Buddha would have helped the Rohingya Muslims, says the Dalai Lama
The spiritual leader said he was saddened by the violence the community faces from Myanmar’s Army and the Buddhist majority in Rakhine state.
The Dalai Lama on Sunday expressed concern over the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. “Those people...harassing some Muslims...should remember, Buddha definitely would have helped those poor Muslims,” the spiritual leader said. “I feel...so very sad.”
Since August 25, when fresh clashes broke out between security forces in Myanmar and Rohingya insurgents in Rakhine, nearly three lakh people from the stateless community have fled to Bangladesh. Some 30,000 non-Muslim civilians have been displaced since the military launched a counter-offensive after attacks by insurgents of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army at 30 police posts and an Army base on August 25.
On Sunday, the Rohingya insurgents declared a month-long ceasefire to allow relief groups to distribute aid in the restive Rakhine state. In its statement, the Arsa urged Myanmar’s military to lower their offensive and allow humanitarian groups to provide assistance to the affected population.
The Rohingya crisis
Rohingyas have been denied citizenship in Myanmar and are classified as illegal immigrants, despite them claiming roots in the country that go back centuries. The community has been subjected to violence by the Buddhist majority and the Army in Myanmar. The country’s de-facto leader and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticised for not standing up for the more than 1 million stateless Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine.