Brussels [Belgium]: Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has earned praises for hosting over 1.1 million forcibly displaced Rohingya Muslims, whereas Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been facing criticism for not protecting the rights of its citizens.
An article published in EP Today, a monthly newspaper for the European Parliament, read, “In August 2018, a United Nations Human Rights Council Report of the Independent International Fact-finding Mission on Myanmar (A/HRC/39/64) explicitly categorised Myanmar’s actions as the “gravest crime of genocide”.
“This declaration has been accompanied with charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity including gruesome accounts of murder, rape and arson. Something must be done urgently. Yet, amid discussions, promises, and international condemnations, the only thing we are yet to see is concrete results,” said the article.
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, refused to acknowledge the UN’s international criticisms and the global condemnation of the actions taken by her military, in her knowledge. She took the ongoing debate one step further and defended the policies that the country has regarding Rohingyas.
The newspaper further praised the Bangladesh Prime Minister for bearing the brunt of violence in another country.
Currently, Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals. They’ve fled violence and ‘genocide’ in Myanmar where they lived for centuries.
While Suu Kyi tries to justify the army taking away land from the Rohingyas, Prime Minister Hasina has allocated over 6,000 acres of land to Rohingya refugees.
At the same time, Myanmar has not allowed the United Nation or other external officials into the country for an examination of her nation since 2017, whilst Bangladesh openly welcomes delegations and NGOs for inspection of the refugee camps and strives to improve the humanitarian conditions despite the challenges.
“While Suu Kyi’s administration is denying and violating the basic human rights of the Rohingya population, Hasina is fighting to provide education for Rohingya children, who make up 55 percent of the refugee population, in the hope of improving their future opportunities,” said EP Today.
Hopes were raised in November 2017 when Myanmar and Bangladesh reached an agreement to begin repatriation of the Rohingya people by January 2018.
However, no such action has been taken till date. To this, Hasina has stated that “they agree to everything, but unfortunately they don’t act, that is the problem.” She explained: “The need of safe and sustainable return to the country of origin is particularly important to resolve the protracted refugee crisis. Greater attention needs to be paid to remove the root causes that make people refugees, and those root causes lie in the countries of origin.”
The international community also has an obligation to actively address all the aspects of the Rohingya crisis instead of dismissing it as self-contained.
EP Today said, “On Monday, September 24th, Prime Minister Hasina placed three recommendations before the United Nations. The first was for Myanmar to abolish all discriminatory laws and practices against the Rohingyas. The second was to ensure the protection and rights of Rohingyas upon their return. The final recommendation was to enforce justice for the crimes that had already been committed. With compassion and empathy, she pushed the global leaders to support countries like Bangladesh in hosting refugees but insisted that they set their sights on the larger goal of creating a safe and just environment in Myanmar for these Rohingyas to return home to”.
“The international community, including the European Union has been hesitant, ignorant and silent for too long. The media attention on this crisis has come and gone. Myanmar’s army is yet to face the consequences of its actions. Resolutions and questions in the European Parliament have helped in raising the awareness. But Suu Kyi retains her Nobel Prize and Sakharov Prize for Human Rights, whilst Hasina battles on alone to motivate and utilise the goodwill of the Bangladesh people”, said the newspaper.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]