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Islamic cooperation organization to meet over Rohingya crisis
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Fifteen representatives of the United Nations Security Council visit the reception camps built by Myanmar government for Rohingya people. (Eleven Media Group/ ANN/File photo)
T
he Rohingya refugee crisis is to be the main focus of an upcoming conference of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states in Bangladesh over the weekend, an Indonesian Foreign Ministry spokesman announced on Thursday.
Top diplomats from Islamic and Muslim-majority countries are to convene for the 45th OIC ministers’ conference from Friday to Sunday in Bangladesh, where more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have sought refuge from violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August.
Indonesia is to field Deputy Foreign Minister AM Fachir at the conference, spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir told a press briefing in Jakarta.
“There will be a meeting that highlights the humanitarian challenges faced by OIC member states, including the impact of the Rohingya [exodus],” he said.
Jakarta has distanced itself from characterizing the issue as a Rohingya crisis so as not to anger Myanmar, opting instead to call it a “humanitarian crisis” affecting all people in Rakhine.
On the margins of the event, Arrmanatha said participants are expected to visit the refugee camps located in Cox’s Bazar, where hundreds of thousands from the minority group have temporarily settled.
