Alwaght- Malaysian Prime Minister says foreign intervention is needed to stop the “genocide” of Muslims in Myanmar.
Joining a rally of thousands of protestors in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, Najib Razak called on the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to intervene.
Malaysia called the violence against Rohingya Muslim minority an "ethnic cleansing" on Saturday and supported the Muslim population against the state brutality.
Myanmar army initiated a brutal crackdown on Muslim population after a number of police officers were killed by unknown gunmen. The violence has resulted in displacement of thousands of Muslims after army officers burned down their houses.
The attendance of the Malaysian Prime Minister in the protest rally came despite warnings from Myanmar that Malaysia risked violating the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) principle of non-interference in other members' internal affairs.
In response, Najib said ASEAN, which agreed to declare itself a single community last year, had also pledged in its charter to uphold basic human rights.
He also accused Myanmar leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi of inaction, saying that she had declared the Rohingya issue off-limits during bilateral discussions.
"How can this be? We should be allowed to discuss everything," he said.
The gathering, organized by Najib's ruling United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, attracted around 10,000 people, mostly Rohingya.
Malaysia summoned Myanmar's ambassador last week to express concern over the crackdown on Rohingya. It also canceled the national soccer team's friendly under-22 matches with Myanmar in protest.
The violence in Myanmar is the most serious bloodshed in Rakhine since communal clashes in 2012 that killed hundreds.
Persecution and poverty led thousands of Rohingya to flee Myanmar following the violence between Buddhists and Muslims there four years ago. Many of them were smuggled or trafficked to neighboring countries, mostly to Thailand and Malaysia.
