In Myanmar, atrocities against Rohingya Muslims are being committed; many children have been beheaded and people burnt alive after inflammatory government statements. UK ambassador to the UN urged Aung San suu Kyi, the de facto head of Myanmar’s government to address the situation. The brazen-faced Nobel peace laureate has drawn international condemnation for failing to address ongoing rights’ abuses of the Muslim minority. The assaults were widely condemned by the UK and the international community. A few Muslim countries have condemned the tragic events but the OIC and Arab League have kept shameful and criminal silence; and do not seem to be bothered about genocide of Muslims. Anyhow, mere condemnation will not suffice; and the matter should be taken up in United Nations Security Council to stop genocide of Rohingya Muslims.
Already, more than 100,000 civilians have been displaced in Rakhine, while another 2,000 Muslims are trapped on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, which was closed by the Bangladeshi government. Another 400,000 live in Bangladeshi camps, although Dhaka only recognizes a small portion as refugees. Between 2,000 and 3,000 Muslims were killed in Myanmar’s Rakhine state last week, the European Rohingya Council said. The U.N. documented mass gang rape, killings, including that of babies and children, brutal beatings and disappearances. Rohingya representatives have said approximately 400 people were slain during the operation. The violence had started in 2012, when hundreds of Muslims were beaten, raped and killed in Myanmar (earlier Burma) in two months. But there had neither been a word of censure from the UN nor had it taken any action to stop mass killing of Muslim minority in Burma.
The UN had only taken note of the atrocities committed on Muslim Rohingyas and sent an envoy to Myanmar. No western chancellery appeared to have uttered a word of protest or condemnation on the massacre of Rohingyas. How correct was that perceptive Greek historian Thucydides when he famously said: “The strong do as they can; and the weak suffer as they must”? Except statements from a few Muslim countries, the Organization of Islamic Countries had not convened the meeting to formulate a joint response to remind the UN about its obligations to save the life and property of the minority Muslims in Myanmar. Rohingya Muslims’ enforced conversion to Buddhism, subjecting them to all sorts of violence and harsh treatment, denying them fundamental human rights and not accepting them as citizens with equal rights are some of the glaring excesses by the majority Bhudhists on the minority Muslims.
Dr. Mohammad Elmasry, Professor in University of Waterloo in his treatise in the Egyptian Gazzete had enumerated the hardships the Rohingyas Muslims had historically undergone. He wrote: “They are subjected to various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation, land confiscation, forced eviction and house destruction and financial restrictions on marriage. Rohingyas continue to be used as forced laborers on roads and at military camps”. Historically speaking, Rohingya Muslims arrived in Burma in early seventh century, but Myanmar previous military regime had maintained that Rohingya Muslim immigrants came from India during British colonial rule. The régime had refused to issue them identification cards, deny them education, health and travel facilities. It is unfortunate that international community, international media including CNN and BBC have not highlighted the human rights abuses in Myanmar.
The declaration made by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution 96 (1) dated 11 December 1946 stipulates that genocide is a crime under international law, contrary to the spirit and aims of the United Nations and condemned by the civilized world. According to Article 1 of 1951 UN Convention on Genocide, it was confirmed that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, was a crime under international law, which the signatories of the Convention undertook to prevent and to punish those involved in genocide. Article 2 stated: “In the present Convention, genocide means any of the acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. Thus, torturing, killing, inflicting physical pain and causing mental harm to any human being or group fall under the category of criminal acts punishable under international law.
If one cares to identity the reasons for the plight of Muslims not only in Myanmar but also in many other countries of the world, one would come to the conclusion that the fundamental reason for their predicament is that they face leadership crisis. The Organization of Islamic Conference and the Arab League have not been able to provide either leadership or collective wisdom to extricate Muslim ummah from the multifaceted crisis. Had the rulers of the member countries ensured socio-economic justice, strengthened the institutions, established democracy and fostered the spirit of tolerance and accommodation in their societies, they would have been spared the ordeal and ignominy they face today. Some Muslim countries have become breeding grounds for extremists and criminals, whereby they are looked upon as places that engender terrorism. Leaders of Muslim countries should use collective wisdom to improve their image.
