Author: Pardeep Attri, an ambedkarite blogger, a Punjabi volunteer of Jaibhim Network in Hungary.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2017/oct/14/documenting-the-rohingya-refugee-crisis-in-pictures

Buddha was the first great reformer in the ancient society and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar believed that Buddhism could be called as a revolution. A religious revolution that turned into social as well as a political revolution when Mauryan king Ashoka embraced Buddhism.

Dr Ambedkar also came to conclusion after going through the ancient religious books that pre-Buddhist Aryan community did not have developed any moral sense or social values. It was Buddha who started the moral and social revolution in the society.

Rohingya a minority community in Myanmar (Buddhist nation) is treated worse than animals and doesn’t have any rights and not considered as the citizen of Myanmar despite living there for hundreds of years. Their freedom of movement is restricted and have almost zero access to jobs and medical facilities. Their condition is worse than the condition of black South Africans under apartheid but still, Rohingya’s struggle doesn’t make into world news. Hundreds and thousands Rohingya have been displaced from their homes since the last couple of decades.

The latest Rohingya exodus began on 25 August after Rohingya Arsa militants attacked more than 30 police posts with sticks and machetes. Does this give any right to so-called Buddhist mobs and Myanmar military to kill thousands and force hundreds of thousands to leave their homes and rape thousands of innocent girls?

Since August 2017 more than half a million Rohingya have been displaced from homes and are forced to leave Myanmar. Myanmar military along with Buddhist mob has killed thousands of Rohingya, raped and abused Rohingya women and girls. Latest UNICEF report said that more than 300,000 Rohingya refugee children are outcast and desperately need help.

My heart breaks reading all these reports.

Myanmar’s treatment of its Muslim Rohingya minority appears to be a “textbook example” of ethnic cleansing said United Nations a few days ago. While the United Nations Security Council has the power to impose economic sanctions on Myanmar, that prospect is considered unlikely. Why? Is it because those being killed are Muslims?

What makes me sad is to see the response from the Buddhist community from all over the world. I searched and searched for the response from various Buddhist organisations on the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar but I failed to find many responses. [Please read update at the end.]

Why are all these Buddhist organisations silent on the Rohingya genocide? I will not question any other religion on the issue because Buddhism is one of the religions that attracts me so I would love to know why Buddhist community is silent.

What happened to moral teachings of Buddha and why they are failing to speak against the brutality against Rohingya community at the hands of fanatic Buddhists of Myanmar?

Not many Buddhist organisations have condemned the attacks on Muslim Rohingya community but the world expects that even a single attack by Muslim on any other community be condemned by the whole Muslim world, what a hypocrisy. Why and how it has been made a norm that Buddhists can kill innocent people and still they will not be questioned? Morality is the foundation of Buddhism and failing to speak against fanatic attacks by so-called Buddhists on innocent these Buddhist organisations are not doing any good to Buddhism.

I don’t want to a Buddhist who doesn’t speak against the brutality of fellow so-called Buddhists against others. Buddhism that at one time started the moral revolution has been let down by the present day Buddhist community. Maybe it is a tragic end to my fascination with Buddhist community around the world.

More than any other community, I believe it is moral responsibility of Buddhist community around the world to come forward and protest/speak against the crimes committed by the fanatic Buddhists of Myanmar.

I understand Aung San Suu Kyi doesn’t have much power despite being the head of the country and many of the major posts are held by military people, who are directly involved in Rohingya genocide but does that mean she can’t speak against the atrocities? There can be no justification of atrocities on Rohingya Muslims by so-called Buddhists of Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded Nobel Peace Prize for killing Rohingya Muslims or what? Why shouldn’t she be stripped of the Nobel Prize?

Life as Rohingya refugee is not easy either. Rohingya refugees have been attacked in Sri Lanka by the mob led by Buddhist monk a few weeks ago! What’s wrong with these so-called Buddhists or Buddha’s teachings have been misinterpreted by these fanatic so-called Buddhists? India’s response to Rohingya’s crisis is equally disgraceful with attempts to send those refugees back. No questions that Buddhists of Myanmar are a disgrace to the legacy of Buddha. India takes pride that Buddha was born in India but would Buddha have sent Rohingya Muslims back once they came to him as a refugee?

