Burma Task Force Appreciates Prime Minister’s Letter to Suu Kyi, but Calls for more Concrete and Urgent Action to End Genocide
For Immediate Release - September 20, 2017
Burma Task Force Canada applauds the letter of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, expressing his powerful condemnation of the atrocities being committed against the Rohingya people. However, as he said in his letter, there is “a moral and political obligation..to do whatever is in your power to stop it,” this obligation applies to all of us Canadians as well.
The Myanmar authorities are carrying out a genocidal plan aimed at eliminating the Rohingya from their ancestral land. Asking the same government and military to suddenly change their approach will not result in change. Considering that Canada has honored Suu Kyi with citizenship, there are many things Canada can and should do, recognizing that this ethnic cleansing may wipe out an entire people.
While Aung San Suu Kyi has made it clear she will not be attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting on September 21st, we urge the Canadian government, and our Prime Minister to take the UNGA as an opportunity to:
“We are confident that our government will explicitly acknowledge the Canadian responsibilities to respond to the current crisis, and to demand action from our international allies.” Ahmed Ramadan, Outreach Coordinator for the Burma Task Force, said.
Burma Task Force Canada applauds the letter of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, expressing his powerful condemnation of the atrocities being committed against the Rohingya people. However, as he said in his letter, there is “a moral and political obligation..to do whatever is in your power to stop it,” this obligation applies to all of us Canadians as well.
The Myanmar authorities are carrying out a genocidal plan aimed at eliminating the Rohingya from their ancestral land. Asking the same government and military to suddenly change their approach will not result in change. Considering that Canada has honored Suu Kyi with citizenship, there are many things Canada can and should do, recognizing that this ethnic cleansing may wipe out an entire people.
While Aung San Suu Kyi has made it clear she will not be attending the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting on September 21st, we urge the Canadian government, and our Prime Minister to take the UNGA as an opportunity to:
- Demand UN Peacekeeping troops be sent immediately to Burma to stop the violence and murders of children, women, and all Rohingya
- Create a safe zone where the Rohingya can be protected until Burma is forced to course correct and welcome their people home with rights and citizenship
- Demand targeted, military economic sanctions against Burma, with clarity that ensures civilians are protected. Human Rights Watch is demanding an arms embargo and the United Nations Security Council agrees
“We are confident that our government will explicitly acknowledge the Canadian responsibilities to respond to the current crisis, and to demand action from our international allies.” Ahmed Ramadan, Outreach Coordinator for the Burma Task Force, said.