LETTERS: THE genocide against the Rohingya shows no sign of abating in Myanmar. The Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) continues to subject the Rohingya community to a vicious pattern of abuse and extortion in Rakhine State.
There, the Rohingya are kept in what amounts to an open-air prison, creating intolerable conditions of life.
Since the start of 2021, at least 15 Rohingya, including nine infants and young children, have died due to onerous and illegal travel restrictions preventing access to medical care.
We call on the international community to redouble efforts to hold the Tatmadaw accountable for the atrocities, not least since impunity helped pave the way for the military coup on Feb 1.
The authorities in Myanmar have taken no meaningful steps to amend the laws and policies underpinning the genocide. Abuse, extortion and humiliation of the Rohingya continue on a daily basis. The military coup has made the situation more precarious.
Ending the Rohingya genocide and building a democratic Myanmar both involve stopping the Tatmadaw's reign of terror. The international community must now more than ever take genuine action to make this a reality.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), as part of the genocide case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar, in January last year imposed "provisional measures" on Myanmar — effectively a legal injunction ordering the state to prevent and halt genocidal acts against the Rohingya. Myanmar is required to report periodically to the court.
Since the military coup, it is unclear if the military dictatorship intends to engage with the ICJ, or if it will submit a report on its compliance with the provisional measures by the deadline. Former state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, has also been placed under house arrest and faces up to 26 years in prison on a range of charges.
In 2020, we documented how despite the ICJ order, Myanmar failed to take any meaningful steps to end the genocide against the Rohingya.
Shortly after the coup, Tatmadaw officials warned residents in Rohingya internment camps in Sittwe that "action would be taken" against anyone daring to take part in anti-military protests. There has been an alarming increase in military presence in Rakhine State since November.
At the same time, an uneasy truce between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army (AA) has led to a further deterioration in the situation facing the Rohingya. In parts of the state, Rohingya communities suffer extortion, arbitrary taxation and movement restrictions imposed by both Tatmadaw and AA officials.
Severe Internet restrictions in effect off-and-on in Rakhine State since June 2019, have continued since the coup, affecting all aspects of the Rohingya's lives and making the documentation of human rights violations even more difficult.
We call on the ICJ to immediately take steps to strengthen the provisional measures, including by requiring Myanmar to make public all of its reporting. This would ensure greater transparency for survivors and those currently at risk of genocidal acts, and more rigorous scrutiny of Myanmar's compliance with the measures.
The same generals who led the killings of thousands of the Rohingya in Rakhine are now gunning down peaceful protesters in the streets.
TUN KHIN
President, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times