Centuries of statelessness

Rohingya, an ethnic minority community of Indo-Aryan origin from the state of Rakhine in Burma, has been living there since approximately 8^th century. They have been subjected to inhumane treatment at the hands of majority Buddhist community since Burmese independence in 1948 from Britain. 

In 1982 the Burmese government decided to derecognise them as citizens and treats them as illegal refugees. Since then they have been subjected to discrimination on the basis of their religion and ethnicity by Buddhist majority backed by Burmese government.

These human beings have been subjected to worse persecution by the Buddhist majority and Burmese government. So much so, that they have been described by the United Nations as “the most persecuted minorities in the world”. 

Their men, women, young and old are tortured, maimed, raped, killed, and burnt alive. Their properties destroyed, they are not only displaced but deprived of their basic human right of life. Since 1948, circa 1.5 million Rohingya have been forced to flee their homes to avoid persecution at the hands of majority Buddhists.

2012 saw the escalation of subhuman treatment of this community in the face of Rakhine state riots, where whole villages have been decimated. Hundreds of houses have been razed, thousands maimed, raped and killed; 80,000 people have been displaced and the situation is getting worse by the day.

The international community is unaware of their frightful situation due to neglect on the part of our mainstream media and governments, particularly Europe and America.  The very governments that go around propagating humanity, supporting “Arab springs” in the name of freedom from tyranny and dictatorships. They wage wars against oppression and terrorism.

Yet, they don't see the human suffering; “Buddhist terrorism” against Rohingya in Burma; the modern time “Holocaust”. The world and media are criminally silent in the face of blatant violations of human rights. 

I urge every responsible human being to lobby their MPs to force Britain, Europe, America and rest of the world to pressurise the Burmese government to stop the violence against Rohingya, because “It is not about religion, it is about humanity”. 

I will not apologise!

By: Khaled Almaeena - Editor-at-Large

The Paris attacks that killed 130 people and injured hundreds of others are still capturing headlines. They also occupy the top spot in social media the world over.

The attack came days after suicide bombers blew up about 40 people in a Beirut suburb and before that a Russian plane was blown up over Sinai killing more than 200 people. Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS) took responsibility for all of these murderous acts.

I received several phone calls from Western journalists asking for the Saudi point of view on these murderous attacks to which my reply was that all of us condemn these inhumane and ugly acts which do not serve any purpose, but on the contrary malign our society and our religion.

One caller asked if we will apologise. I almost screamed at him. Apologise for what?! Are we responsible for the actions of mysterious groups that destroy and kill? Are we responsible for all the evil acts being committed and falsely attributed to Islam?! I am not going to apologise, I said.

Let an international investigation be conducted and the findings made public. I am not a believer in conspiracy theories, but since the 9/11 attack until now many questions remain unanswered. How is it that after every major incident a passport is found intact? As if people walk the streets with their passports in their pockets and the passports are made of nonflammable material that is resistant to fires and bomb attacks.

In New York, it was a Saudi passport; in Paris it was a Syrian passport which later was found to be a fake and there were 11 passports with the same name and number!

We have had enough of preachers of hate and ignorant politicians inciting animosity against Muslims and ranting anti-Islamic rhetoric that is racist and full of hate. Enough of ignorant people going on the rampage uttering jingoistic chants forgetting the complicity of their own governments in creating Al-Qaeda and Daesh-like organisations and propping up dictatorships in the region, dismantling armies and social order and creating vacuum that led to strife.

I stand with the entire world in condemning the wanton, ruthless and mindless destruction of innocent human lives, but please do not ask me to apologise for something for which I am not responsible. Have the Jews apologised for Netanyahu’s daily massacre of Palestinians? Have the Dalai Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi apologised for the brutal holocaust inflicted on the Muslims of Myanmar? Has Indian Prime Minister Modi apologised for the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat or the lynching of people alleged to have eaten beef? Have Bush, Blair, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Wolfowitz and Bremer apologized for the death of a million Iraqis?

While the world rises up in arms against the cowardly murders of the innocent in Paris, no one protested when over a 100 Turks were blown to bits by Daesh in Ankara.

This selective grief is not palatable to me and to many around the world. These acts are carried out by people who are supposedly Muslims, but are mostly managed by shadowy groups operating under the umbrella of Western agencies. They do not represent us. I am not guilty, and therefore, I will not apologise!

Source: http://saudigazette.com.sa/saudi-arabia/i-will-not-apologize/