Nasir Azeem |
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” ~Martin Luther King Jr.
Although the tragedy of Myanmar’s Rohingya Community has been unfolding for decades, the latest exodus of refugees to neighboring Bangladesh has become a FrontPage news due to mammoth scale of this tragedy. What’s going on in Myanmar against the most persecuted minority group Rohingya is state-sponsored barbarism and textbook example of ethnic cleansing. The deafening silence of the international community is adding fuel to the fire. The darling of global media Aung Sang is head of the government in Myanmar. But Noble Prize Winner preferred silence over action.
Though this would have a little impact on the ground, this symbolic gesture would send a message to the Rohingya’s that Silence is not an option. It’s time to get tough with them, words are not enough
She knows that all-powerful and rogue Army of her country is behind this massacre. To remain in power corridors, she is deliberately putting the crimes of her military under the rug. The tragedy with the third world version of “Bonsai Democracy” is that civilians seem to be in the driving seat while the real power players keep the steering in their hands. But this criminal silence would bring a bad name to her own image.
Read more: Delhi feels threatened by hapless Rohingya refugees
Before blaming her solely for the crimes in Myanmar, we need to understand the political dynamics that she is facing on the ground. Army enjoys a “legitimized” constitutional role in Burma’s political stage, where 25% seats in the parliament are occupied by the military generals who are currently heading three key ministries. Moreover, the military holds a “veto power” over the constitution.
The UN Security Council made it clear that those responsible for such heinous crimes would be brought to justice one day. The leadership should be pressurized to cooperate with the UN fact-finding commission
Despite the harsh political realities, she being a self-described democratic leader needs to own her responsibilities towards human rights and protection of the ethnic groups all across the country. That’s what she was supposed to do but many analysts believe that the situation is getting from bad to worse.
False Narrative and Global Silence
Myanmar’s government claims that hundreds of thousands of Rohingya villagers who’ve left were avoiding arrest for being connected to terrorists. More than 370,000 Rohingya – many of them women and children – have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence. Moreover, the government says that terrorist number around 500.
Officially, the elected government of Burma is to be blamed for the humanitarian crisis but practically military leadership is in charge of the force committing crimes on the field
But Myanmar’s military has already killed well over 3000 people and is saying that all of them are connected to terrorism which seems far from the truth. Even a blind man can see that this is ethnic cleansing. That’s what Hitler did with German Jews during World war ll and the same kind of state of denial was practiced by Nazi Germany.
Read more: Rohingya is a humanitarian issue not a Muslim one!
It’s the responsibility of the UN and world community to act timely before its too late. This state terrorism can provide a breeding ground for militancy and extremism. It is being reported by media that many militant groups in hosting state Bangladesh are asking their government to arm and train Rohingya Muslims so that they can protect themselves from state-sponsored terrorism.
Officially, the elected government of Burma is to be blamed for the humanitarian crisis but practically military leadership is in charge of the force committing crimes on the field. While justifying illegitimate actions of his forces, head of Myanmar’s Army said that “this is unfinished business of World War ll” and he is not ready to accept them as natives labeling them as “Bengalis”.
Despite the harsh political realities, she being a self-described democratic leader needs to own her responsibilities towards human rights and protection of the ethnic groups all across the country
What can we expect from such ill mentality other than genocide? But he failed to remember that during WWII there was no concept of international law as we have today. Now it’s up to the institutions responsible for the provision of Justice on the global level to put an end to this insanity.
Read more: The disinformation behind linking the Rohingya issue with Pakistan
Putting a Final Full Stop
Human rights groups say Myanmar’s response to the ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslims isn’t enough. To stop the bloodbath, all the regional governments need to cut off the military and economic ties with it.
The deafening silence of the international community is adding fuel to the fire. The darling of global media Aung Sang is head of the government in Myanmar. But Noble Prize Winner preferred silence over action
The UN Security Council made it clear that those responsible for such heinous crimes would be brought to justice one day. The leadership should be pressurized to cooperate with the UN fact-finding commission. Moreover, before putting an end to this unacceptable massacre, Aung San Suu kyu needs to return her Noble Prize back or the world should force her to do that.
Though this would have a little impact on the ground, this symbolic gesture would send a message to the Rohingya’s that Silence is not an option. It’s time to get tough with them, words are not enough.
Nasir Azeem is a political analyst. He has interests in contemporary politics and history. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Global Village Space’s editorial policy.