Christian Solidarity Worldwide have urged the United Nations to take immediate action to stop what it describes as the Myanmar military’s “campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya people”.
In a statement to the UN Human Rights Council, the UK-based religious freedom and human rights organisation called for the introduction of “targeted measures” to put pressure on the country’s military, including a global arms embargo, the suspension of military training programs and targeted sanctions against the army’s commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. It also called for the UN Human Rights Council to pass a resolution calling for an end to civilian deaths and immediate humanitarian access to all in need.
Sini Maria Heikkila, who represents CSW at the UN, told the council that while CSW condemns attacks on 30 police stations by members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in late August, “the military’s response has been wholly disproportionate and has led to the worst human rights and humanitarian crisis in Rakhine since 2012”.
“Furthermore, the army has also intensified its assault on the predominantly Christian Kachin ethnic group, and on the Shan people, which has recently resulted in the displacement of thousands of people. More than one hundred thousand ethnic Kachin continue to live in IDP camps and face starvation because the Myanmar military has denied vital and life-saving humanitarian aid access.”
In a statement, Mervyn Thomas, CSW’s chief executive, described the scale of events unfolding near the border between Myanmar, also known as Burma, and Bangladesh as “truly appalling”.
“The international community must act to stop a campaign of ethnic cleansing which involves the displacement of at least 400,000 civilians, the killing of thousands and the destruction of hundreds of villages,” he said. “The Burma Army is responsible for this crisis and must be called to account.”
Reports estimate that more than 400,000 Muslim Rohingyas have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state for Bangladesh amid claims entire villages have been destroyed and hundreds killed in what the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, said seemed to be a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”. Reports have also surfaced that landmines have been planted along the border with Bangladesh that were maiming and killing those attempting to flee the violence.
This week, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi reportedly condemned “all human rights violations and unlawful violence” in the nation and said anyone responsible for abuses would face the law. But she did not directly address claims that Myanmar’s military – which have blamed the Rohingya for the trouble – were responsible for the violence.
Ms Suu Kyi has faced repeated criticism in recent days for not commenting on the events of the past few weeks.
The Lutheran World Federation was also among those to address the Human Rights Council this week condemning the violence in Myanmar.