A UN spokeswoman in 2009 described the Rohingya as “probably the most friendless people in the world”. If Buddhists will not show compassion and love towards others then who will? Show the world what real Buddhism is. What is Buddhists’ moral responsibility at the time of Rohingya genocide led by fellow so-called Buddhists?

What would Buddha, the man who taught morality to the world, have done at the time of Rohingya genocide, I wonder.

Update – Buddhist friends from Hungary sent the following information after the article was published.

Statement from the European Buddhist Union on the situation of the Rohingya in Myanmar

From the annual meeting of the European Buddhist Union, Poland, 24th September 2017:

We are concerned about the situation in Myanmar regarding the lack of respect for human rights and the use of violence with the loss of lives. It is reported that in the towns and villages of Rakhine state, people have endured murder, beatings, starvation, disease, rape, and now exile, with their homes being systematically torched behind them.

The European Buddhist Union reaffirms the fundamental principles of Buddhism, as already declared by many of the world’s foremost Buddhist leaders in their statement addressed to Buddhists in Myanmar in December 2012:

“We wish to reaffirm to the world and to support you in practicing the most fundamental Buddhist principles of non-harming, mutual respect and compassion.

These fundamental principles taught by the Buddha are at the core of Buddhist practice:

- Buddhist teaching is based on the precepts of refraining from killing and causing harm.
- Buddhist teaching is based on compassion and mutual care.
- Buddhist teaching offers respect to all, regardless of class, caste, race or creed.”

As European Buddhists we stand up for these values and we reaffirm our solidarity with all the victims of violence, harm and persecution.

We express our aspiration for the restoration of peace, non-violence and respect for human rights as well as the creation of the conditions for all ethnic groups in Myanmar to live in peaceful coexistence and equality.

More information: www.europeanbuddhism.org

Source: http://velivada.com/2017/10/21/buddhists-moral-responsibility-time-rohingya-genocide/

Source: http://index.hu/kulfold/2017/10/20/mianmar_rohingja_gyerekek_gyerekrajzok/

Statement: Myanmar’s Buddhist Leaders Must Take a Stand Against Ethnic Cleansing

In a public address on September 19, Aung San Suu Kyi addressed the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, saying she is “deeply concerned” about those caught in the conflict, but Myanmar’s government needs time to investigate “what the real problems are” in Rakhine state.
With hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing their homes in Myanmar, more than 200 Buddhist teachers and community leaders have signed a letter calling on Myanmar’s Buddhist leaders take action to end the crisis.

To: Chairman Bamaw Sayadaw Dr. Ashwin Kumara Bhivamsa
State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (Ma Ha Na)
Thiri Mingalar Kabar Aye Hill,
Yangon, Myanmar
15 September 2017

Dear Chairman, venerable monks, elders, and respected leaders,

We write to you with metta as Buddhist teachers and practitioners representing millions of Buddhists in our communities in the West and across the world — monastics, ordainerod, and lay people from Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions.

We view the systematic violence and abuse directed against hundreds of thousands of our Muslim sisters and brothers in Myanmar’s Rakhine state with the deepest concern. Reports by reputable human rights and news organizations document that more than 350,000 Rohingya people have been driven over borders and into the seas at the height of the monsoon season, seeking refuge in Bangladesh, India, and elsewhere.

We are greatly disturbed by what many in the world see as slander and distortion of the Buddha’s teachings. In the Dhamma there is no justification for hatred and violence.

Reliable sources report that in the towns and villages of Rakhine state, they have endured murder, beatings, starvation, disease, rape, and now exile, with their homes being systematically torched behind them. Unlike past repressions of Rohingyas, now the world is watching in shame and compassion. That shame belongs to the nation of Myanmar, to nationalist monks fomenting violence and hate speech, to the Myanmar military and its brutal policies of ethnic cleansing, and to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whose silence and equivocation betray the hopes she earlier offered for a unified Myanmar in which all communities might live together in harmony.

We are greatly disturbed by what many in the world see as slander and distortion of the Buddha’s teachings. In the Dhamma there is no justification for hatred and violence. Mean-spirited words and direct provocation led by Ma Ba Tha monks (the Buddha Dhamma Parahita Foundation, formerly known as the Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion) stand in stark contradiction to monastic precepts and Buddha’s teachings on universal morality, peace, and tolerance.

- Therefore, we call on the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee to uphold Buddhism by further enforcing its recent rulings against Ma Ba Tha, taking a strong stand against hate speech and ethnic cleansing.

