Christian Solidarity Worldwide has called on the international community to take action with regard to the continuing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
The escalating crisis has left thousands displaced from their homes amid reports hundreds of people have been killed and thousands of homes destroyed by the army of Myanmar, a nation formerly known as Burma. This latest military offensive reportedly comes after a series of attacks on police stations by an armed group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and follows another crackdown launched late last year after attacks on border posts.
Sini Maria Heikkila, public affairs team leader at CSW, said that while the organisation welcomed a discussion of the issue among the UN Security Council this week, they were “disappointed” that no formal statement was adopted and no concrete plans announced.
“We condemn ARSA’s attacks, but the Burmese military’s wholly disproportionate assault on Rohingya civilians is a continuation of its persecution of the Rohingyas and may amount to further crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing.”
Ms Heikkila said the UK-based organisation called “directly upon the head of the Burmese military, Commander-in-Chief General Min Aung Hlaing, to halt attacks against Rohingya civilians and to allow aid to reach all in need, regardless of their religion or ethnicity”.
“We also urge the international community to consider targeted sanctions against Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, to suspend current training programmes with the Burma Army and to press the Government of Burma to engage with existing UN Human Rights Council mechanisms and address reports of severe human rights violations underway in northern Burma.
“It is surely time for the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council and other relevant bodies to take stronger collective action by invoking the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ if the Burmese authorities remain unable or unwilling to take action to end this crisis.”
Ms Heikkila said a statement made by Pope Francis earlier this week in which he expressed his “closeness” to the “persecuted” Rohingya sent a “vital message” about the “values of human dignity, religious freedom and inter-religious harmony for all”.
She said it was hoped that Pope Francis’ planned visit to the nation in late November – the first ever papal visit to the country – “will be an opportunity to promote peace and constructive dialogue, and to advocate for the rights of the Rohingya and other ethnic nationalities in the country, such as the Kachin and Shan, who are facing similar rights violations and crimes against humanity at the hands of the Burmese army”.
