VICTIMISED BY

Rohingya plight a result of biggest loophole in international norms that dates back centuries, writes

Though a number of Myanmar’s neighbours have condemned the violence, they are wary of going much further.

India, Turkey and other nearby countries face international criticism for crackdowns against what they consider domestic terrorists.

Even if these states do not believe Myanmar’s claims of rooting out terrorists, they fear setting a precedent that could be turned against them.

The Rohingya themselves may be the final point of failure. International politics, though presented as a realm of pure values and reason, is still politics.

The Rohingya, through no fault of their own, like many victims worldwide, are too poor and powerless to take part.

There is no Rohingya lobby to push their cause in world capitals or within complex foreign bureaucracies, as Kurdish groups were able to do.

Nor is there an organised Rohingya diaspora that can mobilise student groups and social media campaigns.

Western governments “know that the welfare of the Rohingya is not galvanising their respective electorates to the extent that they need to take any meaningful action”, Aidan Hehir, a scholar at University of Westminster, wrote at Duck of Minerva, a political science site.