Both the government and Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition rejected a report published this week that claims the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority are experiencing the final stages of genocide and calls on the United Nations to take action.
A legal analysis by Yale Law School for the non-profit Fortify Rights argues that there is ‘strong evidence’ the government is complicit in acts amounting to genocide against the Rohingya, more than one million of who live in western Myanmar.
The report, based on three years of research, cited how recent laws have attempted to limit birth rates among the group, blocks their freedom of movement and has restricted hundreds of thousands to miserable internal displacement camps.
Government representatives dismissed the claims as “baseless”, according to Radio Free Asia.
Information Minister Ye Htut said the report writers were attempting to attack the government politically ahead of November 8 elections.
“They took [data] from places nobody knows and used facts based on the word of people we can’t confirm.
“Our county’s image… might be harmed, but in Myanmar, the government’s standing is firmer than ever and the people won’t accept such kinds of accusations.”
Opposition political and human rights activists broadly agreed, with Tin Oo, a senior National League for Democracy member saying “we have no genocide” in Myanmar.
He also repeated the claim that Rohingya, many of who have lived in Myanmar for generations but have been rendered stateless, are Bangladeshi.
“But I know that people who came to Myanmar from Bangladesh endure some restrictions which I don’t agree with,” he said.
“The word ‘genocide’ can harm a country’s dignity,” said Ko Ko Gyi, a leader of the 88 Generation student group. “During this difficult time, [representatives of] foreign nations shouldn’t say these kinds of irresponsible things.”
Photo / Coconuts Yangon
