India Refuses To Sign Global Declaration Against Myanmar
On Rohingyas
An Indian parliamentary delegation, led by Speaker Lok
Sabha Sumitra Mahajan, refused to be a part of the Bali Declaration adopted at
the World Parliamentary Forum on Sustainable Development held at Nusa Dua in
Indonesia.
India dissociated itself today from a
declaration adopted at an international conference as it carried a reference to
violence in Rakhine state of Myanmar, from where 125,000 Rohingyas have fled to
Bangladesh.
The country-specific amendment to the
draft declaration was proposed at the eleventh hour by selective countries
which referred to the violence in Rakhine state of Myanmar. India argued that
specifying a particular country is unjustified as this Forum is focused on SDGs
(Sustainable Development Goals) and inclusive development for all countries
based on cooperative and collaborative approach to achieve the 2030 Agenda for
the world.
Never before country-specific issues
have been included in the declaration as these dilute the objective of these
Forums which require unity and focussed efforts of all the countries.
Rohingya
Rohingya is ethnic Muslim minority group, largely
comprising Muslims living primarily in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state. They
practice a Sufi-inflected variation of Sunni Islam. They differ from Myanmar’s
dominant Buddhist groups religiously, ethnically and linguistically. They speak
Bengali dialect, as opposed to commonly spoken Burmese language in Myanmar.
Myanmar considers Rohingya’s as illegal Bengali immigrants, despite fact that
many they have resided in Rakhine province of Myanmar for centuries.
The Myanmar government even refuses to grant them
citizenship status, and as a result they do not have any legal documentation,
effectively making them stateless.
They are also restricted from freedom of movement,
state education and civil service jobs. UN has often described Rohingyas as one
of the most persecuted minorities in the world.
