Malala Urges Fellow Laureate Suu Kyi to Condemn Rohingya Violence

In one of the deadliest bouts of violence in decades, about 58,600 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar.

Reuters
World
Updated:
File photo of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
i
File photo of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
(Photo: Reuters)

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Nobel Peace Laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai called on fellow Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to break her silence against the violence that has been meted out to the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, saying the "world is waiting" for her to condemn the unrest.

Taking to Twitter, the 20-year-old activist wrote

In her statement, Yousafzai also called on Pakistan, the country of her origin and where she was shot in the head by Taliban militants, to provide aid to the Muslim refugees

Other Countries Raise Voice Against Violence

Following Malala’s condemnation, former Pakistani cricketer and now politician Imran Khan said on Twitter:

The growing crisis threatens Myanmar's diplomatic relations, particularly with Muslim-majority countries in Southeast Asia where there is profound public anger over the treatment of the Rohingya.

Indonesia's foreign minister Retno Marsudi met Myanmar's army chief General Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw on Sunday in a bid to pressure the government to do more to alleviate the crisis.

"Once again, violence, this humanitarian crisis has to stop immediately," Indonesian president Joko Widodo told reporters.

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UK Hopes Suu Kyi Can Bring an End to the Violence

Britain said on Saturday it hoped Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi would use her “remarkable qualities” to end violence against the Rohingya muslim minority, which has prompted tens of thousands to flee the country.

In one of the deadliest bouts of violence in decades, about 58,600 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar, according to UN refugee agency UNHCR, as aid workers there struggle to cope.

Aung San Suu Kyi is rightly regarded as one of the most inspiring figures of our age but the treatment of the Rohingya is, alas, besmirching the reputation of Burma.
Boris Johnson, Britain’s foreign minister

“I hope she can now use all her remarkable qualities to unite her country, to stop the violence and to end the prejudice that afflicts both Muslims and other communities,” he said.

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Published: 03 Sep 2017,10:00 PM IST

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