The True Color Of OIC At The Hague – OpEd

Dr. Mahathir Mohammad, in his opening speech of the Islamic countries at Kuala Lumper, hits the nail on the head “The Muslim countries are in a state of crisis, helpless and unworthy of this great religion which is meant to be good for mankind,” was in fact demonstrated earlier, at the ICJ (International Court of Justice) regarding the Rohingya Crisis.

The very fact that it compelled Gambia, a small African country, who even didn’t know of what Burma is, to sponsor the case revealed the role of petro dollars under the smokescreen of religion. But the ironical part of it was that it was able to hit the Burmese pro-democracy movement, instead of the vehemently and universally hated Burmese army (Tadmadaw). How come they cannot take a leave out of American example, which can bull eye squarely on the generals while on the other hand encouraging the people and the pro-democracy aspirations? Rai·son d’ê·tre of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) rationale “next to the UN, we are the second largest group, now that the Non-alignment movement had defunct with the Cold War, we might make our presence felt.”

If the OIC countries are sincere and endeavour to post themselves as the defender of the faith by portraying as champions of global Muslim causes, they could have easily taken the bull by the horn on China, for its mistreatment of Uighurs Muslims in northwestern Xinjiang region. Paradoxically, the IOC members have little or no time to see the soccer match of Premier League where Arsenal’s midfield maestro Mesut Özil play and said that really wakes up the world, where millions of Muslims are mistreated for their religious beliefs.

“Islamophobia is becoming institutionalized, and discrimination against Muslims is becoming enshrined in law,” says Yousef Al-Othaimeen, Secretary-General (OIC), which comprise 57 nations with a total population of 1.8 billion. “This is a scary scenario for an intolerant world that none of us would like our children to live in. We, therefore, need to play our role.” But at The Hague they are ironically playing an opposite role, bullying a small Buddhist nation without delving deep into its history or the current situation of the country, especially of how the pro-democracy groups led by the Nobel Laurate is endeavouring to reach the goal, with the muzzle of the gun pointing at her. 

It is lamentable that the OIC did not realise that Burmese military dictatorships takes pride in ruling the country, since 1962, taking one of the most prosperous nations of Southeast Asia, known as the rice bowl of Asia, to the least developed status and still believes in the dictum of Mao Hse Dung that power comes out of the barrel of the gun. So no wonder, China was label as Tatmadaw’s Step-Father by the people of Burma, which is now using its veto-power at the UNSC, not to mention its imperialist design under One Belt One Road. The atrocities of the Rohingyas especially on women and children, which Daw Aung San Suu Kyi did not deny, was business as usual for the Tatmadaw, that is why the non-Myanmar ethnic women associations of Shan, Karen, Kachin and Karenni did not support them. The world did not seem to notice that this has also been conditioned by a deep-rooted Bama/Myanmar ethnic chauvinism emerged from institutional reflexes ingrained over decades.

Sorrowfully, the world has not realize that the underlying Myanmar’s philosophy of making “one country, one religion and one people” where rape was encourage so that there will be a Myanmar lineage in the next generation. Unwittingly, the world has acquiesce in the changing of the country’s name from the Union of Burma to Myanmar, proving that dictators can change the name of the country without the consensus of the people. If only, the OIC has done a good home work and use its resources to prop up the pro-democracy movement in Burma, and concentrates on Conflict Resolutions rather than Accountability, the world would be much a happier place and forget the saying that, “All Muslims are not terrorists but all terrorists are Muslims”