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Malaysian NGOs Plan to Send Aid Flotilla for Myanmar Rohingyas

Malaysian NGOs Plan to Send Aid Flotilla for Myanmar Rohingyas
folder_openAsia-Pacific... access_time7 years ago
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Local Editor

An aid flotilla carrying food and emergency supplies for Rohingya Muslims will sail from Malaysia for Myanmar's troubled Rakhine State next month, the Malaysian organizer said Friday.

Malaysian NGOs Plan to Send Aid Flotilla for Myanmar Rohingyas

The flotilla, organized by a coalition of aid groups, has yet to receive permission to enter Myanmar, sparking fears of a confrontation with security forces that could worsen Myanmar's already-frayed ties with predominantly Muslim Malaysia.

Malaysia has been an outspoken critic of the Myanmar government's handling of a violent crackdown in Rakhine, which has killed scores of people and displaced 30,000 Rohingya, amid allegations of abuses by security forces.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organizations secretary-general Zulhanis Zainol said the flotilla's organizers had applied for permission to enter Myanmar through its embassy in Kuala Lumpur, but had yet to receive a reply.

"Even if we do not receive a response, we will continue to sail as we believe this is an important humanitarian mission," he said.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's presidential office denied it had received a request and said it would not accept the flotilla's arrival without prior permission.

"If they are looking for trouble, we will not accept that," Zaw Htay, spokesman for the presidential office, told Reuters.

"No non-Myanmar citizens can enter our body of water without our permission. If they do, we will respond - we will not attack them, but we will not receive them."

The flotilla, departing from Malaysia on Jan. 10, would be carrying 1,000 tons of rice, medical aid and other essentials for the Rohingya population.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

 

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