Says Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Arakan News Desk: Rohingya genocide is intensifying amid aid restrictions and renewed armed conflicts in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, according to a report by the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK).
Many of the policies of the military junta can be construed as genocidal acts outlined in the Genocide Convention, according to the study titled “Struggling to Survive”.
“Our report exposes how genocidal practices in Rakhine state are not only continuing but have even intensified over the last six months,” said Tun Khin, president of BROUK, in a statement yesterday.
In 2020, the International Court of Justice ordered emergency measures to prevent the genocide of Rohingyas in Myanmar following The Gambia’s case filed with the World Court in 2019.
Due to restrictions on their movement, access to healthcare and livelihoods, the Rohingya communities are almost entirely dependent on humanitarian aid.
Rohingya women, children and men are struggling to survive, he said, adding that further curbs on aid access, coupled with conflict-related violations, have only made this situation more alarming.
The renewed armed conflict in Rakhine state has put Rohingya civilians at greater risk of harm. On November 13, a fragile ceasefire between the Arakan Army and the Myanmar military collapsed, sparking armed clashes in Rakhine State.
Rakhine and Rohingya civilians have already been killed and injured by indiscriminate shelling by the military over the past week.
The Myanmar military has also arbitrarily arrested and tortured Rohingya men on accusations of ties to the AA or ARSA, in an act of collective punishment, the report said.
Under such circumstances, time is running out for the more than 600,000 Rohingyas still living inside Rakhine state, according to the report, which was published on November 21.
About 750,000 Rohingyas fled the brutal military campaign against the Rohingyas to Bangladesh, joining some 300,000 others who had fled earlier waves of persecution since the 1980s.
“There is no doubt that the Myanmar military is still trying to erase the Rohingya from the face of the earth. The world must immediately take steps to pressure the Myanmar junta to lift all restrictions on aid as well as Rohingyas’ access to hospitals, schools and livelihoods,” Tun Khin said.
