Charity leaders tell MPs there is an urgent need for
action amid reports of murder, rape and violence against Rohingyas.
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| Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled Myanmar |
By Bethany Minelle, News Reporter
Leading charities have spoken in Parliament of murder,
mass rape and abuse on a massive scale taking place against the Rohingya people
in Myanmar.
The Commons International Development Committee heard
harrowing reports of murder, rape and sex trafficking at refugee camps, as well
as increasing cases of forced child marriage.
Accusing Myanmar of "crimes against humanity",
committee chair Stephen Twigg MP called the situation "truly
challenging" and "horrendous".
Mr Twigg later told Sky News that the international
community now needs to put more pressure on Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Rohingya Crisis - All you need to know https://news.sky.com/feature/rohingya-crisis-11121896
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The committee asked about sex trafficking in refugee
camps and was told by David Mepham, UK Director of Human Rights Watch, that
sexual exploitation was rife.
Mr Mepham called on Britain to do more to tackle the
"appalling rapes and mass rapes" being perpetrated against vulnerable
refugees within the camps.
He added: "Men, women and children have been hacked
to death and raped. We need to find out who's done that, who is
accountable."
In testimony to MPs, director of Burma Campaign UK, Mark
Farmaner, said Aung San Suu Kyi was complicit in the persecution of the
Rohingya.
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He said her "near heroine status" should now be
re-evaluated, drawing attention to what he called her "authoritarian
tendencies" and her decision not to repeal repressive laws.
The persecution of the Muslim-majority group has been
described by the UN as "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
:: Why is the Rohingya crisis not classed as genocide? https://news.sky.com/story/why-is-the-rohingya-crisis-not-classed-as-genocide-11123944
As hundreds of thousands of Rohingya flee violence in the
Buddhist Rakhine State, there have been calls for the international community
to do more.
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Human Rights Watch says that 288 Rohingya villages have
been destroyed since August, with tens of thousands of homes destroyed.
MPs also heard that a total of 200,000 cases of sexual
violence had so far been reported, with the majority of those cases against
women.
Violence began in the region following a series of
Rohingya militant attacks on police posts, which the government said left 12
members of the security forces dead.
Labelling the militants "terrorists", security
forces went on to carry out a "targeted campaign of widespread and
systematic murder, rape and burning", according to Amnesty International.
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Prime Minister Theresa May has called the Rohingya crisis "heartbreaking" and pledged
to deepen partnerships with Asian countries in a move to combat such problems. https://news.sky.com/story/theresa-may-myanmar-must-take-responsibility-for-rohingya-crisis-11125483
Saying the crisis "looks like ethnic
cleansing", she said it is "something for which the Burmese
authorities - and especially the military - must take full
responsibility."
Mrs May added that the UK would continue to "do
everything possible to stop this appalling and inhuman destruction of the
Rohingya people."
As part of the aid effort, a Boeing 747 full of Red Cross
aid has been sent to Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.
