A lawmaker stressed the need for practical ways to force the government of Myanmar to stop oppressing the Muslim minorities, proposing that the Middle East nations halt energy exports to Myanmar as a punishment. In an interview with Tasnim News Agency on Monday, Abolfazl Hassanbeigi also called for concerted action by the Muslim world in response to the ongoing violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. The bulk of Myanmar’s needs for fuel and energy is being supplied by Middle East nations, he said, stressing that the threat of cutting energy exports to Myanmar could be an “effective measure” for compelling it to stop its atrocities against Muslims. Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar have long faced severe discrimination and military crackdown. In recent weeks, the intensifying clashes between security forces and insurgents in western Myanmar have sent about 300,000 terrified civilians scrambling toward the Bangladesh border in a desperate search for refuge.
