WASHINGTON
A U.S. congressional panel has urged the government of Myanmar to end the persecution of Rohingya Muslims within the country.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution calling on the Myanmar government “to end the persecution of the Rohingya people and respect internationally recognized human rights for all ethnic and religious minority groups within Burma (the former name of Myanmar)”.
The resolution also called on the United States government and the international community to put consistent pressure on the government of Myanmar to take all necessary measures to take action.
Republican committee chairman Ed Royce said there was increasing violence against Rohingya Muslims.
“The government of Burma cannot claim progress toward meeting its reform goals if it does not improve the treatment of Rohingya Muslims and other minority groups,” Royce said.
The resolution, which did not contain any specific US measures, will now go to the full House of Representatives where approval is uncertain.
The Rohingya of Myanmar are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world according to the United Nations.
They have suffered pogroms at the hands of extremist Rakhine Buddhists and now as many as 100,000 are left to languish in camps that have turned into ghettoes.
Every part of their existence is restricted and controlled by the Myanmar regime. Their citizenship was removed in 1982, making them stateless.
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