OIC urges easing restrictions on Myanmar Muslims

The Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called on Myanmar’s government to pursue legal reforms and ease restrictions on the “fundamental freedoms” of the Rohingya Muslim community.

In a statement issued Sunday, the OIC urged Myanmar to continue to reform its constitution, which has fallen short of meeting the aspirations of ethnic nationalities in the country.

The statement came after an OIC delegation led by Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu spent four days in the western state of Rakhine, assessing the situation of the Rohingya Muslims.

Myanmar’s President Thein Sein said, “The delegation called upon the government to continue legal reforms, including repealing laws restricting fundamental freedoms.”

However, the OIC statement has fallen short of criticizing Myanmar for its discriminatory policy toward the Rohingya community.

The OIC delegation also saw daily protests by Buddhists who accused the organization of interfering in the internal affairs of Myanmar.

About 800,000 Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine are deprived of citizenship rights due to a policy of discrimination that has made them vulnerable to acts of violence and persecution, expulsion, and displacement.

The Myanmar government has so far refused to extricate the stateless Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine from their citizenship limbo, despite international pressure to give them a legal status.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have issued separate statements, calling on Myanmar’s government to take action to protect the Rohingya population against extremists.

Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims have faced torture, neglect, and repression for many years. Hundreds of them are believed to have been killed and thousands displaced in attacks by extremists who call themselves Buddhists.