August 25, 2020 marked the three years’ of tragic fortune of the world most stateless citizens since hundreds of thousands of Rohingya men, women, boys and girls sought safety in Cox’s Bazar after they were forcibly displaced from Rakhine State of Myanmar due to violence and fear of persecution. Since then, the Rohingya refugees have been at the centre of the response, until sustainable solutions for safe, dignified, and voluntary return and reintegration in Myanmar can be achieved.
Three years of Rohingya crisis has already been elapsed but no visible hope yet to be ascertained. Bangladesh has been leading the humanitarian response, enabling a diverse range of humanitarian and development partners to strengthen protection and solutions for the Rohingyas that deliver food, water and sanitation, health and other forms of multi-sectoral assistance.
Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi has drawn criticism from several countries, organisations and figures over her alleged inaction in response to the genocide of the Rohingya people in Rakhine State and refusal to accept that Myanmar’s military committed massacres. Under her leadership, Myanmar has also drawn criticism for prosecutions of journalists.
The Gambia, the West African Nation, filed an accusation against Myanmar for genocide of Rohingyas at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in November 2019. The allegation that has been submitted to the ICJ by the Gambia said Myanmar had carried out the massive murder, rape and destruction of communities in Rakhine State which ultimately forced them to Bangladesh. Gambia also accused Myanmar of breaching the 1948 genocide convention and has asked the court, set up in 1946 to rule on disputes between UN member states, to take emergency measures to stop further violence. Many human rights group and civil society of the world welcomed the move of Gambia wholeheartedly.
In an extraordinary appearance at the ICJ, a team lead by Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s civilian leader, categorically rejected charges of genocide leveled against her country and repeated her government’s long-standing denial of culpability. But really she had maintained an expressionless demeanor in court the previous day of the hearing, when Gambia spent hours detailing stories of systematic rape, murder and other brutality targeting the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar. Everyone was stunned to see her such bold stand on behalf of military Junta.
Earlier international news agency Reuters unveiled an interesting but fact finding surprising news that Myanmar has granted early release to seven soldiers who were jailed for the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys during a 2017 military crackdown in the Western State of Rakhine. The release information was confirmed to Reuters by two prison officials, two former fellow inmates and one of the soldiers. The military eventually confirmed the massacre had taken place and in April 2018, 10 soldiers were sentenced to prison for their involvement in the killings. The soldiers were to serve 10 years of hard labour for “contributing and participating in murder”. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, two journalists who exposed the massacre were sentenced to seven years in prison for their reporting.
The Myanmar state army termed the Rohinga community as Bengalee from the very beginning and they are opposing the citizenship of Rohingyas. The 117 page book published by Myanmar army contained fraudulent snapshot as a pre-planned propaganda against Rohingyas not to back them in Rakhane anyway. Bangladesh government ruled out such propaganda from time to time. Amnesty International blamed the offence held in Rakhane that recognised by the UN Human Rights Council as ‘ethinic cleaning of textbook example’.
Eight Nobel Peace laureates have asked Suu Kyi to publicly acknowledge crimes including genocide committed against Rohingya people in Myanmar. They also commend the Gambia for taking this step to hold Myanmar responsible for the genocide against the Rohingya and for advancing justice for the victims of these crimes.
From the very beginning, Myanmar has failed to address the root causes of widespread abuse against the Rohingya and has refused to create the necessary conditions for their safe, dignified, and voluntary return. Since August 25, 2017, about 740,000 Rohingyas arrived in Bangladesh. Despite limited resources, Bangladesh gave the refugees shelter and security. Before 2017, there were also nearly 400,000, who have been living in Bangladesh for decades. Now, Bangladesh continues to bear the burden of over one million Rohingyas from the Rakhine State of Myanmar.
Despite the good intentions of Bangladesh in trying to find an arrangement that is beneficial for all parties, Myanmar has never seemed interested in taking its people back. In the last three years, there were two attempts at repatriation: one in November 2018 and the other on August 22, 2019. Neither saw any success as the Myanmar authorities failed to earn the trust of the Rohingyas, which led the persecuted people to express their unwillingness to return.
Three years has already been passed, but still no one really knows when the displaced Rohingyas will be able to return to their homes in Rakhine, even though repatriation should have been complete by now as per a bilateral instrument signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar. The Myanmar authority is swindling repeatedly with Bangladesh and therefore, it has to be believed that Suu Kyi along with the Military Junta has done everything behind the scene.
(Mr. Rahaman is a banker and freelance contributor. Email: [email protected])
