Turkish FM continues diplomatic efforts for Rohingya Muslims

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has continued diplomatic efforts for the immediate international action regarding the suffering of the Rohingya Muslims, an ethnic minority community in Myanmar. He has had phone conversations with the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and Qatar.

On Aug. 29, Çavuşoğlu emphasized regional countries had a significant role in resolving the problem and stated Indonesia and Malaysia had provided support to Rakhine Muslims.

Deadly attacks on border posts broke out on Aug. 25 killing one soldier, 10 police officers, an immigration official and 77 militants, Myanmar State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said in a statement.    

Media reports emerged later that said security forces used disproportionate force and displaced thousands of Rohingya Muslim villagers, destroying homes with mortars and machine guns.

The region has seen simmering tensions between its Buddhist and Muslim populations since communal violence broke out in 2012.

A report by the United Nations found human rights violations, including crimes against humanity against Rohingya by security forces. The U.N. considers Rohingya the most persecuted minority in the world.

The global body documented mass gang rapes, killings—including of infants and children—brutal beatings and disappearances. Rohingya representatives have said approximately 400 people were slain during a security crackdown last October.