When it comes to describing the acts of cruelty perpetrated by Myanmar’s security forces against the Rohingya people, words fail.
Indeed, by using rape of women and girls as part of its ethnic cleansing campaign, Myanmar has shown the world that there is nothing its army will not do in order to rid the country of Rohingya.
A report from Human Rights Watch documents the extensive use of sexual violence by Myanmar’s military against women and girls, as well as other acts of violence, cruelty, and humiliation — are these accounts not enough to unite the whole world against the Myanmar regime’s current ways?
The bare facts are so horrific they need no sensationalising — many women said their spouses, parents, and young children were murdered right in front of them.
Many of the rape victims who fled to Bangladesh did so with swollen and torn genitals, all the while being deprived of food, shelter, or — it goes without saying — medical attention.
Any country that chooses to look away when it comes to these atrocities forfeits its right to claim any moral ground in any matter.
It is about time these actions of Myanmar were recognised as the crimes against humanity that they are, because to sit by and do nothing but exchange words will not make Myanmar change its ways.
It is certainly not enough to merely make statements requesting Myanmar to stop using excessive force — it is blatantly clear that Myanmar has no intention to stop its operations.
We do not need another eyewash from the international community, we need stern action.
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(c) 2017 Dhaka Tribune