Rohingya Genocide: Where Is The World's Conscience?
15 February 2018By Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi
We have a right to ask about the so-called world conscience. Is there a real
world conscience or is it one moves and aches in accordance with the
instructions it receives from its masters?
If a world conscience does exist, it has proved that it is not fixed and that
it handles issues, individuals and nations with different racial yardsticks.
Anyone who observes the stances of various countries, especially world powers,
exercising a strong influence in international politics will be aware of this
fact. The best example is Myanmar, which has become a hotbed of human rights
violations, ethnic cleansing and genocide, as well as the killing of men,
raping of women and racial discrimination against the minority Rohingya
Muslims. All these atrocities have more than enough potential to stir up even
a dead conscience.
All the reports of the United Nations, the Human Rights Council, international
human rights organizations as well as of renowned international figures are
unanimous in their opinion that what is happening in Myanmar against Rohingya
Muslims is ethnic cleansing and genocide.
The persecution perpetrated against this minority has not been limited to
Buddhist extremists but has also been practiced by the army and security
forces with the full support of the state and all its machinery. The
persecution of the Myanmar authorities against the Muslim minority is not
restricted to northern Rakhine state alone but also to all other regions of
the country.
The United Nations Security Council and General Assembly have not explicitly
condemned these human rights violations and crimes nor have they imposed
sanctions against those who planned and carried out these crimes against
humanity. The Security Council has only called for holding talks to resolve
the issue without adopting any resolution or even a statement condemning the
crimes committed against Rohingya Muslims, which has led to the displacement
of hundreds of thousands of people who survived the killing spree at the hands
of Buddhist extremists and the security forces. The neighboring country of
Bangladesh does not have the capability to accommodate such large numbers of
refugees and provide them with the necessary food, drink and shelter.
The suffering of Rohingya Muslims is not a new issue. It appeared with the
promulgation of the Nationality Law that deprived the Rohingya of their
citizenship and treated them as illegal immigrants who came from neighboring
Bangladesh to Rakhine state.
The Myanmar authorities began obliterating Islamic symbols and landmarks
through the demolition of historical mosques and traditional homes and
everything that proved that Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state or Arakan had
lived in this region in the past. These people have been deprived of their
identity and have had an apartheid system imposed upon them that denies them
all of their legitimate rights, restricts their movement and levies on them
arbitrary taxes. They are prevented from marrying without the permission of
the authorities. They are also barred from having more than two children.
These people have been so oppressed that some of them have tried to flee the
country. Human traffickers seized this opportunity to offer to smuggle them to
neighboring countries. Among these boat people, some reached their destination
while others perished in the sea and others reached Thailand and other
countries.
The large exodus came after the attack on police stations, which was
attributed to groups of Rohingya, but which may have been an act on the part
of the authorities so as to justify driving the remaining Rohingya Muslims out
of the country. In Myanmar, the army and the security forces have carried out
a systematic ethnic cleansing campaign, killing many Rohingya in cold blood,
burning some to death, raping their women, burning entire villages,
demolishing mosques and flattening them so as not to leave any remnants of
their existence. As a result of this fierce attack by the army and the
security forces, all the Rohingya people who had the ability to travel fled
the country and large numbers of them reached Bangladesh.
This led to intensifying the global outcry and demand for action by the UN and
the international community against the Myanmar government. There have also
been calls for taking away the Nobel Peace Prize awarded earlier to Myanamr's
de facto ruler, Aung San Suu Kyi, since crimes against Rohingya Muslims have
been committed under her leadership. These developments forced her to break
her silence on the issue, as she blamed the international community for
blowing the Rohingya issue out of proportion. She also denied that there has
been any ethnic cleansing. However, she did not explain why hundreds of
thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been forced to leave their homes and
property and flee to Bangladesh, but she expressed her willingness to
entertain those who wished to return.
But the question is: Who would agree to return to death? Rohingya Muslims have
refused to go back to Myanmar under the present circumstances even though they
have the right to do so. Their return must be under the auspices of the United
Nations, which must ensure their adequate protection and guarantee that they
can return to their villages and homes and be treated as citizens who enjoy
the full rights of citizenship.
— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast
Asian affairs. He can be reached at algham@hotmail.com
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