{"id":35108,"date":"2022-08-24T08:59:54","date_gmt":"2022-08-24T08:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=35108"},"modified":"2022-08-24T08:59:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-24T08:59:54","slug":"myanmar-no-justice-no-freedom-for-rohingya-5-years-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/08\/24\/myanmar-no-justice-no-freedom-for-rohingya-5-years-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar: No Justice, No Freedom for Rohingya 5 Years On"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"embed embedded-entity embedded-entity-type-node embedded-entity-bundle-video embedded-entity-viewmode-embeddable\">\n<div class=\"video__embeddable mb-10\">\n<div about=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/video-photos\/video\/2022\/08\/23\/myanmar-no-justice-no-freedom-rohingya-5-years\">\n<div class=\"video overflow-hidden\">\n<div class=\"video__frame h-0 relative pb-video\">\n<div class=\"video__image js-video-hide-on-play absolute z-10 w-full h-full m-auto\">\n<div>    <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/16x9_small\/public\/media_2022\/08\/202206ASIA_Myanmar_Rohingya_5Year.jpg?h=c673cd1c&amp;itok=0Ofyf8q_ 400w, https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/16x9_medium\/public\/media_2022\/08\/202206ASIA_Myanmar_Rohingya_5Year.jpg?h=c673cd1c&amp;itok=HiJFq5Un 500w, https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/16x9_large\/public\/media_2022\/08\/202206ASIA_Myanmar_Rohingya_5Year.jpg?h=c673cd1c&amp;itok=9J86IHbo 700w, https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/16x9_xlarge\/public\/media_2022\/08\/202206ASIA_Myanmar_Rohingya_5Year.jpg?h=c673cd1c&amp;itok=WDPCWi2f 1000w, https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/16x9_xxl\/public\/media_2022\/08\/202206ASIA_Myanmar_Rohingya_5Year.jpg?h=c673cd1c&amp;itok=yMix-fLP 1400w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1400px) 1400px, 100vw \" data-responsive-image-style=\"16x9\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/16x9_medium\/public\/media_2022\/08\/202206ASIA_Myanmar_Rohingya_5Year.jpg?h=c673cd1c&amp;itok=HiJFq5Un\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" alt=\"Hasina Hatu at home with her child, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh\" loading=\"eager\" typeof=\"foaf:Image\"\/><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>              <button class=\"video__icon js-video-hide-on-play cursor-pointer absolute h-16 w-16 video-position block z-20\" aria-label=\"click to play video\"><\/p>\n<p>        <\/button><br \/>\n                      <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"No Justice, No Freedom for Rohingya 5 Years On\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vhfb-ZsMpwg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>(Bangkok) \u2013 <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/tag\/rohingya\" rel=\"noopener\">Rohingya Muslims<\/a> are still awaiting justice and protection of their rights five years after the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/asia\/myanmar-burma\" rel=\"noopener\">Myanmar<\/a> military began a sweeping campaign of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2017\/12\/19\/massacre-river\/burmese-army-crimes-against-humanity-tula-toli\" rel=\"noopener\">massacres<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2017\/11\/16\/all-my-body-was-pain\/sexual-violence-against-rohingya-women-and-girls-burma\" rel=\"noopener\">rape<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2017\/12\/18\/burma-40-rohingya-villages-burned-october\" rel=\"noopener\">and arson<\/a> in northern Rakhine State on August 25, 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. More than 730,000 Rohingya fled to precarious, flood-prone camps in <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/asia\/bangladesh\" rel=\"noopener\">Bangladesh<\/a>, while about 600,000 remain under oppressive rule in Myanmar.<\/p>\n<p>No one has been held accountable for the <span class=\"onomasticon onomasticon-cursor-default\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Crimes against humanity are certain crimes (for example murder, torture, deportation or apartheid) committed by members of government forces or a non-state armed group that are knowingly committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack on a specific civilian population. Widespread could mean many attacks or one major attack. Systematic means the attack was well planned by those who carried it out.\" title=\"crimes against humanity\" aria-label=\"Explain glossary term crimes against humanity\">crimes against humanity<\/span> and acts of genocide committed against the Rohingya population. This anniversary should prompt concerned governments to take concrete action to hold the Myanmar military to account and secure justice and safety for the Rohingya in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and across the region.