Burma Task Force USA, (BTF) a national alliance of Muslim organizations of the US that includes Rohingya groups welcomes Aung San Suu Kyi to the US.
BTF is planning to hold solidarity rallies in 100 American cities and towns on the occasion of Ms. Suu Kyi’s visit.
“We respect Aung San Suu Kyi tremendously for her struggle and sacrifices for democracy in Burma. We are disappointed that she has not condemned the recent wave of ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. In 2005, in response to my query on BBC, she has admitted that Rohingya have lived in Burma for centuries. She should live up to the high moral esteem that the world holds her, and condemn the waves of ethnic cleansings of the last many decades, that were conducted as part of a planned genocide of Rohinggya. We will be rallying in the 7 cities Ms. Suu Kyi will be visiting to show our solidarity with her struggle and to urge her to speak up for her Rohingya fellow citizens.,” said Dr. Shaik Ubaid a founding member of BTF.
BTF has also announced that it will be protesting the visit to the US by the Burmese President Thein Sein
“The military junta has brainwashed generations of Burmese to hold the darker skinned Rohingya in contempt. It is the only genocide in the world where the twin evils of racism and religious bigotry are at work. We urge the State department not to lift the import sanctions on Burma till it restores the citizenship rights of Rohingya, rehabilitate the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees, bring the perpetrators to justice and institute anti-racism curriculum in Burmese schools,” said Raafay Mohammad, a board member of BTF.
The schedule of rallies is given below:
Sep. 20, 2012
9:15 am to 10:45 am at Bender Arena, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC
11:30 am at The Newseum, Washington, DC
3:00 pm to 5 pm at Capitol Hill, Room No HC-5
Sep. 21, 2012
6:PM New York City, Atlantic Council Gala Dinner
Sep. 22, 2012
10:30 am to Noon at Queens College, 65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Flushing, NY
Sep. 24, 2012
9:00 am to 10 am at Mitch McConnell Center, Ekstrom Library, 2215 S. 3rd St., University of Louisville, KY
Sep. 25, 2012
9:00 am to 10:45 am at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, 400 Parnell Ave., Fort Wayne, IN
Sep. 29, 2012
9:30 am to 11:00 am at The War Memorial Gym at the University of San Francisco
Oct. 2, 2012
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm at the Los Angeles Convention Center, South Wing, Hall G, 1201 S. Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA