Don’t forget the Rohingya

From the Washington Post:

International reaction to the ethnic cleansing campaign carried out by the Burmese military against the country’s Muslim Rohingya minority gathered some momentum this past week. On Tuesday, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution condemning Myanmar, also known as Burma, for the “very likely commission of crimes against humanity.” The next day, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution demanding an end to the military’s attacks and the restoration of humanitarian access to Rakhine state.

Unfortunately, there is not much evidence the pressure is having an effect on Myanmar’s generals or even the civilian government under once-revered Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. By most accounts, Burmese society is united to an extraordinary degree in its contempt for the Rohingya and in its rejection of international criticism. Far from being willing to investigate reports of systematic brutality the military is insisting that its troops are innocent of any offence.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been telling Western officials they are only endangering Myanmar’s nascent democracy by protesting what the UN human rights chief has called “elements of genocide.” On Dec. 1, she followed a Burmese army chief in travelling to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose regime has predictably opposed any UN criticism or action on Myanmar.

These hard realities mean that the United Nations and Western governments must begin to focus on improving conditions for the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya in Bangladesh, who are likely to remain there for the foreseeable future. Their temporary settlements could become a recruiting ground for extremists if they are not well managed.

At the same time, Western governments must not allow the intransigence of the Burmese elite to deter the pursuit of justice for the Rohingya, including prosecution of those responsible for the ethnic cleansing. Allowing crimes against humanity to go unpunished is an invitation for worse atrocities.