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGovernments should mark the five-year anniversary of the devastating campaign against the Rohingya with a coordinated international strategy for accountability and justice that draws on Rohingya input,\u201d said <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/about\/people\/elaine-pearson\" rel=\"noopener\">Elaine Pearson<\/a>, acting Asia director at Human Rights Watch. \u201cDonors should support Rohingya refugees to study and work freely and safely so they can build independent and self-reliant futures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since August 2017, Human Rights Watch has <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/tag\/rohingya\" rel=\"noopener\">interviewed hundreds of Rohingya<\/a> in Bangladesh who fled the Myanmar military\u2019s atrocities. They described incidents in which soldiers systematically killed and raped villagers before torching their homes. Altogether, the security forces killed thousands and burned down nearly 400 villages. Those who escaped to neighboring Bangladesh joined a few hundred thousand refugees who had fled <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/legacy\/summaries\/s.burma969.html\" rel=\"noopener\">earlier waves<\/a> of violence and persecution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMyanmar authorities brutalized us,\u201d said Abdul Halim, 30, a Rohingya <span class=\"onomasticon onomasticon-cursor-default\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Generally, a refugee is a person who has been forced to flee their country because of persecution, war, or violence. Under the 1951 Refugee Convention, a refugee is someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their home country because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion. Under customary international law, governments are prohibited from forcibly returning refugees to their home country if it would place them in danger.\" title=\"refugee\" aria-label=\"Explain glossary term refugee\">refugee<\/span> in Bangladesh. \u201cThey burned down our houses, raped our mothers and sisters, burned our children. We took shelter in Bangladesh to escape that brutality. Now I\u2019ve been living in Kutupalong camp for five years.\u201d Abdul carried his very ill mother on his back when they fled Myanmar in 2017. She died shortly after reaching Bangladesh.<\/p>\n<p>The Rohingya who <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/feature\/2022\/06\/14\/nothing-called-freedom\/a-decade-of-detention-for-rohingya-in-myanmars-rakhine-state\" rel=\"noopener\">remain in Rakhine State face systematic abuses<\/a> that amount to the crimes against humanity of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2020\/10\/08\/open-prison-without-end\/myanmars-mass-detention-rohingya-rakhine-state\" rel=\"noopener\">apartheid, persecution, and deprivation of liberty<\/a>. They are confined to camps and villages without freedom of movement, cut off from access to adequate food, health care, education, and livelihoods.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince we were children in Myanmar, we never had any freedom,\u201d Abdul said. \u201cThey called me \u2018<em>nowa kalar<\/em>\u2019 [a slur for Muslims], to say we are like animals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rohingya are effectively denied citizenship under Myanmar\u2019s 1982 Citizenship Law, rendering them stateless. The 2017 atrocities were rooted in decades of state repression, discrimination, and violence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn Myanmar, we struggled through life,\u201d Hasina Hatu, 40, said. \u201cWhen we raised goats, the border guard forces took away the goats. When we raised cattle, they took away the cattle. When we farmed paddy fields, they took away the rice.\u201d Hasina\u2019s father died after falling down a muddy slope as they fled in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>In February 2021, the generals who had orchestrated the atrocities against the Rohingya <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/01\/28\/myanmar-year-brutality-coups-wake\" rel=\"noopener\">staged a coup<\/a> and detained Myanmar\u2019s elected civilian leaders. The military junta responded to mass demonstrations with a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/01\/28\/myanmar-year-brutality-coups-wake\" rel=\"noopener\">nationwide campaign<\/a> of mass killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, and indiscriminate attacks that amounted to crimes against humanity and, in conflict areas, <span class=\"onomasticon onomasticon-cursor-default\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"War crimes are serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by individuals with criminal intent. Criminal intent means the violation was carried out deliberately or recklessly. Individuals who order, assist, and aid and abet offenses are also responsible for war crimes.\" title=\"war crimes\" aria-label=\"Explain glossary term war crimes\">war crimes<\/span>. Military units that had been implicated in the 2017 atrocities \u2013 since sanctioned by the United States and United Kingdom \u2013 have been deployed in renewed operations around the country.<\/p>\n<p>The junta has imposed <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/feature\/2022\/06\/14\/nothing-called-freedom\/a-decade-of-detention-for-rohingya-in-myanmars-rakhine-state\" rel=\"noopener\">new movement restrictions and aid blockages<\/a> on Rohingya camps and villages, increasing water scarcity and food shortages, along with disease and malnutrition. Since the coup, security forces have arrested an estimated 2,000 Rohingya, hundreds of them children, for \u201cunauthorized travel.