ASEAN dutybound to end Rohingya sufferings

Charles Santiago

Sometimes, we need to dig deeper than the headlines. More so if it concerns Myanmar. While newspapers and television channels were excited over Myanmar relaxing its grip on the media, one wonders if it is really committed to straightening its human rights record.

The continued ethnic-cleansing of Rohingya Muslims clearly illustrates that Myanmar is hardly committed to protecting the rights of the minority community. Scores of Rohingya Muslims are dead and tens of thousands have been rendered homeless as the violence in Western Myanmar continues between the stateless people and Buddhists.

Yes they are stateless and left in a limbo as Myanmar has not given Rohingya Muslims citizenship. In 1982 a law excluded them from the list of officially recognized minorities.

They cannot own land or properties, have to seek permission to get married or have more than two children. Green light is also needed if they want to travel out of their village.

In fact, Myanmar leaders argue that the Rogingya statelessness are not the country’s problem because they are not an ethnic group in Burma.

Despite this, the Myanmar government repeatedly reiterates its commitment to the various ethnic communities. One point to note is the large exodus of Kachin refugees to China which was forced to flee systematic persecution by the Myanmar authorities.

While we recognize Myanmar’s readiness to engage with the outside world and to open up its democratic space, we cannot dismiss the fact that the resurgence of violence against Rohingya Muslims is a direct result of decades of oppressive military rule.

Therefore it’s the duty of the Myanmar government to seriously check the escalating violence against the Rohingya community. Carefully tailored visits for diplomats and United Nations officers to the affected areas simply won’t cut it. And as the people have long lost confidence in the authorities, an inquiry commission mooted by the government, while welcomed is not enough either.

The plight of the Rohingya Muslims does not occupy any rank in the to-do list of the government. Neither is it popular among the majority Buddhist population who tend to see the Rohingyas as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. This has to change.

And any change must start with ASEAN member countries, including Malaysia, must lobby for Myanmar to not just recognize the Rohingya Muslims but also make a concerted effort to stop the violence. For now, we are reading reports that the government is either fueling deeper hatred against the Rohingyas or is turning a blind eye.

These reports may hold water. According to the Arakan Rohingya National Organisation, Rohingyas were barred from praying in mosques across Rakhine state and all mosques in the northern part of the state was also shut down. Furthermore soldiers were deployed to prevent Muslims from gathering to worship on the day of Eid and were forced to stay in their homes.

These are serious allegations.

Sectarian tension between the Rohingyas and Arakanese tipped the boiling point following allegations that a few Rohingya men had raped an Arakanese woman. Ten Muslim men were lynched after that and we have seen three months of blood-curdling violence.

Many deny the story, saying the government’s official media were stirring sentiments against the Rohingya community who were portrayed as a threat to national security and the Buddhist society.

Therefore, categorizing the violence and killings as “internal issues” – the two most favorite words of ASEAN members – is nothing but heads of member states donning the role of eunuchs to stay friends at dinner tables. This has to stop.

ASEAN countries must intervene to stop the ethnic cleansing. They must exert pressure on the Myanmar government to stop the killings which are largely military sponsored.

We welcome Indonesia’s decision of sending an envoy to Myanmar. But much more needs to be done, quickly.

Closer to home, we cannot be proud of the way we have treated the Rohingya refugees. There are tens of thousands of them in the capital Kuala Lumpur. They live in sub-human conditions, are targeted by the para military group RELA, immigration officers and the policemen who care two hoots about the UNHCR identification they carry with them.

But what is even more saddening is the uncharacteristic silence of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leading personality noble laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, one of the world’s most-celebrated pro-democracy icons. Suu Kyi has not commented on the violence and instead cleverly dodged the issue.

The Rohingya refugees in Malaysia cannot work due to lack of papers. And the government’s promise to start a registration drive to enable the Rohingyas and other refugees to be recognized remains mere lip service.

But what is even more saddening is the uncharacteristic silence of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and its leading personality noble laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, one of the world’s most-celebrated pro-democracy icons. Suu Kyi has not commented on the violence and instead cleverly dodged the issue.

While this caricatures the fall of a political dissident to a politician whose eyes are on garnering majority Buddhists support at the 2015 elections, staying mute to the ongoing persecution is unbecoming for a person of her stature.

One of Myanmar’s plus points remain its strategic location. We have seen China pandering to Myanmar’s whims and fancy to have better access to the Indian Ocean and short cuts to oil deliveries from the Middle East.

US president Barack Obama would add a feather to his cap with a quick foreign policy success by shifting Myanmar from a dictatorship to a democracy. Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh is also playing strategist through a recent visit.

But these nations must put a brake on their eagerness to engage Myanmar until a solution to the recent violence is clinched. For starters, China must stop sending back thousands of Kachins back to their home villages where they will face hostilities and army abuses.

On the same stance, Bangladesh must accept the Rohingyas who are fleeing there and immediately revoke its “shoot at sight” order in the event any Rohingya is found crossing their border.

And Suu Kyi must speak up, for she holds a commanding position and is well-placed to lobby for the persecution to end, given her political clout.

The allegations of ethnic cleansing was first brought up by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In view of this, I support the call by human rights organizations and scholars to raise this issue as part of the United Nation’s agenda in the General Assembly.

Also, I call upon ASEAN nations to pressure and work together with the Myanmar government to search for a durable solution before the Rohingya statelessness transforms into an ASEAN nightmare.

Dipetik dari - HarakahDaily