The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is not doing enough to save the Rohingya community in Myanmar.
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The OIC needs to lead the
initiative to protect the Rohingya
minority in Myanmar, writes Ahsan [Fazry
Ismail/EPA]
By Abdullah al-Ahsan
The latest United Nations report on the Rohingya minority
shocked the world yet again with descriptions of
the kind of atrocities that the Myanmar security forces are perpetrating.
From children cut to death, to women raped and whole
villages burned, these brutal acts have been justifiably characterised as most
likely amounting to crimes against humanity.
Despite having ample evidence of the extent of ethnic
cleansing pursued by the Myanmar authorities, the world is yet to take serious
action against the government in Naypyidaw.
Among the many organisations that should be striving to
protect the Rohingya, there is one that should clearly lead this initiative:
the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Of all the international entities, the
OIC is best positioned to undertake the cause of the Rohingya community.
Not only does it officially represent Muslim-majority
nations, but it also has welcomed powerful nations with Muslim minorities such
as the United States, China, and Russia to have their own representatives in
the organisation.
It has the leverage to lead international action to
protect the Rohingya and in the past has stood up for persecuted Muslims in
Palestine and Kashmir among other places.
An old issue with a new twist
Watch - Bangladesh: Rohingya refugees fear relocation: https://youtu.be/rPfQ2DetGxM
The Rohingya problem is several decades old. A 1982
Myanmar law stripped the Rohingya of access to
full citizenship. Since then members of the Rohingya community have been driven
out of Myanmar. Many have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh and from there to other
countries.
It is very difficult to determine how many Rohingya have
migrated but currently there are about 400,000 of them in Saudi Arabia and
about 200,000 in Pakistan and most are supposed to have fled via Bangladesh.
The Myanmar government has sought to erase decades of
violence and oppression against the Rohingya by citing security concerns to
justify its brutal campaign.
More recently concerns about the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant (ISIL) group spreading its influence in Southeast Asia have
presented the government with a welcome distraction from the atrocities it is
committing.
After the OIC criticised Myanmar at its January 19
extraordinary meeting on the Rohingya issue, its foreign ministry responded by
saying: "It is disturbing to note that the OIC meeting held in Kuala
Lumpur on January 19, 2017, failed to acknowledge that the situation was a
direct result of the well-planned and coordinated attacks on police outposts in
the northern Rakhine State on October 9, 2016, by extremist elements both
funded and inspired from abroad."
The fear of the rise of extremism is genuine and should
be examined candidly. Western media have extensively reported on suspicions
that ISIL might be recruiting among the Rohingya fleeing violence in Myanmar.
“Although
Turkey has not been able to make any dent in Myanmar's stance on the Rohingya
issue, it has been able to create a caring image of itself that Islamic
teachings demand”.
Indian media has even claimed that "Rohingya
militants, who are trained in Pakistan, have become operational in Bangladesh's
hill track area of Cox's Bazar's Teknaf and remote areas of Bandarban."
But how much of this speculation is based in reality, and
how much of it is propaganda? Whether true or not; it certainly provides a convenient
excuse for the Myanmar government.
If one digs a bit deeper beyond the "international
terrorism" rhetoric, it is clear that suffering of the Rohingya has
provoked expected antagonism.
According to Austin Bodetti, writing in the The Diplomat
magazine, "the Rohingya rebels operate in secret and without support from
civil society, and their Islamic credentials, though present, are by far
secondary to their sociopolitical grievances. They want human rights for all
Rohingya, not a caliphate or an emirate."
But as the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak warned in his speech at the OIC meeting, the Rohingya
could be "infiltrated" by ISIL if their plight is not resolved and
this could threaten the whole region.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/malaysia-muslim-countries-rohingya-crisis-170119125547603.html
The
example of Turkey
Inside Story - Is the world ignoring the plight
of the Rohingya? https://youtu.be/147iU2uSpEQ
January 19 was not the first time that the OIC has urged
Myanmar authorities to let it and other international delegations visit the
violence-torn areas.
Unfortunately each time this has happened, the Myanmar
authorities have come forward with more force and more brutal persecution.
The OIC's condemnation of the violence against the
Rohingya has again been reaffirmed in the recent report
by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on February
3, 2017.
The OIC's attempt to create pressure through other UN
agencies such as the Human Rights Commission has also failed and the situation
on the ground has continued to deteriorate.
In this context one must remember that international
organisations such as the OIC have weak mechanisms for implementation of their
resolutions.
Strong nation states most of the time ignore demands of
international organisations if they consider them against their interests.
Israel has always ignored UN resolutions and Myanmar seems to have employed the
same tactics.
Yet, keeping in view the shortcomings of international
organisations, one must look for ways to assist the Rohingya people. This
necessitates the OIC to conduct some soul-searching: has it stood for universal
justice and human dignity that it claims to stand for?
In this context one may recall two OIC member states,
Malaysia and Turkey, coming forward with material, political, humanitarian and,
more importantly, emotional assistance.
Several years ago Turkey's First Lady Emine Erdogan
accompanied the Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on a visit to Myanmar to
express solidarity with the victims. Many Rohingya refugees in Malaysia
affectionately remember this event.
OPINION: Regional actors should take a stand
against Myanmar
Although Turkey has not been able to make any dent in
Myanmar's stance on Rohingya issue, it has been able to create a caring image
of itself that Islamic teachings demand.
Malaysia, too, on top of calling for international action
to address the Rohingya crisis, has developed a mechanism to assist Rohingya
refugees with the involvement of UNHCR.
In recognition of these efforts, the OIC has appointed
former Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, as the OIC envoy on the
Rohingya issue.
In contrast, Bangladesh has not only denied anchoring to
the devastated boat people who tried to escape violence-torn Myanmar, according
to Human Right Watch, it has also denied refugees access
to necessary humanitarian aid, endangering the lives of thousands of civilians
and compelling many to seek refuge in nearby countries.
Bangladesh's prime minister has accused the Rohingya of
being terrorists. Shouldn't the OIC hold the government of Bangladesh
responsible for denying the persecuted Rohingya entry into the country?
OPINION: Aung San Suu Kyi's inexcusable silence
Unfortunately, the OIC has not taken the stance of the
current government of Bangladesh seriously. The OIC does not seem to have
appreciated the standpoint of Turkey either.
Had the OIC adopted a resolution condemning Bangladesh's
posture and appreciating Turkey's position, it would have sent a signal to
Myanmar's government that the Rohingya issue is an issue of universal human
rights and human dignity, which supersedes national interests.
The OIC was created to promote these values. Based on
these universally recognised values, the OIC can also create moral pressure on
the US, Russia and China.
Why should the government in Myanmar and world powers
take the OIC seriously when the OIC is not able to practice what it claims to
stand for?
Abdullah
al-Ahsan is professor of comparative civilizations at the Department of History
and Civilization in International Islamic University Malaysia. He is the author
of The Organization of the Islamic Conference: Introduction to an Islamic
Political Institution.
The
views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily
reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.