Published : 19 Nov 2016,
Letter
Recently Myanmar army has reportedly carried out a planned ethnic cleansing in its Arakan province against the ethnic minority, Rohingyas following a riot. The media reported that 160 people were killed and 16 thousand Rohingyas were displaced and many are stranded in Bangladesh-Myanmar border. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) intercepted the fleeing Rohingyas and stopped them from crossing into our border. Many Rohingyas were pushed back to Myanmar.
The Myanmar government has, however, denied any wrong-doing. But the fact is, a humanitarian crisis is there in Arakan. Many Rohinghas have fled from their ancestral home to save their lives and their homes were plundered and torched . Many women and children were deserted in the border areas under open sky without food.
For long Myanmar's ethnic minority Rohingya people have been treated badly by army-led government and state-sponsored crackdown continued in the region. As a result, thousands of Rohingyas were killed and maimed. Though the minority Muslim religious people have been living in Arakan for thousand years, they are not treated as citizens of Myanmar due their religion and language. The UNO formed a committee led by Kofi Annan to find out the reasons of recent riot. What about the reaction of powerful nations? They have kept mum. Military is no more in the helm of power in Myanmar. Aung Sun Suu kyi, a Nobel peace laureate, is actually in charge of the government. Suu kyi's stance on Rohingys issue is not clear. As a democratic leader she should have taken a bold step to quell the situation and ensure peace in the region. We hope UNO and world leaders will persuade the Myanmar government to restore peace in the region and recognise the Rohingyas as citizens of the country.
Md Zonaed Emran
A banker
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