The moment has come to acknowledge Burma's genocide

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

With Afghanistan dominating the news, it's easy to overlook another long-running crisis: Burma's repression of Rohingya Muslims.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is currently in session, and the high-level session presents an important chance for the United States and the United Kingdom to reintroduce the issue to the global agenda by referring to the country's military (the Tatmadaw) actions as "genocide."

 

The issue has been debated by several American and British administrations.
Meanwhile, Burma's military dictatorship has continued to attack Rohingyas and other ethnic minorities on a systematic basis.
A military-led coup in February added to the confusion.
Before the UNGA, calling the Tatmadaw's conduct "genocide" would serve as a reminder of the problem.
It would also put extra pressure on the dictatorship, deterring future massacres.

 

There is plenty of evidence of wrongdoing intended at annihilating Burma's Rohingya minority because of their ethnic and religious identity.
The US Holocaust Memorial Museum discovered "compelling evidence" that Myanmar's military perpetrated ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and genocide against the Rohingya after thorough investigation.
Thousands of people were killed by soldiers, and 700,000 Rohingya people fled to Bangladesh.
The violence was described as "severe, large-scale, widespread, and seemingly targeted against both scaring the populace and driving out the Rohingya residents" by the US State Department. “The extent and scale of the military's efforts imply they were well-planned and coordinated,” the report said.

 

While the military's persecution of the Rohingya is unquestionably the most heinous act, the junta has also committed crimes against other ethnic and religious minorities in Burma, including the mostly Christian Kachin, Chin, and Karenni.

Despite this, successive US and UK administrations have equivocated and remained uncommitted.

 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken referenced a "very much actively ongoing" review when questioned about a genocide designation for the Rohingya in June.
But, a month later, in his report to Congress, he held no punches, only restating the Trump administration's judgement of "ethnic cleansing."
Meanwhile, even though he supports "the motivation behind the lawsuit," then-British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab informed Parliament in July that his country would not join the International Court of Justice action initiated by The Gambia against Myanmar over the Rohingya atrocity.

None of this will persuade Burma's military regime to stop abusing its citizens.