- We call on the government and military of Myanmar, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, to apply their full resources in support of peace and for the protection of vulnerable communities of all religions and ethnicities.

- We call on member nations of the U.N. and the U.S. State Department to use all peaceful means at their disposal to promote a peaceful resolution of ethnic tensions in the country; to see that the survival and safety of the Rohingyas is ensured; and to ensure that steps are taken to provide them with full rights as citizens of Myanmar.

- We call on Buddhist friends around the world to make our concerns known to all parties in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, and to give generously to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other international humanitarian organizations providing aid to Rohingya communities. As Buddhists, we are channeling funds through the UNHCR. Our dana can say to Rohingya peoples and to the world that the rain of Buddha’s compassion falls on all beings equally.

Sincerely, in hope of peace and love of Dhamma,

Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, Buddhist Global Relief
Jack Kornfield, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA
Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, Tergar Meditation Community
Pema Chödrön, Gampo Abbey, Nova Scotia, Canada
Joseph Goldstein, Insight Meditation Society, MA
Dhammachari Lokamitra, Triratna Bauddha Mahasangha, India
Phra Paisal Visalo, Abbot, Wat Pasukato, Chaiyaphum, Thailand
Rev. Hozan Alan Senauke, Clear View Project
Rev. Ronald Kobata, Buddhist Church of San Francisco, Jodo Shinshu Hongwanji-ha
Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Guiding Teacher, new Dharma Community
David R. Loy, Rocky Mountain Ecodharma Retreat Center
Ajahn Sucitto, Cittaviveka Monastery, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Santikaro Upasaka, Liberation Park, Norwalk, WI
Jill Jameson, Advisory Committee, International Network of Engaged Buddhists
Mushim Patricia Ikeda, Core teacher, East Bay Meditation Center, CA
Katie Loncke, Co-Director, Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Dawn Haney, Co-Director, Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Rev. Acharya Fleet Maull, Prison Dharma Network
Pascal Auclair, True North Insight Meditation Centre, Canada
Revs. Chozen Bays & Hogen Bays, Abbots, Great Vow Zen Monastery, Clatskanie, OR
Rev. Enkyo Pat O’Hara, Village Zendo, New York, NY
Rev. Linda Ruth Cutts, Central Abbess, San Francisco Zen Center
Rev. Furyu Schroeder, Abbess, Green Dragon Zen Temple, CA
Rev James Myoun Ford, Blue Cliff Zen Sangha, Long Beach, CA
Rev. Josh Jiun Bartok, Abbot, Greater Boston Zen Center
Rev. Edward Keido Sanshin Oberholtzer, Boundless Way Zen, Lewisburg, PA
Rev. Melissa Myozen Blacker, Abbot, Boundless Way Zen, MA
Michael Fieleke, Dharma Holder, Boundless Way Zen
Rev. David Dae An Rynick, Guiding Teacher, Boundless Way Zen, MA
Kenneth Kraft, emeritus professor, Lehigh University.
Rev. Joshin Brian Byrnes, Upaya Zen Center, NM
Rev. Koun Franz, Zen Nova Scotia
Rev Inryu Bobbi Ponce-Barger, All Beings Zen Sangha, Washington D.C.
Jack Lawlor/True Direction, Lakeside Buddhist sangha, Evanston, IL
Kristin Barker, Director and Co-Founder, One Earth Sangha
Roshi Wendy Egyoku Nakao, Abbot, Zen Center of Los Angeles
Rev. Dr. Douglas San-un Phillips, Empty Sky Sangha, W. Cornwall, CT
Rev. Jay Rinsen Weik, Abbot, Great Heartland Sangha, Buddhist Temple of Toledo
Rev. Dr. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki, President, Buddhist Council of New York
Ajahn Punnadhammo, Abbott, Arrow River Forest Hermitage, Thunder Bay, Canada
