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Violence in the
last six weeks
has been
"primarily
one-sided, with
Muslims
generally and
Rohingya
specifically the
targets and
victims,''
Benjamin Zawacki,
a Bangkok-based
researcher for
Amnesty, said on
Friday.
"Some of this is
by the security
forces' own
hands, some by
Rakhine
Buddhists with
the security
forces turning a
blind eye in
some cases,'' he
said.
The violence,
which reached
its bloodiest
point in June,
constituted some
of the country's
deadliest
sectarian
bloodshed in
years and raised
international
concerns about
the Rohingya's
fate inside
Myanmar.
Following a
series of
isolated
killings
starting in late
May that left
victims on both
sides, bloody
skirmishes
quickly spread
across much of
Myanmar's
coastal Rakhine
state.
The government
declared a state
of emergency on
June 10,
deploying troops
to quell the
unrest and
protect both
mosques and
monasteries.
The worst of the
violence
subsided two
weeks later, and
authorities said
at least 78
people were
killed and
thousands of
homes were
burned down or
destroyed, with
damages roughly
split evenly
between
Buddhists and
Muslims.
Refugee
problem
Thein Sein,
Myanmar's
president, said
earlier this
month that the
solution to
ethnic enmity in
Rakhine state
was to either
send the
Rohingya to a
third country or
have the United
Nations refugee
agency look
after them.
UNHCR chief
Antonio Guterres
said, however,
that it was not
his agency's job
to resettle the
Rohingya.
One month after
sectarian
violence swept
across
northwestern
Myanmar,
Rohingya
refugees are now
fleeing to
Bangladesh by
the boatload, in
a bid to escape
the violence.
Despite their
plight,
Bangladesh is
stepping up its
efforts to stop
refugees from
crossing over.
Amnesty called
on Myanmar to
accept the
Rohingya as
citizens,
something the
government has
staunchly
opposed because
it does not
consider them an
ethnic group
native to
Myanmar.
"Under
international
human rights law
and standards,
no one may be
left or rendered
stateless,''
Amnesty's
Zawacki said.
"For too long
Myanmar's human
rights record
has been marred
by the continued
denial of
citizenship for
Rohingya and a
host of
discriminatory
practices
against them.'' |
