Whereas the Rohingya, a Muslim minority resident population in what is now Myanmar/Burma that dates back to the 15th century, has suffered discrimination and persecution since at least the end of World II and 1948, when Myanmar/Burma gained its independence; and
Whereas proscription and persecution of the Rohingya under successive military governments have increased progressively since the late 1970’s, with denial of education, economic opportunity, even identity, ghettoization and loss of citizenship; and