Turkey concerned over plight of Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar

Turkey condemned Tuesday the disproportionate use of force by security forces against Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar.

"Attacks at Rohingya Muslims are not acceptable," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters.

He said there is systematic oppression on Rohingya Muslims and called on the international community to take action.

Cavusoglu also urged the government of Bangladesh to ease passage on the border and pledged support if needed.

The Rohingya, one of the world's largest stateless communities, are fleeing in droves toward Bangladesh, trying to escape the latest surge in violence in Rakhine state between a shadowy militant group and Myanmar's military.

The UN refugee agency said on Monday that more than 3,000 Rohingya Muslims had reached Bangladesh in the past three days, as people told of how they fled for their lives from Myanmar's army.

Also on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed the world for being "blind and deaf" to the unrest in Myanmar's western Rakhine state in a television interview.

Turkey, along with the U.S. administration and the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, has raised the issue to the UN Under-Secretary for Political Affairs, the President of the UN General Assembly and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)