Iranian MPs Urge Rapid End to Massacre of Myanmar Muslims
(FNA)- Members of the Iranian parliament on Sunday strongly condemned the massacre of the Muslim minority in Myanmar, and called for a rapid end to the ongoing ethnic cleansing in the Southeast Asian country.
In a statement signed by 232 lawmakers today, the Iranian MPs condemned the massacre of Muslims in Myanmar as well as the West-backed terrorist activities in Syria.
"Inhuman moves and horrible crimes in Myanmar which have led to the killing of innocent Muslim people have unveiled the imperialist and the interest-centered nature of those who falsely claim to be advocates of human rights," the statement said.
The Iranian lawmakers also lashed out at the arrogant powers' silence and their discriminatory attitude towards the massacre in Myanmar and the terrorist acts in Syria.
The statement came a day after Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei strongly condemned the massacre of Muslims in Myanmar, and lashed out at the US and the western states for ignoring ethnic cleansing of the Muslim minority.
"The obvious manifestation of the false assertions of the West on ethics and human rights is its silence over killing of thousands of people in Myanmar," Ayatollah Khamenei said on Saturday.
The government of Myanmar refuses to recognize Rohingyas, who it claims are not natives and classifies as illegal migrants, although the Rohingya are said to be Muslim descendants of Persian, Turkish, Bengali, and Pathan origin, who migrated to Burma as early as the 8th century.
Even Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has kept quiet on the atrocities committed against the Rohingya Muslims.
Myanmar's President Thein Sein said Rohingya Muslims must be expelled from the country and sent to refugee camps run by the United Nations.
The UN says decades of discrimination have left the Rohingyas stateless, with Myanmar implementing restrictions on their movement and withholding land rights, education and public services.
Since June, hundreds of members of the nearly-one-million-strong Rohingya Muslim minority have been killed and tens of thousands of others among them have been displaced in the west of the country due to a wave of communal violence.
Over the past two years, waves of ethnic Muslims have attempted to flee by boats in the face of systematic oppression by the Myanmar government.