Around 100 Montrealers gathered in front of the Parc metro station on Sunday — holding hands and forming a human chain — in an effort to bring attention to the plight of the Rohingya people in Myanmar.
Those gathered referred to recent events in Myanmar as a genocide and with more than 500,000 Rohingya fleeing the violence and seeking shelter in neighbouring Bangladesh it is now considered the largest refugee crisis to hit Asia in decades.
READ MORE: 500,000 Rohingya Muslims have now escaped amid Myanmar’s violence
It’s not the first rally to be held in support of the Rohingya. A similar demonstration was held in Montreal just two weeks ago.
“We have had several protests across the country, but nothing has changed,” said Raees Ahmed, who came from Ottawa to join the protest.
“We are here in solidarity again, demanding our government take action,” he said. “We need actions, we don’t need words.”
READ MORE: Why the Rohingya minority Muslim group is fleeing Myanmar
Protesters said they want the international community, including Canada, to take action against the indiscriminate killings.
“Canada, with a coalition of international powers, has to intervene,” Ahmed said. “There has to be a way that we send in peacekeeping troops so as to prevent these people from being massacred. Otherwise, they’re just waiting to be massacred.”
READ MORE: Myanmar leader condemns abuse of Rohingya, silent on ethnic cleansing accusations
Iqbal Kabir echoed the sentiment and also proposed additional ways the government could intervene.
“The Canadian government can revoke honorary Canadian citizenship it has given to Aung San Suu Kyi,” he said, accusing the Burmese prime minister of being complicit in the violence.
“She is involved with the terrorists and the army generals,” he said. “You know what’s going on in Myanmar? They are killing the innocent people, raping, burning their properties and destroying them.”
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