OIC to discuss the plight of Rohingyas today

Muslim leaders participating a summit of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Astana of Kazakhstan will hold a special session to discuss the conditions of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar today.

The session is expected to take a unified Islamic position with regard to the persecution and gross human rights violations being perpetrated against these hapless people amid a surge in influx of displaced Rohingyas to the neighboring Bangladesh, Saudi Gazette from Jeddah reports quoting OIC sources.

The latest figures showed that nearly 300,000 Rohingyas have fled the restive Myanmar state of Rakhine over the past two weeks.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his capacity as the current chairman of the 13th OIC Summit Conference, will preside over the session. OIC Secretary-General Dr. Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen, Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid and some heads of delegation will address the session, which will discuss recent developments that have targeted the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.

The OIC is closely following the cycle of violence and the inhuman treatment of the members of Rohingya community by the Myanmar authorities. The OIC chief made several contacts with officials at the international community to inform them about the blatant injustice to which the Rohingyas are being subjected to.

A ministerial meeting, preparatory to the OIC Summit on Science and Technology, started in Astana, Kazakhstan on Saturday. Ministers of science and technology from the member states discussed and adopted the "OIC Science, Technology and Innovation Agenda 2026" as a prelude to its consideration and adoption by OIC leaders during the First OIC Summit on Science and Technology.