We need to look no further than Myanmar’s decision to consider banning the work of the UN and other INGOs to realize that their stance on Rohingya repatriation is disingenuous.
The proposed banning comes in the form of a law which, due to its ambiguous language, could potentially mean that the Myanmar authorities would have the freedom to control and monitor these organizations as they wish, organizations which have been providing relief to the suffering Rohingya in Rakhine state for quite some time now.
This is no doubt Myanmar’s latest attempt to literally “get away with murder,” by keeping Rakhine under its boot, and treating the Rohingya with as much as cruelty as they have shown before.
According to reports, this has come about as a result of Rakhine Buddhists accusing these organizations of favouritism toward the Rohingya.
Providing aid to a people who have been treated as sub-human by their country is not favouritism, but simple humanity.
However, this is indeed a worrying trend, as Aung San Suu Kyi’s government spirals further and further away from being any sort of a democratic state.
The fact that access to Rakhine remains limited, despite international pressure on Myanmar to open it up to the world, only speaks further to that fact.
And considering how Myanmar has repeatedly disrespected Bangladesh by treating whatever diplomatic ties we have had with them as a joke, it’s not hard to see that Myanmar’s intentions are far from honest when it comes to the ethical and humane treatment of the Rohingya.
Myanmar has carried out an ethnic cleansing, there is no doubting that, as the country continues to erect military camps near no man’s land, and has the subsequent gall to pass a law seeking to ban whatever aid is being provided to the Rohingya in Rakhine.
The world must make it clear that Myanmar’s behaviour will not be tolerated any longer.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
