the UN general Assembly.

Khoshrou pointed out that the Islamic countries have started one-to-one contacts with the parties to the conflict, and Iran has numerous phone calls with Islamic countries to encourage them to try to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe; everyone should devote efforts to prevent this human catastrophe.