Resolving the Rohingya crisis

The OIC in its 10-point communique at the end of the extraordinary session of its Council of Foreign Ministers in Kuala Lumpur on the Rohingya crisis on Thursday has called upon the government of Myanmar to, among other things, stop its repression on the Rohingyas and restore their citizenship that is being denied to them by bringing in changes to its reprehensible citizenship law of 1982.  

These are, we are afraid, in most parts repetition of the calls made by various countries from time to time since the renewal of violence against the Rohingyas in the Rakhine State about three months ago. Regrettably, nothing has been able to compel the government in Naypyidaw to stop its repression on the Muslim minority group. Not even the UN Human Rights envoy to that country has been allowed to visit the affected areas. 

We feel that the OIC call is not enough. It must formulate plans for substantive actions, should the government of Myanmar chose not to heed the call. The rest of the world should be involved and certainly the UN cannot remain aloof as it has with little more than sporadic comments on the issue.

The Special OIC envoy to Myanmar has called on the UN to intervene before a Rwanda is repeated there. The world should take heed of the portents that such statements depict. It has stood aloof for too long from the miseries of the Rohingyas in Myanmar, who virtually has been made stateless in its own country, and may well cease to exist should the international community continue to display the abject apathy towards them that it has shown so far.