(MENAFN- Arab News) This is with reference to the report 'Myanmar says Rohingyas are not under persecution' (June 5). The authorities in Myanmar are apparently trying to hoodwink the international community by issuing such statements. If one believes this statement a question that comes to one's mind is: What else is then forcing the Rohingyas to leave their ancestral lands and risking their lives aboard rickety boats? I strongly believe that the international community is still not doing enough to ensure the rights of the Rohingyas in Myanmar. Most of the world leaders are paying mere lip service. Myanmar should be threatened with biting economic sanctions and global isolation for violating international laws on human rights. The Rohingya issue is not new. We have been reading about these poor people for quite a long time. The issue has become more pronounced due to the attempts of members of this community to flee persecution in Myanmar.

The United Nations should step in to resolve this issue once and for all. The UN should dispatch special forces to the Rakhine (Arakan) province of Myanmar to protect the Rohingyas from the attacks of Buddhist nationalists and Myanmar forces.

Instead of urging neighboring countries to offer the Rohingyas refuge the world should press the Myanmar authorities to accept these people as citizens of the country with full civil rights. Rahat Ali Khan Jeddah