Give voice to the Rohingya

The Rohingya saga has been prominent in some international headlines of late. In addition to the mass exodus, with nearly 300 Rohingya drifting to the shores of Indonesia’s Aceh province after spending months at sea, another major cause for concern is the deprivation of voting rights of those Rohingya remaining in western Rakhine state as well as the one million refugees living in neighbouring Bangladesh.

Myanmar is scheduled to hold an election in November despite calls to postpone it altogether due to concerns over Covid-19. This election has been identified as “a crucial test for leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) Party”, which came to power after a historic landslide victory in November 2015. The country has yet to answer positively to the UN’s call that the Rohingya could and should participate in the poll, amid reports of ongoing violence on the ground.

Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, recently told the Human Rights Council in Geneva that fighting between the government and rebel forces in Rakhine and Chin states has been increasing. She said recent casualties may amount to “further war crimes”, noting that “no concrete measures” on accountability have been taken to resolve the crisis.

Nearly five years after Ms Suu Kyi’s victory, and nearly a decade since Myanmar began taking steps toward democratic reforms, there are no clear signs that Myanmar will move toward lasting solutions and the safe return of the Rohingya people.

Due to entrenched political mindsets, the country’s Buddhist extremists regard many Rohingya either as “terrorists” or “foreigners” who should be subject to discrimination and violence by the state. There are reports that the Myanmar authorities have even been accused of “forcing the Rohingya at gunpoint” to accept identity cards that categorise them as foreigners.

It is clear to the rest of the world where the main problem lies. The 1982 Citizenship Act is the main obstacle as it bars the Rohingya from participating in the country’s democratic process and being recognised as citizens.

As the situation stands, neighbouring Bangladesh shelters about one million Rohingya refugees in camps. Most fled Myanmar in 2017 during the military-led crackdown the United Nations has said was executed with genocidal intent. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya remain in Rakhine state where they are mostly confined to camps and villages.

The 2017 “Arrangement on Return of Displaced Persons from Rakhine State” deal Bangladesh and Myanmar signed for the return of hundreds of thousands of refugees was a good move, but the outcome has been less than ideal as violence and segregation have continued. It’s expected that Myanmar will not soften its stance against the minority’s right to vote.

Thomas Andrews, UN human rights investigator to Myanmar, is right when he noted this week that the disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims would mean Yangon cannot claim that the November elections are free and fair. He added the polls would fail to meet international standards.

“The results of an election cannot accurately reflect the will of the people, when the right to vote is denied because of a person’s race, ethnicity or religion,” he told a forum in Geneva.

Myanmar should seriously pay heed to these concerns. It’s time the country fixes the problem that has tainted its reputation for too long.