KUALA LUMPUR: Chanting for an end to violence against the Rohingya community in Myanmar, some 1,000 people demonstrated in Kuala Lumpur in front of the Myanmar embassy. They called for an immediate cessation of violence in the Western Rakhine state in Myanmar. Around 20 Rohingya have been killed in violent clashes in Myanmar as a result of ethnic violence in the area, and Malaysia's Rohingya community wants to see the violence end. “It is time that this kind of violence ends,” one protester told Bikyamasr.com. “We are fed up with the violence and want to see change in how our community is treated.” The stateless community, of which estimates put the number in Malaysia to be around 25,000, has struggled to find a positive way of life as many fled violence in Myanmar in the early 1980s. The Rohingyas said the flare up of violence in Myanmar has claimed the lives of more than 1,000 people in the past three decades and they want an end to the alleged atrocities. They want a UN peacekeeping force as well as a medical team to be sent there immediately. Many fear that thousands of Rohingyas may be heading towards a crisis situation without food, shelter and medication. Many were anguished by what they described as international apathy towards the plight of the stateless Rohingyas. Political analysts described the issue of stateless Rohingyas as a political minefield where Aung San Suu Kyi is now under pressure to address. Some are hopeful about the change she can bring.
