Persecution of Rohingyas

A statement, issued recently by a United Nations Special rapporteur, reconfirms once again the gross human rights violations in Myanmar. In her statement, she has expressed her concerns about a host of issues including killings, torture, and the use of human shields by the security forces, deaths in custody and the humanitarian crisis created by forcing the Rohingyas from their homes. She has also criticised the Myanmar government for replicating the policies of the previous military government.

For long, horrific abuses have been going on against the Rohingya minorities in Myanmar who have been forced to flee their homeland. And Bangladesh has been hosting 300,000 to 500,000 Rohingyas for over three decades. After the latest crackdown that began on October 9, 2016, gruesome human rights violations have been perpetrated allegedly by the members of Myanmar's security forces or civilian fighters working alongside the military and police, forcing some 75,000 more people to take refuge in Bangladesh. 

It was surprising that the Myanmar government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has denied that are any human rights violations, and declared that the allegations were invented. By denying such horrific acts, Myanmar government is only prolonging the crisis. It must recognise the Rohingyas as one of the country's ethnic minorities and immediately halt these grave human rights violations against its own people.

What the UN rapporteur faced in her twelve-day visit in Myanmar should be enough for the UN to well comprehend the situation inside that country and must now play a more active role in solving the crisis in Myanmar. The international community should also strongly voice its concerns in this regard.