Myanmar conflict creates refugee crisis

The United Nations has described ongoing social unrest in Burma (also known as Myanmar) involving the Rohingya community as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” The Rohingya Muslims represent the largest percentage of Muslims in Burma. In August 2017 the Burmese army attacked several Rohingya Muslims, the majority of whom live in the Rakhine state. The coordinated attacks against Rohingya civilians caused over 740,000 people to leave the southeast Asian country into Bangladesh as refugees.

Contrary to the reports by the United Nations pertaining to violence against the Rohingya, Burmese officials deny targeting civilians. Burmese officials have countered these claims by saying that the Burmese military has been targeting their efforts to fight against the Rohingya militant group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). The Rohingya refugees started fleeing to Bangladesh on August 25, 2017 after ARSA militants launched attacks against more than 30 police posts.

The State Counsellor of Myanmar (Burma) Aung San Suu Kyi has denied all allegations of genocide taking place in Myanmar. In December 2019 San Suu Kyi denied the allegations when she appeared at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands.

The ICJ has said in response to the conflict, that Myanmar must: “take all measures within its power to prevent… killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to the members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”

Facts about Burma (Myanmar):

* From 1824 – 1886 Great Britain colonized the area of present-day Burma and incorporated most of the ethnic groups within Burma into the British Indian Empire. In 1948, Burma gained independence from Great Britain.

* Population: 56,590,071 (July 2020 estimate)

* Language: Burmese (Official)

* Total Area: 261,228 sq. miles (slightly smaller than Texas)

* Capital: Rangoon

Sources:

“Myanmar Rohingya: What you need to know about the crisis.” January 23, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41566561 

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bm.html

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