GEORGE TOWN – The Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation has sent an appeal to India’s prime minister to pressure the military government in Myanmar to respect democracy and return the country to civil law.
Its president Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani, in a letter to Narendra Modi, said the junta, which seized power in a coup in February, must respect the constitution, human rights and rule of law, and stop the genocide against the Rohingya in Myanmar.
He said the minority community is worried that the military will launch a new genocide within a year of holding power.
However, he noted that even under the previous civilian government, members of the community still faced genocide.
Zafar said the association fears that the Rohingya and other ethnic groups in Myanmar will become refugees in neighbouring countries.
This will lead to an increase in human trafficking and a boat-people crisis in Southeast Asian countries, he added.
He also described the Rohingya, who live in the Arakan province bordering Bangladesh near north-eastern India, as the most persecuted ethnic group in the world.
The association, formed by Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, wants Modi to pile the pressure on Myanmar by imposing economic and financial sanctions targeted at military bureaucrats and conglomerates.
It is also hoping for a coordinated and comprehensive global arms embargo to be enforced on the country.
Zafar said efforts should be made to prosecute Myanmar’s top military generals for genocide, war crimes and human rights violations, as stated in a United Nations fact-finding mission in 2018.
“Sir, we are deeply worried about the situation in Myanmar following the coup by the military,” he wrote in the letter to Modi, a copy of which has been sighted by The Vibes.
“The most worrying are the impact of the coup on democracy in Myanmar, stateless Rohingya genocide survivors in Arakan state, as well as other ethnic minorities and neighbouring countries, particularly Bangladesh, India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.”
He also expressed concern that democracy and human rights will disappear in the country.
“Democracy and human rights are the only hope for the Rohingya to end the genocide and restore our citizenship rights in Myanmar.
“There are many indicators to show that democracy is too difficult to sustain in Myanmar. The efforts for democracy are easily deleted by the junta.”
Zafar said the army, which has rejected the results of Myanmar’s general election last year, can terminate citizenships, and confiscate identification papers and properties.
“The results of the polls last year clearly shows that the Myanmar people reject the military government. It shows their hope and desire for democracy. But what option do minority communities have to live in our motherland?
“The road to democracy must start from the root, by recognising and restoring the citizenship of the Rohingya and guaranteeing the rights of all ethnic groups in Myanmar.”
He said the Rohingya are legitimate Myanmar citizens, but were stripped of their citizenship in 1982. – The Vibes, March 10, 2021
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