Editorial, Daily
Times
Fast-forward to the
present and the UN have completed a one-and-a-half year-long fact-finding
mission into the violence. It is one that paints a damning picture of the
ruling regime. All the more so give that Naypyidaw denied the mission direct
access to the country while also refusing any cooperation at all levels meaning
that the latter was forced to rely on extensive interviews (875) and documents
compiled in numerous field missions to Bangladesh as well as other neighbouring
countries.
It has been one
year. Since the Myanmar military launched a brutal crackdown on the Rohingya.
The ensuing brutality in Rakhine State prompted an exodus of some 700,000 of
this mostly Muslim minority group into neighbouring Bangladesh. Shockingly,
children account for 55 percent of the total refugee population.
Be that as it may,
in its 18-page report, released this week, the world body has recommended that
the top military leadership be tried for genocide in Rakhine State and crimes
against humanity in other areas. Either at the International Criminal Court
(ICC) or at an ad-hoc criminal tribunal; similar to those established in the
former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. It also holds Aung Sang Suu Kyi and her civilian
government responsible for not stemming the violence. https://lnkd.in/gbpgJt6
IFFM
report on Myanmar in PDF: https://lnkd.in/gFMQ9Q7
So, what
comes next?
Hauling Myanmar to
the ICC, however, will be problematic. The country is not a signatory to the
Rome Statute that established the Court. This would pass the burden of
responsibility to the UNSC to ensure that justice is done. But even here, this
path will likely not be a smooth one. For bluntly put, the major players —
those with the power of veto — too, have their vested interests.
Myanmar is crucial
to Beijing’s One Road, One Belt (OROB) initiative; promising as it does to
‘link’ the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) to the Silk Road Economic Belt. There have
been Chinese promises to exploit the natural resources of the Buddhist majority
state. In addition, the near-end of the West’s love affair with Suu Kyi, just
three years after it supported her sweep to power in general elections, serves
a resurgent Moscow. Both China and Russia have been engaged in training the
Myanmar military with the latter also playing the role of arms supplier.
That being said, the
West cannot claim moral authority when it comes to the bigger picture. After
all, the Rohingya have endured state-sponsored persecution for decades. Such as
the right to citizenship which has been withheld since as far back as 1982. Yet
the West’s support for human rights over the years has focused almost
exclusively on Suu Kyi and her years of house arrest that spanned a total of a
decade and a half; with scant regard for systematic abuses of the most
vulnerable. Thus if countries like the US and UK force a showdown over the
prosecution question, they will invite calls of politically motivated maneuvering
and selective justice, particularly at a time when the West has still to be
held to account for military adventurism in the Muslim world.
It is therefore
hoped that the permanent five put aside self-serving regional interests before
the UN mission presents its full report to the Human Rights Council next month.
For time is running out.