The OHCHR report unfolds a chilling account of the
systemic persecution of the community by the army
The stance of the Myanmar
government that the Rohingyas are illegal immigrants and, thus, not the
original inhabitants of Myanmar does not stand the test of historical records.
It has a ridiculous that these people have been living in Arakan (later renamed
as Rakhine) for over 500 years — even before its capture by the Burmese army in
the early 15th century.
Ever since the capture of
Rakhine, the Rohingya Muslims are now referred as illegal immigrants from East
Bengal (now Bangladesh), because their language is similar to that of people in
Chittagong. According to Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law, Rohingya Muslims are
not counted amongst the 135 ethnic minority groups of the country, which
renders them a ‘stateless’ community with the denial of basic rights of
citizenship.
The community has been
facing persecution at the hands of the Rohingya Buddhists and the army ever
since the capture of Arakan. However, it took a turn for the worse in 2012,
when over 10,000 Rohingyas had to flee their homes for Bangladesh and other
South East Asian countries, to escape the inhuman and brutal treatment. In
2016, the large-scale human rights violations by the Myanmar army were
highlighted by the Human Rights Watch among other human rights activists and
was reported widely in the international media. It has been reported that over
40 Rohingyas were massacred in the village of Du CheeYar Tan alone by the local
men.
In fact, the United Nations
was heavily criticised for not taking up the cause of the Rohingyas at the
international forum on top of their failure in pressurising the Myanmar
government to stop atrocities against the community. As a result of the
international outcry, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (OHCHR) sent a four-member team to Bangladesh this January to
interview Rohingyas, who had entered Bangladesh from Northern Rakhine State
(nRS) in the aftermath of the attacks of October 9, 2016. Based on the
interviews and the documentary, OHCHR released a flash report on February 3,
2017, highlighting the army’s brutality on the Rohingyas Muslims.
The report released on
February 6, 2017, is based on evidence gathered by interviewing as many as 220
persons, who had fled Rakhine, unfolds a chilling account of the systemic
persecution of the community by the army. The community was subjected to the
inhuman treatment, which included torture, rape, burning of their homes,
killing their livestock, destruction of farms, and other inhuman acts of
violence. Of the 101 women interviewed, 52 percent reported having been raped
or subjected to other forms of sexual violence. The UN delegation has said that
many women, who could have been violated, refused to share their traumatic
experiences for the fear of social stigma. It is shocking that the army had
even used helicopters to destroy their houses, which had led to the death and
also to a large-scale destruction of property. Many instances were recounted
where the army had hurled grenades at the homes of this minority group killing
of innocent persons. The team has also relied on satellite imagery analysis
provided by three different independent sources that point out to the extensive
burning of homes having occurred during the months of October and November 2016
in the following ten locations in the lockdown area.
The report also highlights
the “calculated policy of terror” unleashed on the community by Tatmadaw
(Myanmar Armed Forces) in nRS since October 9. It goes on to say, “The various
acts of crimes cannot be seen as an isolated event, but as a larger part of deliberate
acts of ethnic cleansing through systemic human rights violations and abuses.”
The report blames the
Myanmar army for creating a coercive environment that forced over 66,000 to
escape from their homes. Many of the refugees were forced to pay hefty amounts
by the human traffickers to facilitate their escape to Bangladesh, Indonesia
and Malaysia by boats. Last year, it was reported that over 100 had lost their
lives when their boats had capsized in the South China Sea.
The human rights champion and
a Nobel laureate, Aung San SuuKyi, in the run up to 2015 general elections had
promised to offer citizenship to Rohingya Muslims. However, as she feared the
wrath of her Buddhist constituency, she chose to remain silent on the issue.
Her silence, especially after her long struggle against the Military junta for
establishing democracy in Myanmar, was unbecoming of a human rights champion.
Furthermore, what is
inexplicable is the total silence on the part of ASEAN, of which Myanmar is a
member. The members of ASEAN justify their silence on the ground that
non-interference on the association’s members is part of their ‘key principle.’
One can’t come across a more ridiculous explanation than this, especially, when
one of its members has been targeting a particular community.
The situation has recently
worsened with Bangladeshi government’s blocking the entry of refugees. This has
led to over 20,000 people living in inhuman conditions in the transit camps at
the border. Both Bangladesh and Thailand are now putting pressure on Myanmar to
stop the killings and take effective steps to integrate them into the society.
According to UNICEF, hundreds of children are facing starvation as humanitarian
aid to them has been cut off.
As a part of the national
reconciliation effort, the Myanmar government led by Aung San SuuKyi should
facilitate the return of the Rohingyas and also consider grant of citizenship
which will go a long way in atoning for the various acts of crimes committed
against this community. If, however, the Myanmar continues to pursue its
discriminatory policies, it is most likely the terrorist organisations like
ISIS will take advantage of the situation by recruiting the refugees in
launching terror attacks. We have already seen few incidents of attacks on the
Myanmar border guards.