Myanmar does not want to play fair

The praises given to the UN for their assurances to help Bangladesh with the Rohingya crisis were, perhaps, sung too soon. After much moralising talk and many officious meetings, the best the UN Security Council could do was issue a plea to Myanmar to “ensure no further excessive use of military force.” In the meantime, Myanmar’s relentless military campaign against the hapless Rohingya shows no signs of stopping -- even though Myanmar claims otherwise. Boats carrying new refugees continue to arrive in our shores. Suu Kyi’s indifference to the plight of the Rohingya seemed inconsistent, at first, with her possession of the Nobel Peace Prize, but now she seems fully consistent in her tendency to cover up for Myanmar’s murderous operations. It began with outright denial, which, when it could not stand in the face of mounting evidence and international impatience, evolved to fit the context. A few weeks ago, her office insinuated that Bangladesh was deliberately forestalling the repatriation process when in fact Myanmar was holding it up by refusing to cooperate. And now she is trying to get the UN to back off by insisting that their involvement would “seriously harm the bilateral negotiations between the two countries which have been proceeding smoothly and expeditiously.” But the truth is, talks between Bangladesh and Myanmar have been anything but smooth. So far, Suu Kyi’s words are as real as the democratic reforms she brought to her country, which is really run by the military junta. And without a mediating force like the UN, Myanmar will take every chance to railroad us into accepting their unfair terms.