\u201d Many have been sentenced to the maximum five years in prison. Increased fighting between the Myanmar military and ethnic Arakan Army has also left Rohingya caught in the middle.<\/p>\n<p>In Bangladesh, about one million Rohingya refugees live in sprawling, overcrowded camps in Cox\u2019s Bazar and the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2021\/06\/07\/island-jail-middle-sea\/bangladeshs-relocation-rohingya-refugees-bhasan-char\" rel=\"noopener\">isolated silt island of Bhasan Char<\/a>. For five years, the Bangladesh government has respected the international principle of nonrefoulement, the right of refugees not to be returned to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened.<\/p>\n<p>However, Bangladesh authorities have <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/04\/04\/bangladesh-new-restrictions-rohingya-camps\" rel=\"noopener\">recently intensified restrictions<\/a> on livelihoods, movement, and education that make many refugees feel unwelcome and at risk. Officials have <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/03\/21\/bangladesh-officials-threaten-rohingya-setting-schools\" rel=\"noopener\">closed community-led schools<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/04\/04\/bangladesh-new-restrictions-rohingya-camps\" rel=\"noopener\">arbitrarily destroyed shops<\/a>, and imposed <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/05\/11\/bangladesh-police-beating-rohingya-refugees\" rel=\"noopener\">new obstacles on travel<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf our children can\u2019t be educated here in Bangladesh either, then anywhere we go, we will still be persecuted,\u201d Abdul said.<\/p>\n<p>Bangladesh authorities have moved about 28,000 Rohingya to Bhasan Char, where they face severe movement restrictions, food and medicine shortages, and abuses by security forces. Despite the involvement of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), many continue to be transferred without full, informed consent, and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2021\/11\/24\/bangladesh-halt-forced-relocation-rohingya-refugees\" rel=\"noopener\">have been prevented<\/a> from returning to the mainland. Bangladesh authorities should lift the new restrictions and end forced relocations of refugees, Human Rights Watch said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow long will we live like this?\u201d Hasina said. \u201cI don\u2019t think the world will solve our condition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The 2022 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/fts.unocha.org\/appeals\/1082\/summary\" rel=\"noopener\">has received<\/a> only a quarter of its requested US$881 million in funding. Donors including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Australia should increase funding to meet the massive needs of the refugee population to help Bangladesh support the Rohingya and host communities.<\/p>\n<p>The Bangladesh government and Myanmar junta have renewed discussions around repatriation, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rfa.org\/english\/news\/myanmar\/talks-01282022152309.html\" rel=\"noopener\">announcing<\/a> in January joint plans to \u201cexpeditiously complete the verification process.\u201d Two prior <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2019\/08\/20\/myanmar\/bangladesh-halt-rohingya-returns\" rel=\"noopener\">repatriation attempts<\/a> failed, with Rohingya refugees unwilling to return due to the ongoing persecution and abuse in Myanmar. Michelle Bachelet, the outgoing UN high commissioner for human rights, announced on August 17, following a visit to Cox\u2019s Bazar, that \u201cthe current situation across the border means that conditions are not right for returns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to go back to Myanmar but to go there we want justice,\u201d Mohammad Ayaz, 21, said. \u201cHow long will we have to live in a tarpaulin house? It\u2019s been five years. Who knows how long we have to live here. Who knows whether the world will help us get justice or not.\u201d Mohammad was shot while fleeing his <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/report\/2017\/12\/19\/massacre-river\/burmese-army-crimes-against-humanity-tula-toli\" rel=\"noopener\">village of Tula Toli<\/a> on August 30, 2017. At least 12 members of his family, including his parents and sisters, were killed.<\/p>\n<p>In <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2020\/07\/22\/malaysia-stop-treating-rohingya-refugees-criminals\" rel=\"noopener\">Malaysia<\/a>, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/03\/31\/india-rohingya-deported-myanmar-face-danger\" rel=\"noopener\">India<\/a>, and <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/06\/07\/thailand-allow-newly-arrived-rohingya-access-asylum\" rel=\"noopener\">Thailand<\/a>, thousands of Rohingya refugees are being held indefinitely in immigration detention sites or living without adequate support and protection.<\/p>\n<p>The international response to the 2017 violence was <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2021\/09\/27\/what-impunity-looks\" rel=\"noopener\">fragmented and halting<\/a>, with governments favoring quiet diplomacy that achieved little over strategic measures to place real pressure on the military, Human Rights Watch said.