Burma Task Force Commends US Ambassador Haley

Burma Task Force Commends US Ambassador Haley for Opposing
Weapons Sales to Myanmar During Genocide: Allies Should Heed Call

September 29: Yesterday, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called on countries to suspend providing weapons to Myanmar until the military puts sufficient accountability measures in place to stop atrocities against the Rohingya minority.This followed another round of UN Security Council briefings at which Secretary General Guterres called the situation a humanitarian “nightmare.” Over 500,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar in the last 35 days and hundreds of thousands of others remain at great risk of starvation and mass killing.

“Burma Task Force commends Ambassador Haley for her clarity and focus on effective action,” stated Chairman Malik Mujahid. “We note that a number of US allies do indeed sell advanced weaponry to the Burmese military and some have so far refused demands from their own citizens to stop such sales while genocide is taking place.”

Recently a group of rabbis have demanded that the government of Israel cease such sales, but so far, the Netanyahu government has refused. Other governments that have been selling arms and planes to the Myanmar military include Russia, China, Ukraine, Pakistan and India.

Haley has also denounced “ethnic cleansing” in Myanmar, though others in the US State Department remain committed to the Obama policies of close cooperation with the Myanmar regime in order to promote democratization. “We request that the US government move towards re-instituting some sanctions as soon as possible, since there is currently no economic leverage,” added Chairman Mujahid. “Democracy in Myanmar is unsustainable when minorities are under threat of extinction. Our leadership must call this not only ethnic cleansing but also Genocide: and US response to such an extreme crisis should be proportional and strong.”

The UN Security Council has yet to vote on any action to stop the mass atrocities or to ensure the half a million Rohingya are able to return safely to their homeland, or to have their citizenship restored. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan led the Rakhine Commission that drew up a roadmap for peace and coexistence; however, the Myanmar military leadership have used a pretext of an attack on border posts to derail the peace process entirely. Attacks on Myanmar villages began mere hours after the unveiling of the Commission document on August 25.

Based in downtown Chicago, Burma Task Force is a coalition of 19 American and Canadian Muslim organizations dedicated to ending the suffering of Myanmar’s Rohingya. For more information on Burma Task Force please visit: www.burmataskforce.org

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