UAE Press: Persecutors Of Rohingya Should Be Prosecuted

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 27th Jan, 2019) Yanghee Lee, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, is absolutely correct in stating that Myanmar’s army chief Min Aung Hlaing should be prosecuted for genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority, said a UAE local daily.

"Holding the perpetrators to account for crimes is necessary before refugees who fled the country are able to return," said The Gulf Today in an editorial on Sunday.

A UN fact-finding mission on Myanmar last year had clearly stated that the military campaign, which refugees say included mass killings and rape, was orchestrated with genocidal intent and recommended charging Min Aung Hlaing and five other generals with the gravest crimes under international law.

"The plight of the victims remains unaddressed for too long," noted the editorial comment.

"Not only did the Rohingya face horrific violence at the hands of security forces in 2016 and 2017 with no accountability, they have been subjected to decades-long systematic discrimination and persecution in Myanmar.

"Soldiers and Buddhist civilians massacred families, burned hundreds of villages and carried out gang rapes. The worst-hit are Rohingya children, who face widespread restrictions to their movement, hampering access to health and education services in central Rakhine State.

"Since August 2017 some 730,000 Rohingya have fled Rakhine to Bangladesh, where they now live in overcrowded camps.

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"For any repatriation to happen, the perpetrators must be held to account, because sending the refugees back with no accountability is going to really exacerbate or prolong the horrific situation in Myanmar," the paper quoted Lee as telling Reuters in an interview.

The paper went on to say that under an agreement struck between Myanmar and Bangladesh, thousands of refugees were due to return to Myanmar. "However, none is ready to leave owing to fear of the Myanmar army and other groups, which have been involved in genocide.

"Lee has been blocked from visiting Myanmar since 2017 primarily because of her vocal criticism of its treatment of the Rohingya. She has been rightly highlighting that the human rights record of the civilian government led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been a great disappointment."

"Myanmar should recognise the Rohingya Muslims’ ethnic identity, grant them citizenship and allow them to return to their original homes and lands with safety and security guarantee," it added.

"The international community needs to hold Myanmar officials to account. The prosecution of the perpetrators of brutal violence against the Rohingya community would send the right signal to the world that such inhuman actions are not acceptable," concluded the Sharjah-based daily.