Dosho Port, Head Priest, Nebraska Zen Center
Tara Brach, Insight Meditation Community of Washington D.C.
Wes Nisker, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA
James Baraz, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA
Mary Grace Orr, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA
Diana Winston, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA
Mark Coleman, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA
Anna Douglas, PhD, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA
Eugene Cash, Spirit Rock Mediation Center, CA
Donald Rothberg, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA
Oren J. Sofer, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA
Carol Wilson, Insight Meditation Society, MA
Rodney Smith, Seattle Insight Meditation Society, WA
Rev. Eido Frances Carney, Abbess, Olympia Zen Center
Rev. Sumi Loundon Kim, Buddhist chaplain, Duke University
Rev. Taigen Dan Leighton, Ancient Dragon Zen Gate, Chicago, IL
Hosho Peter Coyote, Vimala Sangha, CA
Justin Whitaker, PhD, Sīla Mindfulness, Seattle, WA
Rev. Domyo Burk, Guiding Teacher, Bright Way Zen, Portland, OR
Erin Treat, Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center & Durango Dharma Center.
Rev. Gyokei Yokoyama, Long Beach Buddhist Church, CA
John Bell, YouthBuild USA
Kenshin Catherine Cascade, Bird Haven Zendo, Cheshire, OR
Dennis Bohn/True Mountain of Peace, Order of Interbeing/Plum Village
Catherine McGee, Gaia House, Insight Meditation Centre, United Kingdom
Jill Shepherd, Auckland Insight, New Zealand
Maciej Janowicz, DSc., Warsaw University of Life Sciences, SGGW
Nikki Mirghafori, Spirit Rock Meditation Center & Insight Meditation Center
Kittisaro & Thanissara, Dharmagiri Meditation Centre & Sacred Mountain Sangha
Chris Zangtsal Starbuck, Dharmaholder, Zen Peacemaker Circles
Janet Lipner, Midwest Buddhist Temple, IL
Kenley Neufeld, Dharma Teacher, Order of Interbeing
Bernie Glassman, Founder, Zen Peacemakers, Montague, MA,
Eve Myonen Marko, Head Teacher, Green River Zen Center, Montague, MA,
Rev. Tenku Ruff, NY
Rob Burbea, Gaia House, UK
Dr Adrianne Ross, British Columbia Insight Meditation Society, Vancouver, Canada
Marcia Rose, Guiding Teacher, The Mountain Hermitage, NM
David Gumpert, Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, MA
Rev. Myoan Grace Schireson, Central Valley Zen, CA
Robert A. Thurman, Professor, Columbia University, NY
Sally Armstrong, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA
Brian Ryojun Victoria, Ph.D.Fellow, Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies
Marty Krasney—Executive Director, Dalai Lama Fellows
Chas DiCapua, Insight Meditation Society, MA
Rev. Kosen Greg Snyder, Brooklyn Zen Center & Union Theological Seminary
Greg Scharf, Insight Meditation Society, MA
Rev. Mary Mocine, Clear Water Zen Center, CA
Joyce Kornblatt, Cloud Refuge Sangha, Blackheath, NSW, Australia
Zen Master Bon Hae Judy Roitman, Kansas Zen Center, Lawrence, KS
Zen Master Hae Kwang Stan Lombardo, Kansas Zen Center, Lawrence, KS
Andrea Fella, Insight Meditation Center of the Mid-Peninsula; Spirit Rock Meditation Center, CA
Rev. Ryuun Joriki Baker, Blue Mountain Zendo, PA
Howard Cohn, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, California
Anne Seisen Saunders, Sweetwater Zen Center, CA
Rev. Diane Shoshin Fitzgerald, Boundless Way Zen
Fran Ludwig, Dharma Teacher, Boundless Way Zen
Monika Winkelmann, Zen Peacemakers, Germany
Karen Harrison, Canadian Buddhist Civil Liberties Association
Jeff Kitzes, Guiding Teacher, Empty Gate Zen Center, Berkeley, CA
Rev. Hoka Chris Fortin, Dharma Heart Sangha, CA
Rev. Kanzan Bruce Fortin, Occidental Laguna Sangha, CA
