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A new genocide being committed in Rakhine

Published : Monday, 9 September, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 444
Md Mustakim Ahmed
Before the memory of the '2017 Rohingya genocide' fades, the world is regrettably witnessing a new wave of genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people, one that is perhaps more vicious and brutal.

The military of Myanmar unleashed a ruthless offensive against the Rohingya people in 2017, sparking the most brutal wave of anti-Rohingya persecution. Subsequently, the head of the UN agency for human rights described the military's actions as "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing," "acts of horrific barbarity," and an "acts of genocide." About a million Rohingya were compelled to escape to Bangladesh, a neighbor, as a result of the persecution.

In a study conducted in January 2018 with a total of 3,321 Rohingya refugee households in Cox's Bazar, a UN Fact-Finding Mission estimated that the military and the local Rakhine Buddhists had killed at least 25,000 Rohingya and committed gang rapes and other forms of sexual violence against 18,000 Rohingya women and girls. According to their estimates, 36,000 Rohingya were burned alive and 116,000 others were beaten, an atrocities unseen since 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Stepping into 8th years, the remaining Rohingyas of Rakhine are subjected to ethnic cleansing, this time by both the military junta and the Arakan Army. Rohingya 'trapped between hammer and anvil' as military junta and ArakanArmy fights each other for the control of Rakhine. 

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says, over 630,000 Rohingya people, still living in Myanmar are  under a "system of apartheid" that makes them especially susceptible to future conflicts. Serious human rights atrocities and breaches against the Rohingya have been carried out by the junta and AA. These abuses include beheadings, extrajudicial murders, kidnappings, forced recruitment, indiscriminate bombardments of towns and villages and arson assaults.

Significant progress has been achieved by the Arakan Army (AA) in Rakhine, where it now controls 11 of the state's 17 townships, these includes- Taungpyoletwea, Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Minbya, Ponnagyun, Pauktaw, Myebon, Ann, Ramree, and Thandwe. This leads to an intense fighting situation between the junta and the AA. Rohingyas are caught between them, used and wasted.

Former Rohingya homes, "Buthidaung" and "Maungdaw" Townships, are now their cemeteries. The Free Rohingya Coalition claims that since April, AA has burned down Rohingya villages, pillaged homes, and committed several other atrocities in Buthidaung and Maungdaw, forcing almost 250,000 Rohingya into homelessness.

In April and May of this year, the AA slaughtered almost 2,100 Rohingya in Buthidaung. In a terrible act of cruelty, the AA massacred 600 Rohingya, including women and children, in the Buthidaung village of Htan Shauk Khan on May 2. On August 5, at the latest, an AA drone and artillery attack killed around 200 Rohingya as they were waiting to cross into Bangladesh for safety beside the Naf River.


Is this Genocide 2.0? Once again, armed forces are driving thousands of Rohingya from their homes through killings and arson, leaving them nowhere safe to turn. Rohingya are being pressured from all sides in Myanmar. In recent months, the junta has unlawfully conscripted thousands of Rohingya men and boys from Rakhine State to fight against the AA. The move has inflamed tensions between Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities, fearing another 'Arakan Massacres in 1942'.

The ICC prosecutor declared an ICC inquiry into suspected crimes in Ukraine in March 2022, one month after Russia's escalated invasion of that country. The prosecutor of the ICC likewise did not waste any time in issuing a strong caution against committing crimes in Ukraine. Regarding Myanmar, no comparable robust public declarations have been forthcoming from the ICC. Additionally, the public's support for prosecutions from other states has not been as strong.

Prosecutions, arrest warrants, and statements from the ICC prosecutor could have a deterring and preventive impact, especially during an active conflict. But nothing we've seen so far for Rohingyas. 

Over the past seven years, the UN, the ASEAN and world leaders  have not done enough to end this persecution that has exposed Rohingya to further suffering. Ending the ongoing cycle of abuse, destruction, and displacement requires international efforts to hold those responsible to account.

The humanitarian catastrophe that is taking place in Rakhine is directly the fault of the military and the Arakan Army. A clear response to these atrocities is required: justice must be sought tenaciously, and those responsible must be accountable. Both legally and morally, it is imperative that the atrocities and crimes of the past never happen again.

The UN Security Council along with the world leaders must act now to ensure the safety of the Rohingya population and voice for sustainable peace and national reconciliation that are important steps to create conditions conducive to the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of the Rohingya people to Myanmar.

The writer is a Teacher 


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