Myanmar's ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims continues at the hands of 'Peace Loving Buddhists'

Although Myanmar has been shown an open door to the outside world by the recent lifting of economic sanctions, the majority Buddhists have no soft hear for the Muslims living in the country.

A Muslim Rohingya man sits at his burnt home at a villaged in Minpyar in Rakhine state

In fact, Rohingya Muslims in the western part of the country continue to be the target in what appears to be an ongoing campaign of government-supported crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.

Matthew Smith of CNN reports:
Killings and arson attacks between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims first erupted in Myanmar's Rakhine State in June 2012, and were followed in October by well-coordinated attacks on Rohingya populations. More than 125,000 Rohingya were forced into dozens of internally displaced camps while tens of thousands of others fled the country, launching Southeast Asia's newest refugee crisis.

Rohingya survivors alleged how in June soldiers not only failed to protect them from arsonist mobs, but opened fire when they attempted to extinguish the fires, killing scores. Government authorities in Arakan State were busy bulldozing mosques, blocking humanitarian aid to Rohingya populations, conducting violent mass arrests of Muslim men and boys, and digging mass graves, impeding accountability. Human Rights Watch located the existence of at least four such grave sites.

The world should not be blinded by the excitement of Myanmar's political opening. Rohingya are paying for that approach with their lives.

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Rohingya Muslims "persecuted" after Myanmar crackdown

Myanmar security forces killed, raped or carried out mass arrests of Rohingya Muslims after deadly sectarian riots in the northeast in June, a rights group said on Wednesday, adding the authorities had done little to prevent the initial unrest.

Aid workers were blocked and in some cases arrested, and Rohingyas bore the brunt of a government crackdown in Rakhine state after a week of arson and machete attack by both ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingyas, New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report.

Based on 57 interviews with Rakhines and Rohingyas, the report seeks to shed light on a conflict that exposed deep-rooted communal animosity and put the spotlight on promises by the civilian government in office since 2011 to protect human rights after decades of brutal army rule.

Read more: Reuters

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