e_Paper, Thursday, September 7, 2017

Looking for refuge
As the Rohingya pour into Bangladesh, we must do the right thing
Opinion 13
DT
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2017
• Ziaur Rahman
Genocide, a hated word
in history, was first
introduced in 1944
by Polish-Jewish
lawyer Raphael Lemkin who
coined the term in a book
documenting the Nazi policy of
systematically destroying the
national and ethnic group.
Since then, this word has been
accepted in all judicial lexicons
and in most crimes against any
ethnic community. Time and
again, we had only hope for a
peaceful, calmer world where the
much-hated word “genocide”
would perish forever.
Unfortunately, history has
come to inform us that humanity
has failed, the devil incarnate
has risen with its deadly talons,
killings, raping, maiming, burning
village after village in the pretext
of searching for militants in the
Rakhine state in Myanmar.
The story of the Rohingya
In October of 2016, an alleged
homegrown militant group called
the Arakan Rohingya Salvation
Where will they go?
REUTERS
In 1978, a similar
ethnic clash led
to thousands of
Rohingya entering
Bangladesh, but the
then government
channels negotiated
to resettle close to
30,000 Rohingyas
Army attacked some border
military camps of the Mynamar
government. Since then, the
government carried out their
killing of the Rohinhya Muslim
population and most recently,
even the Hindu population in
Rakhine State.
Distrust between the
government of Myanmar (mostly
controlled by the military junta)
and the Rohingya has deep-rooted,
historical animosity.
The government of Myanmar
tends to demonise their Rohingya
population, calling them
migrants from Bangladesh, and
in many governmental notes
and discussions, they cleverly
and deceptively term them as
“Bangalis” -- which is nothing
short of a planned strategic
manipulation of the masses, in
other words, a blatant lie.
It is also an affront to
Bangladesh, because its majority
ethnic community is “Bangali.”
The death and devastation
now is so pervasive that Rohingya
inhabitants of Rakhine State,
mostly Muslims, are pouring in
through the Myanmar-Bangladesh
border with empty hands.
Run or die
The numbers have risen beyond
100,000, causing serious pressure
on Bangladesh. The magnitude of
depravity is alarming and gripping;
one feels complete dejection at
the horrendous state of affairs
that they are living in -- harrowing
conditions with no food, water,
medicine, and shelter.
With little children, the elderly,
and young women in the family,
the Rohingya are fighting off death
every step of the way -- only with
the hope of freedom of life.
As a citizen of Bangladesh and
an avid supporter of human rights,
I strongly condemn the gross
violations of human dignity and
atrocities committed in Myanmar.
The most persecuted minority
in the world had the choice of
clinging to their ancestral homes
and face brutal annihilation, or run
for their lives.
The border guards of
Bangladesh initially tried to push
back.
However, when the flood of
people rose to thousands, they
rightly showed magnanimity and
allowed them temporary abode
in Bangladesh territory under the
open skies; some lucky ones even
found make-shift tents.
The government of Bangladesh,
local bodies, the general public,
voluntary and aid organisations,
and religious bodies have all
played their role, and rose to
the occasion by extending
support. Our security forces also
compassionately reached out to
the dying and suffering, providing
necessary medical care, as some
had bullet-wounds and scars of
mutilation and torture.
What can we do?
In this abhorrent situation,
we urge the government of
Bangladesh to invite global bodies,
agencies like the United Nations,
European Union, and other
communities to step in and broker
peace as soon as possible, before
more torture, mutilation, rape,
and death in Myanmar take place.
In 1978, a similar ethnic clash
led to thousands of Rohingya
entering Bangladesh, but the then
government channels negotiated
to resettle close to 30,000
Rohingyas in 1979 through a sixmonth
period.
An immediate effort must
be launched to have a count
of documented Rohingya, and
inter-governmental talks must be
initiated in this regard.
A call for raising global
awareness is urgent; we ask all to
voice complete condemnation,
disgust, and frustration on this
grave, merciless, and outrageous
brutality against the Rohingya.
Being the historically underprivileged
and down-trodden
community in Myanmar, they are
being tortured and decimated.
They are fleeing under the
watchful eyes of the Myanmar
administration and military,
leaving land to be happily grabbed
by the state machinery or ruling
elites.
Aung San Suu Kyi has been
tone deaf in these times of sheer
madness in her country. At times,
it seems that this brutality is part
of a grand scheme to control large
land patches that may have untold
riches waiting to be excavated --
merrily with all Rohingya slain or
forced to cross over to Bangladesh,
all to the benefit of vested local
and international interests. These
two state organs are allegedly
complicit to the crimes, and we
also seek justice against these
perpetrators.
We saw with flickering hope
how the pope condemned this
genocide. We want the military
and administration in Myanmar to
immediately stop their nefarious
acts and establish peace and
harmony.
The regime of carnage
in Myanmar should not go
unchallenged, and international
human rights organisations must
take on legal battles against the
evil-doers in Myanmar.
The power of the people
The President of Turkey Tayyip
Erdogan, Prime Minister of
Malaysia Najib Razak, Indonesian
President Joko Widodo, Nobel
Peace-prize winner Malala
Yousafzai, and many other world
leaders have spoken of their
disgust for the heinous acts
committed -- once again, let us
collectively speak against these
crimes against humanity of all
shades, religions, and colours.
Decisive leadership engagement
with the Myanmar regime must
continue while keeping world
bodies involved in the negotiation
process.
The government of
Bangladesh must also pressure
the international community to
show a sign of humanity to the
Rohingya, even possibly offer
them citizenship. •
Advocate Ziaur Rahman is the CEO,
IITM.