Rohingya problems continue to spiral

In an editorial on Thursday, The Gulf Today said that the woes of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar never seem to end, with renewed violence forcing thousands to flee the country.

"About a million Rohingya Muslims have been brutalised since 2012 by security forces and zealots among the Buddhist majority in western Myanmar. More than 1,000 Rohingya have been killed, while some 320,000 are living in squalid camps in Myanmar and neighbouring Bangladesh, according to estimates by the US-based Human Rights Watch and the United Nations. Thousands more embarked on dangerous journeys across the sea to other south east Asian countries.

"Persecution of the Rohingya, reviled as illegal immigrants by the majority Buddhist population in Myanmar, has caused much anger in Malaysia and across the Muslim world. Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in Malaysia on Wednesday in support of the Rohingya, where there are approximately almost 60,000 Rohingya refugees," the paper continued.

"A majority of the Rohingya live in the northern part of Rakhine state. Last week, the community’s insurgents launched coordinated attacks against police posts, setting off retaliation by government forces. The attacks, according to the rebels, were aimed at protecting Rohingya villagers from 'intensified atrocities' perpetrated by 'brutal soldiers'. A boat carrying an unknown number of Rohingya capsized in the Naf River, leaving at least four dead. Bangladesh’s border guards turned back 171 Rohingya after detaining them at different border points over the last two days.

"In all this, one person who should have been the first to react to the atrocities, has been reportedly doing little to stem the violence: Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

"Which is ironic as she has been allegedly accused of ignoring state violence against ethnic minorities and Muslims, continuing to jail journalists and activists, cowing to Myanmar’s still-powerful generals, and failing to nurture democratic leaders who could step in when she, now 72, exits the scene. Instead, her government is reportedly creating a power vacuum that could be filled again by the military. Some conclude that Suu Kyi, who championed the cause of democracy with a lot of passion, is a closet authoritarian with a soft spot for the military," the English language daily added.

The paper went on to say that it is a bitter realisation that a woman once hailed as 'Myanmar’s Joan of Arc' and spoken of in the same breath as South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi of India, has been turning a blind eye to the atrocities against the Rohingya.

"Mark Farmaner of the human rights group Burma Campaign UK says that Suu Kyi views Myanmar principally as a country of the ethnic Burman Buddhist majority, rather than a multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation. The Rohingya crisis is not an issue between Myanmar and Bangladesh but of international concern. The international community should take a firm stand and tough action to see that the atrocities end," the paper concluded.

An overpopulated IDP camp outside Sittwe. Tens of thousands of Rohingya who fled their homes in June 2012 now reside in such camps. The government constructed semi-permanent shelters in some camps, raising concerns about the government’s willingness to respect the rights of the displaced persons to return home.