Violence erupted against Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority [4.3%] by the military, causing mass exodus from Rakhine state to neighboring Muslim Bangladesh. Receiving independence from British India rule in 1962, Burma was under military rule until Burmese Constitutional referendum of 2008 established “discipline-flourishing democracy,” starting the wheels turning for the first free election in 2015. Electing Htin Kyaw March 30, 2016, Myanmar took a huge leap into unknown perils of democracy where military rule still lingers in a country 87% Theravada Buddhist. Faced with attacks from Rohingya Muslims, Kyaw summoned the military to set down the violence, driving over 100,000 Rohingya Muslims to escape to Bangladesh. Considered among the poorest nations in the world, Bangladesh has no resources to accommodate the hoards of Rohingya refugees.
Myanmar’s State Counselor [Prime Minister] Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist and Aung San Shu Kyri denied that Myanmar’s military was actively engaged in “ethnic cleansing.” Calling the “ethnic cleansing” accusations “misinformation,” Aung found herself at odds with human rights groups viewing the Muslim exodus as a reaction to a government crack down on Rohingya militants. Attacking government security posts on Aug. 25, Myanmar’s security services responded strongly with a crack down on Muslim villages, in some instances burning villages, driving Muslims from their homes. “The brutality is unthinkable,” said Matthew Smith, CEO of “Fortify Rights” advocacy group. “Myanmar’s security forces are killing children. They’re killing women. They are killing the elderly. They are killing able-bodied men and boys. It’s indiscriminate,” calling for immediate U.N. Security Council action.
Whatever the problems of discrimination against Myanmar’s Muslim minority, human rights groups don’t report on attacks against government security outposts. Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner and activist under Burma’s military rule, blamed Muslim militants for the political unrest in Rakhine state. “A huge iceberg of misinformation” was “calculated to create a lot of problems between different communities and with the aim of promoting the interest of terrorists,” said Kyi, a former Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Despite calls of genocide, Kyi said that Myanmar “has already started defending all the people in Rakhine in the best way possible,” Kyi posted on Facebook. Amnesty International called Kyi’s response to the humanitarian crisis appalling. Amnesty International’s Crisis Director Tirana Hassan Kyi, calling the government’s actions “ethnic cleansing.”
Faced with Islamic terrorism in the South Asia, the Indian subcontinent and the Philippine archipelago, Myanmar’s concerned that Islamic terrorists are overrunning Rakhine state. “This is a human rights and humanitarian catastrophe,” said Hassan, rejecting Kyi’s characterization as government fighting terrorists. Kyi rejected “ethnic cleansing” as “too strong a term.” Instead of trading barbs with Human Rights groups, the U.N. needs to send its own fact-finding mission into Myanmar, not only to ascertain what happened but to provide immediate humanitarian relief to Bangladesh, currently lacking resources to accommodate Myanmar’s refugees. “I am still waiting for my fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kya” to denounce the “tragic and shameful treatment” of Rohingya Muslims, said 20-year-old Malala Yousafzai, a past victim of the Taliban’s violence in Pakistan.
Using Malala shows that human rights groups have taken only one side to Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis. Calling the situation on the border between Myanmar and Bangladesh “really grave,” U.N. Special rapporteur on human rights Yanghee Lee in Myanmar said its time for Suu to “step in.” “The Muslims are starving in their homes. Markets are closed and people can’t leave their villages, except to flee. There is widespread intimidation by the authorities, who are clearly using food and water as weapons,” an unnamed source told Amnesty International. Human rights groups have heaped all the blame on government security forces who’s cracked down on terrorists in Rohingya villages. Once Rohingya terrorists attacked military outposts Aug. 25 in Rakhine state, Myanmar security services used force. Before the U.N. can get a true picture what’s going on, both stories need to be told.
Visiting the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, Amnesty Crisis Director Hassan called on the government to address Rohingya Muslims’ grievances over minorities’ civil rights and citizenship. “This far, we have seen absolutely no attempt to do that, and it’s incredibly disappointing,” said Hassan, not addressing the issue of Rohingya terrorism against government outposts. “The restriction on humanitarian aid, the stopping of food aid and the inability to provide shelter services is the perfect storm for a humanitarian disaster,” Hassan said. Blaming Suu Kyi for not bashing President Htin Kyaw shows how biased Human Rights groups are against the Myanmar government. As
Myanmar’s State Counselor [Prime Minister], Hassan knows that it would be inappropriate for Kyi to denounce her own government. Whatever the strife with Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state, Kyi can’t sell out Myanmar.
