"Genocide and the ongoing torture faced by the Rohingya" discussion

 

The United States, under the title "Genocide and the ongoing torture faced by Rohingya Muslims" Georgetown University; A seminar was held on September 14 at the Berkley Center. Scholars familiar with the Rohingya issue in Rakhine State participated in the discussion. The full details have been summarized by Nang Lang.

Dr. Ronan Lee, who personally visited Rakhine state in 2015 and studied the conditions of the Rohingya camp, said that since then, the Rohingya have been living in fear, with no access to health care and permission to enter and leave only with the permission of the authorities. According to Dr. Lee, there is absolutely no doubt that the Rohingyas were genocided, based on what he saw.

"According to my experience in Rakhine state, it is clear that the Myanmar authorities are killing the Rohingya on purpose. Both the military and the civilian government want to destroy the Rohingya community."

Dr. Lee published the book Myanmar's Rohingya Genocide: Identity, History and Hate Speech in 2021. Referring to Prime Minister U Nu's announcement, Dr. Lee pointed out that the Rohingya were deeply involved in Myanmar's politics in the early days after independence from British rule. However, after 1970, Dr. Lee also reported that the Rohingyas from Myanmar have been continuously being driven out to Bangladesh. He also reviewed the role of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who became a leader in 2017.

The international community wanted to know the role of civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the incident that occurred in 2017. The attitude of the majority of Myanmar people, like the army, does not want the Rohingya. Aung San Suu Kyi, a civilian leader, also wants to stand on the side of the consensus. Therefore, the attitude of the Rohingya community is no longer compatible with the human rights groups that stand."

In early 2022, 6 years after the brutality of the Myanmar security forces against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine state, the United States officially declared those acts as genocide. Between 2016 and 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were forced to flee to neighboring Bangladesh when the Myanmar military cleared the area of armed rebels in northern Rakhine State. During the clearing of the area, burning villages, Rohingya women and girls are abused, Thousands of civilians were also brutally killed.

Dr. Lee also pointed out that the Rohingya did not flee in a short period of time, but that it took months, but that if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had urged the military to stop the terrorist acts, she could have received the support of Western countries. Dr. Lee also analyzed that if the military had been pressured at that time, the international response to the military coup in 2021 might have been different.

Some local civil leaders also wanted to urge Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to stop the military's terrorist acts. Dr. Lee thinks that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's side did not believe much about the extent of the army's brutality. He also said that this is a lost opportunity for the people of Burma and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who want the military out of politics.

The founder of the Justice for All group who attended the discussion; Iman Bbdul mali Mujahid also analyzed the persecution faced by the Rohingyas as being related to the fear of Islam called Islamophobia.

“I think it has to do with Islamophobia. Rohingyas are being accused just like most Muslims are being accused. Bangladesh It is the same as the accusations against Muslims in Saudi Arabia. Muslims are terrorists. They say we are fighting terrorism. The Rohingyas are an ethnic group that lives in the land where their parents and ancestors lived. Kachin, who are fighting armed The Karen are armed and protecting their people. The Rohingya are fighting to live together peacefully. Here, only the Rohingya are being called terrorists. Kachins do not call fellow Karens terrorists. If you look at this, it is clear that it has to happen because of Muslim fear.

In Bangladesh, as in Myanmar, the Rohingya who are living in camps are showing their desire to return to Myanmar. There are 2 generations of Rohingyas who have not been given the right to free education since Myanmar, and the third generation Rohingyas who fled for their lives in Bangladesh are also not given the right to secondary education.

Social assistance funds for the Rohingya have never been enough, with the United States contributing the most at $1.6 billion. Since the Rohingya children in Bangladesh do not have access to education, Iman Mujahid suggested to those who participated in the discussion to take action to ensure that all of them can get higher education.

Since the military that persecuted the Rohingyas is ruling Myanmar, it is uncertain whether the hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas who arrived in Bangladesh will be able to return home. There are also hundreds of Rohingya who are leaving the refugee camp, which is overcrowded with refugees, by boat to go to the clear water.

The Burmese authorities, who do not accept the term Rohingya, have consistently denied that there have been any human rights violations as internationally accused, but they have said that they will accept the refugees back. At the same time, international observers are also pointing out that the remaining Rohingya in Myanmar are still facing violence.