Dr. Wakar Uddin, Dr. David Steinberg, and Dr. T. Kumar on the VOA English Program, “THE ENCOUNTER”

RB News 

September 4, 2013 

Washington, D.C -  Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin, DG of ARU and Founder of BRANA, Distinguished Prof. Dr. David Steinberg of Georgetown University, and Dr. T. Kumar, Advocacy Director of Amnesty International, provided their perspectives on Rohingya political and human right issues in Burma/Myanmar on VOA English program, “The Encounter”. The following is the link to the VOA broadcast:

Some of the highlights of the interviews were: -The identity and ethnicity of Rohingya in Myanmar

• The reason for persecution and violence against Rohingya in Arakan
• The rapidly emerging ideology of religious and ethnic purity violently advocated by extremist Buddhist elements in Myanmar in contrast to long history of traditionally multicultural society of Myanmar with great diversity
• Complexity of ethnicity resulting from British colonial rule of Myanmar
• “Rohingya people”, one of the most persecuted minorities in the world -Spilling of violence against Rohingya by radical Buddhist to Muslim areas in Central Burma 
• Noble laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s relative silence on the violence against Rohingya and Myanmar Muslims 
• Two-child policy for Rohingya only in Myanmar
•  Role of international community an essential component in resolving the Rohingya political and human right issues