There is not an iota of doubt that the Rohingya Muslims have been subjected to massive ethnic cleansing in Myanmar (formerly Burma), a predominantly Buddhist country in Southeast Asia. Buddhist extremists are perpetrating crimes against these hapless people with the clandestine support and blessing of the Myanmar government. Parliamentary elections were held in the country on Nov. 8 after a long period of time and the opposition party National League for Democracy, headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, is inching toward a big victory as official results trickle in. The one-million strong Rohingya in the northwestern state of Rakhine were denied their voting rights in the election. The disenfranchisement of Rohingya Muslims was one of the main slogans of the leading political parties, including the parties of Myanmar President Thein Sein and opposition leader Suu Kyi during the election campaign. Sein promised during the campaign that he would put an end to the so-called Rohingya issue. He claimed that there are no citizens called Rohingya in the country whose entire population is Buddhist. Sein also boasted that he was successful in convincing the international community about this, besides denying permission for the pan-Islamic Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to open an office in Myanmar. This is strong evidence of the determination of the Myanmar government, headed by Sein, to exterminate the ethnic Muslim community from Rakhine state despite their presence in that part of the country for centuries. A few months ago, the Myanmar government signed into law four race and religion bills. The Race and Religion Protection Laws have generated international concern that the laws are mainly targeting the Rohingya Muslim minority. This legislation is part of the gross human rights violations and ethnic cleansing being perpetrated against the Rohingya. Several international bodies have come out vehemently against these violations. They include the UN Human Rights Council, which said that Rohingya Muslims are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. In Oslo, a conference was held a few months ago with the aim of drawing international attention to solving the increasing persecution and suffering of the stateless Muslims who are ethnically linked to Rakhine state. Several prominent global figures, including philanthropist and business tycoon George Soros, and South African bishop and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu converged at the Nobel Institute together with pastors, imams, and monks. Tutu said that Rohingya Muslims face slow genocide while Soros, who escaped Nazi atrocities during the Second World War, compared the miseries of the Rohingya to that of the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany. The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader, was also among the global figures who came out in support of these persecuted minorities. In an interview with an Australian newspaper, he urged fellow Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the main opposition leader in Myanmar, to do more to help protect the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority in her country amid a worsening migration crisis. Despite thousands of Rohingya fleeing on harrowing boat journeys to Southeast Asia to escape a wave of deadly attacks and discriminatory treatment, it is unfortunate that Suu Kyi has yet to speak out against their plight. Even the continuous persecution of these hapless people has not prompted Suu Kyi to break her long silence over the issue. The latest report that draws attention to the plight of the Rohingya is a study carried out by Yale Law School. The Reuters news agency recently carried the report which said that there was strong evidence that Myanmar has committed genocide against Rohingya Muslims. The report called for a United Nations commission of inquiry to focus world leaders' attention on abuses in Rakhine state. The report found evidence that four acts set out in the 1948 UN convention on genocide had been committed: . Killing members of the group: The Rohingya, who have a distinctive language, culture, history and traditions, have been killed by security forces or by the local Rakhine population as security forces stood by without intervening; . Serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group: They have been targeted and subjected to rape, torture, arbitrary detention and other crimes; . Inflicting conditions to destroy the group: They have been confined to camps and townships with restrictions on movement and deprivation of food, medical care and basic life necessities; . Preventing births within the group: Marriage and birth restrictions have been imposed on the Rohingya, sometimes referred to as "biological genocide". The report identified the Myanmar army, police force and now-disbanded Nasaka border administration force as responsible for acts that could constitute genocide. It also exposed links between perpetrators and the central government. The report suggested that the next logical step would be for the United Nations Human Rights Council to convene a commission of inquiry to examine the atrocities in Rakhine state. It is noteworthy that all of these investigations and condemnations came from the West, especially from non-governmental organizations, and that they all show that the government of Myanmar wants to get rid of more than seven percent of its population through ethnic cleansing and genocide. As for Muslim countries, they have done nothing to halt these crimes. As far as the OIC is concerned, it has limited its role to simply appointing an envoy, who has been unable to do anything. The pan-Islamic body should at least hold an emergency Islamic summit to discuss the atrocities perpetrated against the Rohingya Muslims. I want to repeat the demand that there should be decisive, strong and collective initiatives to find a solution to this burning issue both at the bilateral and international levels. The United Nations, especially the Security Council, should take a leading role in this regard. — Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at [email protected]