<\/p>\n<p>Building conditions for the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of Rohingya refugees will require a cohesive international response to establish rights-respecting rule in Myanmar and achieve justice for the crimes in Rakhine State. A future Myanmar under democratic civilian rule will entail full citizenship rights for Rohingya and reparations for the atrocities, including for stolen or destroyed land and property.<\/p>\n<p>The UN Security Council should <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/01\/25\/un-security-council-should-act-myanmar-atrocities\" rel=\"noopener\">end its inaction<\/a> borne of anticipated vetoes by China and Russia and urgently negotiate a resolution to institute a global arms embargo on Myanmar, refer the situation to the International Criminal Court, and impose targeted sanctions on the junta and military-owned conglomerates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat are we waiting for?\u201d a US diplomat <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/usun.usmission.gov\/remarks-at-a-un-security-council-arria-formula-meeting-on-burma\/\" rel=\"noopener\">said in a speech<\/a> at a Security Council meeting in 2021. \u201cThe longer we delay, the more people die. This council is failing in our collective responsibility to safeguard international peace and security. And it is failing the people of Burma.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The US, UK, EU, and other governments should together <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/01\/25\/myanmar-urgent-action-needed-block-foreign-revenue\" rel=\"noopener\">strengthen international sanctions<\/a> to cut off the Myanmar military from the revenue funding its abusive operations, including in Rakhine State. Governments should <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2021\/11\/19\/myanmar-investors-should-act-halt-funds-junta\" rel=\"noopener\">target the junta\u2019s gas revenues<\/a>, its largest source of foreign income, totaling about $1 billion in annual profits. The <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/02\/24\/myanmar-eu-needs-enforce-new-sanctions-junta\" rel=\"noopener\">EU sanctioned<\/a> the junta-controlled Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise in February, but other governments have so far failed to follow suit. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should urgently abandon its <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/04\/22\/myanmar-aseans-failed-5-point-consensus-year\" rel=\"noopener\">failed five-point consensus<\/a> response to the crisis and instead coordinate strong action against the junta\u2019s abuses.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe hope that, with help from foreign governments and Bangladesh, we will be able to get back our rights,\u201d Abdul said. \u201cThat is what we want.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Governments should explore every avenue for justice and accountability for the Myanmar military\u2019s atrocity crimes, including by formally supporting the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/02\/14\/developments-gambias-case-against-myanmar-international-court-justice\" rel=\"noopener\">case under the Genocide Convention<\/a> brought by Gambia against Myanmar before the International Court of Justice. Canada and the Netherlands have <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/global-affairs\/news\/2022\/07\/joint-statement-of-canada-and-the-kingdom-of-the-netherlands-regarding-todays-decision-of-the-international-court-of-justice-in-the-rohingya-genoci.html\" rel=\"noopener\">publicly declared<\/a> their intention to support the proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>Governments should also actively pursue investigations and prosecutions under the principle of <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2009\/10\/19\/basic-facts-universal-jurisdiction\" rel=\"noopener\">universal jurisdiction<\/a>, an avenue to justice for crimes so serious that all states have an interest in addressing them. The Argentine judiciary has <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/nov\/29\/argentina-court-myanmar-war-crimes-rohingya\" rel=\"noopener\">opened an investigation<\/a> into Myanmar\u2019s atrocities against the Rohingya under universal jurisdiction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Myanmar junta\u2019s killing of demonstrators, shelling of civilians, and other abuses reflect in large measure the failure to hold the generals accountable for their atrocities of five years ago,\u201d Pearson said. \u201cInfluential governments should overcome their past mistakes and take strong measures to sever the flow of arms and revenue underwriting the junta\u2019s ongoing crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2022\/08\/24\/myanmar-no-justice-no-freedom-rohingya-5-years\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] (Bangkok) \u2013 Rohingya Muslims are still awaiting justice and protection of their rights five&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cj-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35108"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35110,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35108\/revisions\/35110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}