Thousands of stateless Rohingya Muslims are trying to
reach Bangladesh amid reports of abuse by the Burmese army
A United Nations official was
recently quoted saying that Myanmar’s western Arakan State has been witness to Burmese
authorities carrying out a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing of Rohingya
Muslims with military atrocities continuing in the garb of combating Islamic militants
in the region. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims are fleeing the country and
entering into Bangladesh to save their clan from getting extinct. The alleged charges
against the Burmese army are very serious - Rape, mass slaughter, burning entire
villages and loot, all extremely serious human rights violations. However
Bangladesh has not labelled the Rohingyas as refugees and the Bangladeshi
establishment is drafting policies to stop the Rohingyas from entering their
borders. The Rohingyas are considered to be illegal immigrants by Bangladesh and
there is serious resistance to the Rohingyas mixing with the extant Bangladesh demography.
The 1.1 million Rohingyas are viewed as one of the worlds’s most persecuted
minorities. Thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been crossing the border for
decades to seek refuge in one of several refugee camps near Cox’s Bazaar, a
major population centre. However moves to staunch the flow of these migrants
continue by the Bangladesh government.
The Rakhine region has been on
military lockdown since Oct. 9, when nine border police guards were killed in
what appear to have been coordinated attacks on three security posts.In a
surprising turn of events it is observed that not much coverage is seen on the
torture of Rohingya Muslims by the Burmese authorities who have labelled them
as jihadists. Serious humanitarian crisis faces the Rohingyas who are denied
food and medical aid in the conflict torn zone. The Rohingyas are forced to
live in camps in unimaginable conditions.
Aung San Suu Kyi who is considered as
the democratic face of Myanmar, has made few statements on the crisis. This is
indicative of the tenuous hold on a semblance of democracy that she is
maintaining. It is an acknowledged fact that the transition to a democratic set
up has been more lip service than anything else, and Suu Kyi is well aware of
how quickly things could revert to the earlier military ‘junta’ that ruled over
Myanmar for decades and still maintain a stranglehold over politics in the country.
The military still controls the key Ministries of Home Affairs, Border Affairs
and Defence with activists like Suu Kyi playing minor roles in decision making
processes. Owing her well known public persona, it is convenient to keep her as
the facade for international interactions such as those with President Obama.
This gives a tinge of legitimacy to the state of affairs in Myanmar today,
which was under crippling sanctions by the international community during the
rule of the military junta.
In a world torn by conflicts
perceived as much more serious and apocalyptic, it seems the plight of the
Rohingya Muslims has taken a back burner. While it may be worth more TRPs to
cover Iraq and Syria and the fight against the Islamic State, it may well be
remembered that highlighting the case of the downtrodden also remains an
important facet of media reporting. It is in effect a word of caution to the
powers that control the media.
