Amnesty International: Ethnic Cleansing of the Rohingya Minority Continues

In its latest report on the situation of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, Amnesty International states that the ethnic cleansing of this minority continues following the widespread killings and abuses that began in mid-summer. Without effective international action, this disastrous trend will persist. Amnesty International emphasized in a press conference on Wednesday, February 7, that despite the promise of the Yangon government to accept back Muslims who fled the violence of the Myanmar army to neighboring lands, the situation of Rohingya Muslims has not improved. Approximately 690,000 Muslims from Rakhine State in western Myanmar have fled, mainly to southeastern Bangladesh, since the summer. Amnesty International based its new report on evidence gathered from newly arrived refugees in Bangladesh; they report atrocities such as deliberate starvation accompanied by looting and abduction, which continued in December 2017 and January 2018, leading to the displacement of many more Rohingya. Since the summer, when the Myanmar army intensified its crackdown on Rohingya militants, the exodus of this minority from their homeland has turned into a wave; however, they faced sexual assault along their escape route, their huts and shelters were set on fire, and killings significantly increased. The United Nations and the United States have described the Myanmar army's operations against Rohingya Muslims as "ethnic cleansing." Matthew Wells, a senior advisor at Amnesty International on crisis-stricken territories, emphasized in the press conference that the Myanmar army has apparently reduced killings, rapes, and the burning of Rohingya villages but is employing other methods to drive them out. According to reports, the Myanmar army deprives Rohingya people of access to rice fields, allows their markets to be destroyed, loots their animals, property, and valuables, and often abducts their women and girls for sexual violence. The grim picture painted by Amnesty International's latest report on the situation of Rohingya Muslims comes as the Yangon government allowed a delegation of diplomats, including UN officials, to enter this week to oversee what Myanmar media calls an effort to "provide accurate information to the international community" regarding the return of refugees from Bangladesh. However, Amnesty International emphasized that Myanmar's measures are "strangely rudimentary." The Associated Press also published a report last week on evidence related to mass graves where the bodies of hundreds of Rohingya killed by Myanmar forces during the summer atrocities were hidden. Yanghee Lee, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, told reporters that the killings and destruction of victims' bodies exhibit all the signs of a targeted massacre. This rapporteur, like many politicians around the world, has severely criticized Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar, in recent months, stating that she has not provided adequate support for the suffering Rohingya minority. The Myanmar army and Aung San Suu Kyi, who is herself Buddhist, present a different narrative of the situation. Last month, the Myanmar army only confirmed the killing of ten Muslims whose bodies were discovered weeks earlier in a mass grave in Rakhine State but blamed the local Buddhist villagers for the crime and claimed it was taking necessary actions against them. With the Myanmar government's promises to international bodies, hopes for improving the situation of the Rohingya and returning the fleeing refugees had slightly increased, but according to Amnesty International's latest report, the flight of these people from their homeland continues. Bangladesh, which also has a Rohingya population, announced last month that due to the dangers threatening Myanmar's Rohingya refugees upon their return to Rakhine State, the repatriation process is currently suspended.