Anka Rick Spencer, Puerto Compasivo, Puerto Vallarta, México
Rev. Zoketsu Norman Fischer—Founder and teacher Everyday Zen Foundation, CA
Ken Kessel (Zen Master Jok Um), Chogye International Zen Center of New York
Kotatsu John Bailes, One Heart Zen
Rev. Peg Syverson, Appamada, Austin, TX
Roshi Roland Wegmüller, Spiegel Sangha, Switzerland. & Zen Peacemakers
Roshi Barbara Wegmüller, Spiegel Sangha, Switzerland. & Zen Peacemakers
Rev. Genshun Dai-En Bennage, Mt. Equity Zendo, PA
Gil Fronsdal, Insight Meditation Center, Redwood City, CA
Myoko Sara Hunsaker, Monterey Bay Zen Center, CA
K V Soon, Interim Secretary, International Forum on Buddhist-Muslim Relations
Rev. Layla Smith, Mountain Source Sangha, Larkspur, CA
Frank De Waele, Teacher, Zen Sangha, Belgium
Madeline Klyne, Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, MA
Yozen Peter Schneider, Abbot, Beginners Mind Zen Center
Guy Armstrong, Guiding Teacher, Insight Meditation Society, Barre, MA
Rev. Gesshin Greenwood, Blue Cliff Zen Sangha
Zen Master Ji Haeng/Thom Pastor, Kwan Um School of Zen, Las Vegas, NV
Jamie Cresswell, President, Jamie Cresswell, European Buddhist Union
Rev. Myo Lahey, Hartford Street Zen Center, CA
Rev. Eric Daishin McCabe, Zen Fields, Ames, IA
Rev. Densho Quintero, Magnanimous Mind Zen Temple, Bogota, Colombia
Rev. Shodo Spring, Mountains and Waters Alliance, MN
Eiko Joshin Carolyn Atkinson, Everyday Dharma Zen Center, CA
Jaime McLeod, Treetop Zen Center, ME
Jundo Cohen, Tree Leaf Zendo, Japan
Jisho Sara Siebert, Zen Fields, Ames, IA
Rev. Zuiko Redding, Cedar Rapids Zen Center, IA
Rev Ryushin Andrea Thach, Whatcom Zen, Bellingham, WA
Brian Lesage, Flagstaff Insight Meditation Community, AZ
Rev. Ryushin Paul Haller—Senior Dharma teacher, San Francisco Zen Center, CA
Angie Enji Boissevain, Floating Zendo, San Jose, CA
Rev. Josho Pat Phelan, Chael Hill Zen Center, NC
Rev. Jodo Cliff Clusin, Prairie Mountain Zen Center, CO
Rachael Neumann, Publisher, Parallax Press, CA
Myozan Kodo, Zen Buddhism Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
Shodo Spring, Mountains and Waters Zen Community, MN
Kokyo Henkel, Head Teacher Santa Cruz Zen Center
Rev. Myo Denis Lahey, Abbot, Hartford Street Zen Center, San Francisco CA
Tonen O’Connor, Resident Priest Emerita, Milwaukee Zen Center
Zenshin Greg Fain, Head of Practice, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, CA
Jisho Warner, Abiding Teacher, Stone Creek Zen Center, CA
Nomon Tim Burnett, Guiding Teacher, Red Cedar Zen Community, Bellingham, WA
Shosan Victoria Austin, Teacher, San Francisco Zen Center
Aarti Tejuja, Director of the Office of Social Engagement, Shambhala International
Ven. Guan Zhen, International Center of Chinese Buddhist Culture and Education, USA
Shinryu Thomson, Teacher, Village Zendo, NY—Centro Zen, La Paz, Bolivia
Yuka Nakamura, Vipassana teacher, Meditation Center Beatenberg, Switzerland
Rev. Daijaku Kinst, Guiding Teacher, Ocean Gate Zen Center, Santa Cruz, CA
Rev. Shinshu Roberts, Guiding Teacher, Ocean Gate Zen Center, Santa Cruz, CA
Seth Zuiho Segall, Zen Priest, White Plains Zen, NY
Rev. Todd Hotai Watson, Guiding Teacher, Walking Tree Zen, Keene, NH
Rev. Seiso Paul Cooper, Two Rivers Zen Community, Narrowsburg, NY
Setsuan Gaelyn Godwin, Abbot,Houston Zen Center, Houston, TX
Rev. Kotoku Ray Crivello, Head Teacher, Deep Spring Temple, Sewickley, PA
Rev. Dr. David Taikyo Morgans, Guiding Teacher, Zen Association Wales
Tomon Lisa Marr, Milwaukee Zen Center, WI
Rev. Myogen Kathryn Stark, Guiding Teacher, Sonoma Valley Zen Group, CA
Peter Seishin Wohl, Spiritual Director, Wild Fox Sangha, Portland, ME
Rev. Hobu Beata Chapman’Head Teacher, Open Zen Community, CA
