Protests erupt in Valley against Rohingya killings

Srinagar: Protests were held by enraged crowds, mainly students, at various parts of the Kashmir Valley, including southern Kulgam and Pulwama districts, on Tuesday amid growing anger over the alleged persecution of Rohingya Muslims in the Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

Students of various schools and colleges in southern parts of the Valley boycotted their classes and took to the streets on Tuesday when the educational institutions reope-ned in the predominantly Muslim Kashmir Valley after three days of break on Id-ul-Azha festival.

The students in Kulgam marched along the town’s streets chanting slogans against the Myanmar government. In Pulwama, the students of the Government Degree College boycotted their classes and held protests against the alleged cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. Later, the protesters clashed with the police when it came in their way. They also hurled stones at a police station, witnesses said. Street protests over the issue were also reported from Tral, another town in Pulwama.

Many people have taken to the social networking sites to condemn the “massacre” of Rohingya Muslims and have urged the Muslim countries to work out a joint strategy and pool their resources to help the victims. Reports say that tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state since 25 August.

Meanwhile, a meeting of various religious organisations held in Srinagar on Tuesday called for observing Friday (September 8) as “solidarity day” with the Rohingya Muslims.

Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju said that the Central government had directed state authorities to identify and deport illegal immigrants including Rohingya. The UNHCR has issued identity cards to about 16,500 Rohingya in India that it says help them “prevent harassment, arbitrary arrests, detention and deportation”.