Rohingyas in Rakhine: Myanmar still forcing them to flee homes
Rather than creating conditions for the return of the Rohingyas, Myanmar is engaging in a sustained campaign of violence, intimidation and harassment of the ethnic minority, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar said yesterday.
"I spoke to one woman who arrived in Cox's Bazar a matter of days ago after her father was stabbed to death by Myanmar security forces. A man I spoke to told me that he and his entire family fled recently after his mother and sister were abducted and raped," Yanghee Lee said.
"During my visit, I received videos of houses burning in Maungdaw township, the second such incident to occur in Maungdaw in 2019 alone."
Lee made the remarks at a press conference at Hotel Le Meridien Dhaka at the end of her visit to Bangladesh. She had visited Cox's Bazar and Bhasanchar and spoke to the Rohingya refugees, officials of the government, UN and aid agencies.
Earlier this week, Lee, who has been denied access to Myanmar, visited Thailand to learn of the latest situation in Myanmar. According to information gathered by her team, houses were burned by Myanmar security forces working in concert with Rakhine extremists.
"The campaign of violence against the Rohingya continues, with the security forces slowly bleeding the remaining Rohingya population and continuing to force them to flee to Bangladesh," said Yanghee Lee.
Some 750,000 Rohingas fled a brutal military crackdown and came to Bangladesh since August 2017.
Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a bilateral repatriation deal in November 2017. Last year, Myanmar signed a deal with the UNDP and UN Refugee Council. However, repatriation could not be started yet because the refugees were not volunteering for return.
In the recent months, Arakan Army, a Rakhine ethnic community, and Myanmar army got engaged in conflicts, leading to killings and displacement of some 6,000 civilians.
Government rhetoric characterising the Rakhine community as sympathisers, collaborators and associates of the Arakan Army (AA) threatens only to increase tensions in the region and divisions between ethnic communities, Lee said.
Describing her visit to the no man's land, where some 4,000 Rohingya refugees have been living, near Naikkhangchhari in Bandarban, she said security forces on the Myanmar side are engaging in an intimidation campaign, in the apparent hope of driving this group out and into Bangladesh territory.
It is clear that Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh cannot return to Myanmar in the near future, she said, adding: "Now that the election in Bangladesh has concluded, I encourage the government to begin to engage in longer-term planning and prepare the local population for this reality."
A failure to do so will not only have negative consequences for the refugee population but also for Bangladesh, including most significantly, the host community, who have already given so much to accommodate the refugees."
She urged India and Saudi Arabia to ensure that Rohingya people within their borders are protected and not forcibly deported.
On Rohingya relocation to Bhashanchar, Lee said there should be no rush to relocate them.
Asked about relocation of the Rohngyas to other Southeast Asian countries, she said, "I don't think that's a possibility."
About a UN-led safe zone for the Rohingya in Rakhine state, she said such safe zones are not actually safe. She suggested a sustainable solution to the crisis by holding Myanmar accountable.
She said there were instances in the history that refugees were told to stay in safe zones, but then killed together.
PROSECUTE MYANMAR ARMY CHIEF
In an interview with the Reuters in Bangkok, Lee said Myanmar's army chief should be prosecuted for genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority.
"Min Aung Hlaing and others should be held accountable for genocide in Rakhine and for crimes against humanity and war crimes in other parts of Myanmar," said Lee, referring to the military's commander-in-chief.
Her interview on January 18 marked the first time Lee has publicly called for the army chief to be prosecuted for genocide against Rohingyas.
"For any repatriation to happen ... the perpetrators must be held to account, because sending the refugees back with no accountability is going to really exacerbate or prolong the horrific situation in Myanmar….And then we'll see another cycle of expulsion again."
The UN Security Council in September voted to approve the establishment of an "ongoing independent mechanism" for Myanmar that would collect, consolidate, and preserve evidence of crimes that could be used in an eventual court case.
Lee said the independent mechanism would provide funds for "victim support", including money for criminal cases.
Myanmar, which is not a party to the Rome Statute that established the ICC, has said it "absolutely rejects" the Hague-based court.
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