Case 02/2015: Myanmar

ETHICAL NOTIFICATION TO SOUTHEAST ASIAN REGION

Dear governments of Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, on May 16, 2015, the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights (BTHR) notifies that the government of Myanmar (Burma) and its president Thein Sein have been found Responsible for the charge of Genocide against the Rohingya people. Since in recent weeks there are tens of thousands of people fleeing into the sea to find another country and save their lives, they cannot be considered as “illegal immigrants” but they should be treated fully as “refugees”. Any kind of contempt for their physical, psychological and spiritual dignity constitutes a violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is also an act of complicity with Genocide of Myanmar. Since the refugees coming from the sea are being rejected, most of them dying of hunger and thirst, the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights formally requests the governments of Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia to provide urgent assistance to these innocent refugees, by giving them food, medicine and shelter, without having to wait a United Nations summit, which implies not to be accomplices of the fascist and neo-Nazi nationalism of the Government of Myanmar which is paradoxically using Buddhism as a spiritual endorsement of this terrifying persecution. In case that the governments of Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia continue to deny aid to these refugees, the Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights will proceed with the accusation of complicity with Genocide.

Although the leaders of the contemporary civilization ignore these events, the Buddhist Spirituality cannot do so because it is the main beacon of light and hope for all humankind. Our humanitarian task will not be interrupted by hopelessness neither by the incomprehensible and inhuman acts of governments which do not help our fellow beings. The only solution to this global crisis is compassion.

Cordial greetings with spirit of reconciliation (maitri),

Buddhist Master Maitreya

Spiritual Guide and President of the International Buddhist Ethics Committee (IBEC) and Buddhist Tribunal on Human Rights (BTHR)