Turkish Deputy PM meets Rohingya group's head

By Esin Isik

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey expects the international community to find comprehensive solutions to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, its deputy prime minister said Friday.

Hakan Cavusoglu said: “We expect the violence against Rohingya Muslims to stop and urge the international community to find a comprehensive solution to the situation.”

He made the remarks during a meeting with Dr. Hla Kyaw, head of the European Rohingya Council, in capital Ankara.

Cavusoglu said that Turkey was closely following the violence which broke out in Myanmar's western Rakhine state this August.

“We unfortunately see an enormous humanitarian crisis [in Rakhine] caused not only by the security forces, but also clashes between Buddhist and Muslim communities.”

Cavosuglu said that Turkey had sent aid to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and an official visit by Turkey’s First Lady Emine Erdogan, to one such camp, had created awareness about their plight internationally.

He asked Myanmar’s defacto leader Aung San Suu Kyi to speak up against the atrocities and not fear the country’s powerful military.

“We know Myanmar’s armed forces are creating this crisis to place Suu Kyi in a difficult position. But as an experienced politician she should break her silence,” he said.

Kyaw thanked the Turkish leadership and its people for supporting Rohingya Muslims.

“We thought we had no friends, that no one will help us. But now Rohingya Muslims are waiting for Turkey to save them,” he said.

Since Aug. 25, around 400,000 Rohingya have crossed from Rakhine into Bangladesh, according to the UN.

The refugees are fleeing a fresh security operation in which security forces and Buddhist mobs have killed men, women and children, looted homes and torched Rohingya villages. According to Bangladesh, around 3,000 Rohingya have been killed in the crackdown.

Turkey has been at the forefront of providing aid to Rohingya refugees and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will raise the issue at the UN.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

Last October, following attacks on border posts in Rakhine's Maungdaw district, security forces launched a five-month crackdown in which, according to Rohingya groups, around 400 people were killed.

The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel. In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.