Hong Kong protest against Rohingya persecution to urge help for Myanmar Muslim minority

Demonstrators to urge city’s government to speak out against violence and offer humanitarian aid

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Rohingya refugees walk on a muddy path after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:32am, 10 Sep 2017Updated: 9:32am, 10 Sep 2017

Community groups in Hong Kong were set to protest on Sunday against the persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar, urging the city’s government and lawmakers to condemn violence against the Muslim ethnic minority and provide humanitarian support.

Zaiq Ali, chairman of the Hong Kong Islamic Youth Association, one of the organisers of the protest, said about 1,000 people were expected to join the march, scheduled to start at 2pm at Tamar Park in Admiralty. Demonstrators will walk to the city’s legislature and then to the Myanmar consulate, where letters will be delivered setting out their demands.

After decades of ethnic tension, violence broke out again in Buddhist-majority Myanmar on August 25 after a Rohingya armed group attacked government forces. The military, supported by Buddhist militias, then launched a counteroffensive which destroyed villages and may have killed more than 1,000 people while forcing about 270,000 to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.

The Hong Kong demonstration follows a string of worldwide action on the issue that included protests this week in the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Photo: EPA

“More than a religious issue, this is a humanitarian matter,” Ali said.

The protest in Hong Kong would bring together several local Muslim as well as Catholic and other Christian associations under an umbrella group named the Hong Kong Working Group Against Rohingya Genocide, he said.

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