Rev. Val Meiren Szymanski, Bamboo in the Wind Zen Center, Sunnyvale, CA
Shokan Jordan Thorn, San Francisco Zen Center, CA
Rev. Ann Myosho Kyle Brown, Mendocino Zen Center, CA
Rev. Myo-O Habermas-Scher, Guiding Teacher, Dharma Dance Sangha, Minneapolis, MN
Noirin Sheahan, Senior Teacher, Satipanya Buddhist Retreat, Wales
Don de Silva, Faith Advisor, Buddhist, University of Westminster and Council Member of the Faiths Forum for London
Lama Surya Das, Dzogchen Center, Cambridge, MA
Robert Kolodny, Buddhist Climate Action Network
Ven. Ocean-of-Wisdom Sakya, Abbott, Middle-Way Meditation Centers
Rev. Konin Cardenas, Guiding Teacher, Ekan Zen Study Center
Dairyu Michael Wenger, Founding teacher, Dragons Leap Zen Center, CA
Daigaku Rummé, Confluence Zen Center, MO
Rev. Gengo Akiba, Director of Soto Zen Buddhism North America Office
Richard Reoch, former president of Shambhala
Martha Beosing, Shambhala, CA
Sandy Boucher, Dhamma Dena, CA
Junko Davis, Honolulu, HI
Asher Wallis, M.A., Chaplain, Brighton Hospice, OR
Marty Janowitz, Acharya, Shambhala U.S.
Maia Duerr, Five Directions Consulting, NM
Rev. Myogo Mary-Allen Macneil, Bodhi Oak Zen Sangha, CA
Frank Ostaseski, founder Metta Institute, CA
Rev. C. Collins Dhammaratana of Contemplative Traditions, Chapel Hill, NC
Michel Dubois, Roshi, Zenvoieducoeur
Rev. Helen Hobart, True Sacred Clouds, Order of Interbeing.
Jeana Teiju Moore, Banyan Dharma House, Deer Park, WA
Andrew Cooper, Features Editor, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review
Millicent Quam, Arcata Zen Group, CA
Camille Tischler, Ithaca, NY
Janis Kobe, Sonoma, CA
Gina Belton, Arcata, CA
Gaila Marie Allen, Berkeley Zen Center, CA
Rev. Ted O’Toole, Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, MN
Robert & Susan Laskin, N. Hollywood, CA
Leona Laskin, Philadelphia, PA
Rev. Elizabeth & Rev. Ken Sawyer, Back Porch Zendo, CA
Eric Horstman, Ecuador
Peter Levitt, Founder, Salt Spring Zen Circle, British Columbia, Canada
Suzann Duquette, Acharya, Karme Choling, Barnet, VT
Acharya Dale Asrael, Shambhala International
Myoshin Kate McCandless, Guiding Teacher, Mountain Rain Zen Community, Vancouver, Canada
Shinmon Michael Newton, Guiding Teacher, Mountain Rain Zen Community, Vancouver, Canada
Sally Scoville, Sonoma, CA
Hilton Obenzinger, Stanford University, CA
Nagamitra Akshobhya, Nagaloka, India
Gillian Coote Roshi: Sydney Zen Centre, Australia
Rev. Chi Kwang: The Seon Centre Victoria, Australia

Cc:

Thura U Aung Ko,
Ministry for Religious Affairs and Culture,
Building no. 31,
Naypyidaw, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Building no. 9,
Naypyitaw, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

President Htin Kyaw
Presidential Palace, Yaza Htarni Road
Zeyatheiddhi Ward, Zabuthiri,
Naypyitaw, Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing
Ministry of Defense
Building no. 24,
Naypyitaw , Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Fillippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Case Postale 2500, CH-1211 Genève 2 Dépôt, Suisse.
+41-22-739-8111

Kofi Annan, Chair of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State
Kofi Annan Foundation
P.O.B. 157 | 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
+41 22 919 7520
Att: Bijan Farnoudi
farnoudi@kofiannanfoundation.org

The Honorable Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20520

Ambassador Scot Marciel, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of the Union of Myanmar
110 University Ave, Kamayut Township,
Yangon, Republic of the Union of Myanmar
+95-1 536509

Source: https://www.lionsroar.com/open-letter-myanmars-buddhist-leaders-must-take-a-stand-against-ethnic-cleansing/