by Jared O. Bell / September 2nd, 2017
The world vowed never again after the Holocaust, never again after Bosnia, never again after Rwanda and yet in Myanmar it seems that here we are again. Over the last week, violence and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Myanmar’s army have forced nearly 40,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee the Rakhine State to neighboring Bangladesh, where around 400,000 Rohingyas already live in squalor.
Haunting images and videos of the army burning dozens of Rohingya villages in Rakhine have flooded social media, which has been accompanied by reports from global news outlets and human rights groups that dozens of civilians have been killed including children. According to Chris Lewa, director of The Arakan Project, the estimated death toll is around130 people. Reports have also indicated that a vicious campaign of rape has been carried out against Rohingya women by the army. Violence in Rakhine State is not a new phenomenon; ethnic clashes between Rakhine Buddhist and Muslims have been ongoing for years.
This recent spate of violence began in Myanmar on August 25th when Rohingya militants attacked a border post killing government officials and police. In response the army has seemingly launched an unwavering campaign of terror to punish the entire Rohingya community. Persecution of the Rohingya lies in the fact that the government denies citizenship rights to them, claiming that their origins lie in Bangladesh and therefore they are illegal…