Anadolu Agency holds workshop for Rohingya journalists

By Busra Nur Bilgic </p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Anadolu Agency on Wednesday held a media workshop for Rohingya Muslim journalists at its headquarters in Ankara, the Turkish capital. </p> <p>The Rohingya issue has a special importance for Turkey and Anadolu Agency has set an example for other media outlets around the world with its wide coverage of the issue, Omer Faruk Caliskan, deputy editor of the English desk, told the journalists.</p> <p>The agency has been covering the Rohingya issue since 2012, the beginning of the crisis, he said. </p> <p>He stressed the importance of cooperation on the ground in covering the Rohingya crisis and asked for support from local journalists. </p> <p>Caliskan also fed the Rohingya journalists about the Turkish media and latest developments in the field.</p> <p>He also informed the media group about Anadolu Agency and its role in the 1919-1923 Turkish War of Independence, where it provided Turkish people with information about occupation forces in the country despite limited means and bolstered the national identity. </p> <p>Anadolu Agency was founded on April 6, 1920 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk — the founding father of Turkish Republic — to make the country heard by the international communities and inform Turkish citizens in a correct manner. </p> <p>At the end of the event, Anadolu Agency gave the latest editions of its publications to the group as a gift. </p> <p>The workshop Rohingya Media Training Program was inaugurated on Monday by the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB) and Turkish broadcaster TRT. </p> <p>Rohingya Muslim journalists and students living in 12 different countries started to participate in the two-week program which ends on May 5.</p> <p>The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012. </p> <p>According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017. </p> <p>The UN has also documented mass gang rapes, killings — including of infants and young children — brutal beatings and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces. </p> <p>In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.