UN Security Council Urged To Discuss Rohingya Crisis
22 August 2017An international human
rights group called on the U.N. Security Council on Friday to hold an
emergency meeting on Myanmar's crackdown on Rohingya Muslims.
According to the U.N. and rights groups, over the past two weeks military
operations have forced 164,000 Rohingya villagers to flee across the border to
neighboring Bangladesh from Rakhine state.
New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that it has interviewed 50
Rohingya refugees recently arrived in Bangladesh who described killings,
shelling and arson in their villages, which have all the hallmarks of a
campaign of ethnic cleansing.
"Rohingya refugees have harrowing accounts of fleeing Burmese army attacks and
watching their villages be destroyed," South Asia director at HRW Meenakshi
Ganguly said.
"Lawful operations against armed groups do not involve burning the local
population out of their homes."
The group said its initial findings of the situation in the Maungdaw area of
Rakhine were indicative of an ethnic cleansing campaign.
It called on the U.N. Security Council to hold a public emergency meeting and
warn Myanmar's government that it would face severe sanctions unless the
campaign against the Rohingya is halted.
"The United Nations and concerned governments need to press Burma right now to
end these horrific abuses against the Rohingya as a first step toward
restoring Rohingya to their homes," Ganguly said.
Myanmar said Wednesday it was negotiating with China and Russia, both
permanent members of the Security Council, to ensure they block any U.N.
Security Council censure over the violence that has forced an exodus of tens
of thousands Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh in less than two weeks.
Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has promised to raise the issue of
the plight of the Rohingya at the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 19.
The Rohingya, described by the U.N. as the world's most persecuted people,
have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal
violence in 2012.
Last October, following attacks on border posts in Maungdaw, Myanmar security
forces launched a five-month crackdown in which, according to Rohingya groups,
around 400 people were killed.
The U.N. has documented mass gang rapes, killings – including infants and
young children – brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security
personnel.
In a report, U.N. investigators said the human rights violations indicated
crimes against humanity.
Before the fresh operation, the military had boosted its presence in Maungdaw
after a wave of deadly attacks claimed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army,
which said it had acted in response to raids, killings and looting by
soldiers.
©
EsinIslam.Com
Add Comments