OIC chief hopes new Myanmar government would review discriminatory laws

Istanbul (IINA) – Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad Ameen Madani expressed hope that the new Myanmar government will re-evaluate the country's discriminatory law towards the Rohingya population, including the recently passed four bills on the "Protection of Race and Religion", BERNAMA reported.
He made the remarks on Tuesday at the meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Rohingya Muslims, on the sidelines of the 13th Islamic Summit Conference in Istanbul, Turkey.
Madani said that among the bills that unfairly target the minority Rohingya Muslims were the Religious Conversion Bill, the Interfaith Marriage Bill, the Monogamy Bill and the Population Control Bill.
"These bills place restrictions on religious conversion as well as interfaith marriage and allows the local government to impose birthrate limits, specifically on the Rohingya," the OIC chief was quoted as saying in a statement. Present in the ministerial level meeting, chaired by Madani, were OIC Special Envoy for Myanmar Syed Hamid Albar and Director General of Arakan Rohingya UnionDr Wakar Uddin.
The OIC chief also hoped that the new government led by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party would encourage community reconciliation as well as interfaith and inter-communal dialogue. "As this time consuming process unfolds, over 140,000 Rohingya still remain in difficult condition in camps in Rakhine State," he said.
As such, greater efforts must be made to mobilize humanitarian relief and finding proper routes to ensure that the required aid is channeled to the people in need. Following the review of the report presented by Syed Hamid, the meeting reaffirmed support for the OIC Contact Group on Rohingya Muslims and urged diplomatic missions of the Contact Group members in Myanmar to support the special envoy to ensure a successful mission.
AB/IINA

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