On September 24th, 2017 USCMO met with U.S. State Department officials and formally submitted a statement on the Rohingya genocide to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who was not present at the meeting. USCMO summarized the most startling atrocities the Myanmar army and nationalist vigilantes have committed against the unarmed civilian Rohingya and expressed appreciation for US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley’s demand that Myanmar security forces respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Rohingya, calling for restoration of UN humanitarian agency access to Rakhine State, known to the Rohingya as Arakan. USCMO officials also stated the expectation that the U.S. take a much stronger stand that included real actions and sanctions against Myanmar to compel its authorities to cease and desist immediately from the violence and forcible ejection of the Rohingya. We sought State Department help in securing a humanitarian delegation’s safe visit to the Rohingya in Myanmar and to establish Muslim American relief agencies for them in the country. State Department representatives expressed their thanks in writing to the USCMO for our recommendations on resolving the Rohingya persecution, which, as stated, are “helping inform our discussions about immediate next steps as well as broader long-term U.S. strategy on Burma,” and which they characterized as “valuable input into our policy making process.” The letter also confirmed that State Department representatives had delivered the USCMO statement to Secretary Tillerson’s office immediately after the meeting.
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