Turkish FM urges world to be sensitive about Rohingya

By Sibel Ugurlu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu Wednesday urged the international community to show sensitivity over the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.

“Not only Islamic world but also the entire international community should be sensitive [about the mass killings in Rakhine],” Cavusoglu said while addressing a news conference on the sidelines of 6th Trilateral Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia in Azeri capital Baku.

Rakhine state has seen simmering tension between its Buddhist and Muslim populations since communal violence broke out in 2012.

According to the UN, 123,600 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh as tens of thousands more were internally displaced by the latest violence.

“Unfortunately we couldn’t see that sensitivity. There is a human tragedy there [in Rakhine] and it is unfolding in front of the eyes of the whole world," the foreign minister said.

After completing his visit to Azerbaijan, Cavusoglu said, he would visit Rakhine and provide humanitarian aid through Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and Turkish Red Crescent.

He termed the relations among Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia as “perfect”. "In fact, this tripartite meeting and the tripartite mechanism contribute a lot to the stability and economic development of the region."

He noted that the joint projects being launched by the three countries would not only benefit them but also the entire region.

The foreign minister underlined the importance of the projects, including the Southern Gas Corridor and the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP), for the region.

“I hope we will inaugurate TANAP in 2018," he said.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Project has also started test drive, Cavusoglu said, adding that the official inauguration of the project would be determined in accordance to the results of the project.

Cavusoglu recalled the Silk Road Project /One Belt-One Road, which would connect the European-Chinese trade traffic, saying Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia were the three most important central countries on this route.