WHILE events taking place in Syria and Iraq dominate daily headlines, a much worse conflict where 1.1 million Rohingya minority Muslims are exposed to gross human rights violations appears to have missed international attention and mainstream media coverage.
Untold human rights abuses are happening in Myanmar’s Rakine state against the stateless minority community of Rohingya. In fact judging from the extent of abuses, it is safe to say that human rights as such don’t exist in the country.
The country’s Nobel Peace Prize winner and outspoken human rights defender Aung San Suu Kyi’s silence has taken human rights organisations and peace-loving people by surprise. She was considered the democratic figure of the country and too much hope was put on her in solving the conflict. However, she seems to have ignored the plight of Rohingya and is now interested in consolidating her political career.
Inspired by Buddhist nationalism, the country’s military crackdown on ethnic Muslim minority fits the definition of ‘ethnic cleansing’, say human rights campaigners. Crimes including torture, rape and extra-judicial killing have become daily occurrences. Human Rights Watch reported that hundreds of homes have been destroyed recently. About 30,000 people are reported to have abandoned their houses and fled to Bangladesh in the last few days, according to reports.
In September, the Obama administration eased economic sanctions on Myanmar, citing among other achievements, the new government’s focus on bringing “respect for human rights to its people” (The New York Times, November 23). That move has now proved to be a miscalculated projection.
If this ‘genocide’ doesn’t stop, what follows will not serve the country’s interest. It may result in endless sectarian conflict, inviting extremists on both sides and endangering the stability of the country.
The government has blocked all humanitarian assistance to the conflict zone with reported malnutrition, starvation and lack of medical aid widespread among the displaced community. It also declined to respond to the UN’s call for impartial investigation into violence, further complicating matters.
The government flatly denies the human rights violations in the country said Matthew Smith, founder of Bangkok-based Fortify Rights. At other times the government considers the military action as a war to defend the country from ‘outside forces’, referring to the Rohingya as immigrants from Bangladesh despite living in the country for generations.
There is a high possibility that the low-level insurgency taking place in the country against the military junta can morph into an armed struggle backed by foreign fighters. The situation has already received the attention of Muslim extremists from Islamic nations. Myanmar’s military has claimed to have intelligence in which Pakistan and /or Afghan Taliban-trained militants are operating in the country.
Last Friday, Muslims from Indonesia, Bangladesh and Thailand demonstrated in their respective countries condemning the atrocities the government is committing against the minority Muslims.
On November 27, AFP reported that ‘Indonesia police have arrested Islamic State-linked militants (Jemaah Ansar Daulah) accused of plotting to bomb the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta, as anger grows at a violent military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims.’ The UN says that the Rohingya are among the world’s most prosecuted minorities. UN refugee agency reported that 120,000 people have fled the Rakhine state following the 2012 unrest. Since then nothing has been done to address the plight of Rohingya people.
Rohingya Muslims want their basic rights including right to citizenship, worship and access to education, among others, like ordinary citizens of the country. Unless the rights are restored, not only the violence will continue, but also invite Muslim extremists from around the world including terrorists to converge on Myanmar – destabilising the country and endangering regional and international security.