Rohingyas want US help
In the Rohingya crisis which has unfolded with all its grotesque facets since August 2017, the most disconcerting thing has been the prevarication of top global powers to hold Myanmar accountable for the unspeakable savagery unleashed on the Muslim minority. Rohingya organisations across the world have renewed a call to the US to take firm action against the military of Myanmar and hold the generals who masterminded the pogrom to account.
While more than a million Rohingyas reside in refugee camps within Bangladesh, repatriation to their homeland in Rakhine can only be possible when the Myanmar authority, both civil and military, acknowledge that a crime against humanity has been committed in Rakhine and that a complete social security for the Rohingyas will be ensured under UN supervision. At the same time, the perpetrators of the grisly crimes, ranging from arson to rape to intimidation, have to be brought to justice, otherwise Myanmar will become blas in the belief that that mistreatment of Rohingya comes with a sense of impunity.
Unfortunately, in almost one and a half years, the Rohingya imbroglio has been left in stasis without any advancement either in sending back the displaced people or to bring the Myanmar military to justice. The US House of Representatives recently passed a resolution calling the atrocities in Burma a genocide, while the US Holocaust Museum has said that it has compelling evidence of crimes against humanity in Rakhine.
This comes only months after a UN independent body found enough evidence to suggest that a systematic purging operation was carried out with the cognizance of the civil administration. All this suggest unequivocally that Myanmar has committed a grave crime. What is most disquieting is that even after such a horrendous breach of human rights, the country is maintaining a brazen face, regularly denying allegations of abuse with a straight face. There has been condemnation though global censure hardly dented Myanmars nonchalant attitude. Unless some stern measures are taken, Myanmar authority will carry on mistreating their minorities. Worse still, the world will see that when commercial interests are at stake, human issues lose impetus. Why the US is still quiet despite mounting evidence is perplexing. While imposing sanctions on Iran takes a few days, the dilatory approach on the Myanmar issue questions the US platitudes about protecting human rights.
