Sunday Oct 1st 2017 11 am at Peace Tower, Parliament Hill
https://www.facebook.com/events/519911608356427/
Hello,
We would like to invite you to join us in a demonstration/silent protest to raise awareness of the ethnic- cleansing being perpetrated against the Rohingya minorities in Myanmar (Burma). As you may already be aware, Buddhist nationalist mobs led by monks, armed by Myanmar’s government, and assisted by its military, have committed and continue to commit unspeakable atrocities against the Rohingya minority in that nation. The Rohingyas have been driven from their ancestral homes, their villages have been burned, their children (including babies) have been slaughtered, and their women have been subjected to mass rape and sexual violence. There have been numerous reports of mass executions, burning of entire villages with occupants inside, and designated rape camps where the captured women are subjected to horrifying physical and sexual abuse.
The United Nations have called the Rohingyas “the most persecuted minorities in the world” and have described the current events in Rakhine state as a “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”. French President Emanual Macron has described it in his recent UN General Assembly speech as “genocide”. Yet throughout all this, the Myanmar leadership has continued to deny any wrongdoing, made absurd assertions such as the Rohingya villagers burning their own houses and displayed absolute obliviousness regarding the people who fled the region by claiming that they are not aware of it. They have also falsely stated that their military is taking every precaution to protect the innocent, when all evidence gathered by Amnesty International points otherwise.
Aung Sun Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar, Nobel Peace prize recipient and Honorary Canadian Citizen, has so far refused to condemn the atrocities despite appeals to take action, by the Dalai Lama, the Pope, and several fellow Nobel laureates. As per the latest reports, approximately 470,000 Rohingyas have already sought refuge in Bangladesh and another 100,000 are believed to be either on the way or stuck in no-man’s-land, awaiting certain death if nothing is done.
As concerned Canadians, we are appealing to our government to continue to mount pressure on Myanmar, to stop the ethnic cleansing and allow the Rohingyas to safely return home. Canada bestowed honorary citizenship on Aung San Suu Kyi because “her long struggle to bring freedom and democracy to the people of Burma has made her the embodiment of the ideals of democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law.” It is indeed a travesty that what is happening in Myanmar under Aung San Suu Kyi’s leadership, is in stark contrast to those Canadian values which were the basis of her receiving an honorary Canadian citizenship, and which we profoundly cherish. In light of such egregious disregard for our principals, values and ideals, we must question if Aung Sun Suu Kyi continues to be worthy of such an honour. As such, the growing chorus of voices demanding the revocation of her honorary Canadian citizenship merits attention from our Prime Minister and parliament.
The purpose of our demonstration is to appeal to our government to continue to pressure Myanmar to remove restrictions on movement and citizenship for its Rohingya minority and allow the safe return of all refugees, as was proposed by Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General and Chairman of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. Please join us on Sunday, October 1, 2017, between 11am and 1pm in front of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill to raise our collective voice for universal human rights and an end to the atrocities.
Sincerely,
Mustafa Chowdhury, on behalf of
Canada Bangladesh Muslim Community (CBMC)
Faisal Mamun & Sohel Ahmed, on behalf of
SUKARA