Press Release: 2nd
April 2017
What the Rohingya
have suffered, and continue to suffer on a daily basis, is reprehensible and
criminal. Both the United Nations and independent human rights investigators
have documented severe and systematic atrocities that amount to an organized
campaign of genocide by the government. The oppression and abuses the Rohingya
face have made them the most persecuted minority in the world. Their daily life
is a miasma of horror, humiliation, and brutality.
While there is no
question that international law, and indeed, common sense, uphold the right of
self-defense, and the unspeakable crimes suffered by the Rohingya may drive
some segments of the community to seek to protect themselves through armed
resistance; nevertheless we firmly believe that this path can never lead to a
solution in Myanmar. On the contrary, taking up weapons will only exacerbate
the crisis and provide the military with a pretext to intensify the repression
and escalate ethnic cleansing operations.
The #WeAreAllRohingyaNow
campaign condemns the recent statements by the self-appointed leader of the
Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army as reckless and self-destructive, and call upon
that group to renounce violence and to instead work in coordination with the
peaceful strategies being undertaken by international activist organistations
to prevent the genocide of the Rohingya and to restore their citizenship
rights. We ask the Rohingya community both inside Myanmar and in the diaspora,
to similarly reject the call to arms, and to persevere on the path of
nonviolent struggle.
International
sympathy and support for the Rohingya has been steadily increasing in recent
years, and strategies are currently being activated, as well as humanitarian
efforts, to address the short, medium, and long term needs of the community.
Any shift towards violent insurgency will irreparably sabotage these
initiatives and plunge Arakan into conditions far worse than what has
proceeded. The capability of outside organizations to intervene will be severely
hindered, and international sympathy will evaporate.
We respect the right
of the oppressed to determine for themselves how best to confront their
oppressors, but we cannot sanction strategies and tactics that can only have
the predictable result of facilitating the genocide and immeasurably worsening
the conditions on the ground. We call upon all representatives of the Rohingya
community to agree to unequivocally reject the destructive path of violence and
to commit with us to the effort for a peaceful resolution.
Video response by
Shahid Bolsen, Chief Strategist for the #WeAreAllRohingyaNow campaign