The UN human rights council has called it "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing". The Associated Press has published hard evidence of the mass-graves from it. Countless NGOs have denounced the Burmese government for it. And yet, two years after the Rohingya Genocide began, there has still been no decisive action on the part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces, the United States, or any of the G20 member-states.
While politicians have danced around the issue and neglected their duty to intervene on behalf of the victims, tens of thousands have been brutally executed and over seven hundred thousand survivors displaced from their homes. There is no sign that the Burmese military will let up, and with over 1.1 million people belonging to the Rohingya ethnic group still facing persecution, it seems like the world is primed to bear witness to another Rwanda or Darfur.
Myanmar is home to 136 ethnic groups, but of them the Rohingya are unique in that they are unrecognized by the Burmese government and ineligible for citizenship. Even in a nation where many of these groups regularly clash with the military over matters of sovereignty and resources, the systemic denial and persecution of the Rohingya is a unique case. While this Muslim minority ethnic group has historically faced discrimination, the military's recent escalation of this into a campaign of radical diminishing is unprecedented within the region.
Recently, the associated press has announced the discovery of multiple mass graves in locations that have confirmed prior accounts made by Rohingya refugees. This comes at a time when the Burmese government continues to deny all allegations of the mass-killing, framing the victims as radical terrorists despite a growing body of evidence that now includes graphic photos of the burnt remains of women and children.
A recent U.N. report has called
for Myanmar’s military leaders, including the commander-in-chief, to be investigated and prosecuted on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes over their actions in ethnic and religious minority states. According to the report, UN officials tasked with investigating the crisis found “patterns of gross human rights violations and abuses committed in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan state” from the military that “undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law.”
