Demolition of Rohingya villages

The satellite images by Human Rights Watch, an international rights group, reveal the extraordinary cover-up efforts by Myanmar to suppress the evidence of the widespread atrocities against Rohingyas that its forces have carried out. To date, at least fifty-five depopulated Rohingya villages have been razed to the ground, according to the group.

The international community must take steps to halt the ongoing demolition because the villages should be regarded as crime scenes that must be preserved until a UN fact-finding commission carries out its investigation. The demolition is not just obstruction of justice, but it also makes it difficult for Rohingyas to reclaim their lands. The world must intervene before it's too late.

In addition, Myanmar parliament has recently approved a budget to construct a fence along the border with Bangladesh. It makes perfect sense that after having pushed nearly a million Rohingyas into Bangladesh, Myanmar's authorities are building fences so that its undesirable minorities cannot go back their home the same way they fled. It reinforces the notion that Myanmar's "clearance operation" had little to with terrorists. From the very beginning, it was intended to get rid of Rohingyas. 

Meanwhile, the refugee influx into Bangladesh still continues with nearly 50-100 families entering the country every day. All these events suggest that the last thing Myanmar wants is a repatriation in which all Rohingyas will be guaranteed safety and full rights. Thus, the world must not fall for Myanmar's deceptive techniques.

In this regard, we commend the joint statement by India and Canada which called for a safe and voluntary Rohingya repatriation. Both conditions, however, are for Myanmar to fulfil and ensure. It cannot be open-ended and Bangladesh cannot wait indefinitely. The world has a lot more to do.