Suu Kyi, are you listening?
It is really unfortunate that the Myanmar government considers the Rohingyas to be foreigners, while many of their citizens consider them illegal Bangalee immigrants. This notion is responsible for sparking deadly sectarian violence in western Rakhine state centering an incident of rape and murder of a woman.
About 8 lakh Rohingyas including many Muslims live in 3 districts of this predominantly Buddhist state Rakhine which is bordering Bangladesh.
We have learnt from news reports that at least 35 people have been killed and a further 41 people have been wounded in five days of unrest though rights organisations fear the number could be much higher and warn that the violence is running out of control. They call for international observers to be deployed in Rakhine state.
But the United Nations and many humanitarian groups suspended their activities there and evacuated their workers from Rakhine state for security concerns.
We hope Nobel Peace Prize laureate and popular leader of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein would visit the affected areas soon to bring peace to this region.
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