It seems that there is no end in sight to the suffering of the Rohingya.
Despite worldwide condemnation for what was nothing short of a planned and concerted effort to ethnically cleanse the Rakhine region of the Rohingya people, their persecution has continued at the hands of the Myanmar military -- fighting between Myanmar army and Rakhine rebels have resulted in more Rohingya escaping the region to find sanctuary in Bangladesh.
Myanmar’s behaviour following the great Rohingya exodus in August 2017 has made two things very clear: One, that Myanmar has no intention of taking part in a successful repatriation plan for the Rohingya people.
And two, that the international community’s lack of pressure on the Myanmar government has essentially meant that Myanmar will continue to use violence against the Rohingya with absolute impunity.
Bangladesh is already hosting more than a million Rohingya refugees inside its borders -- this is despite the fact that our nation remains overpopulated and resources are strained.
For the world to then sit back and watch as more and more Rohingya are pushed to Bangladesh is tantamount to failure on the part of the international community, who must do more to ensure that the Rohingya are safe and secure.
Myanmar continues to carry out its operations against a persecuted minority, who run a legitimately high risk of becoming radicalized, and it is about time that a sufficient amount of pressure was put on Myanmar.
The world must make it clear: This is unacceptable and, if it continues, it is not the Rohingya, but Myanmar who must pay the price.
