Regional and international responses required to Rohingya crisis
At the local level, Aung San Suu Kyi has to use her political and moral authority to bring about an end to the state-sponsored violence
Survivors at refugee camps tell of appalling brutality and having gone days without food. Their stories cannot easily be verified, outsiders having been barred from the conflict zone. Worryingly, there are accounts of soldiers laying landmines on the border.
Protests against Myanmar are growing in Muslim countries. But Suu Kyi, whose party won a landslide in elections in 2015, is limited in what she can do by the political demands of the Buddhists who voted for her and the junta-era constitution, which allows the army to operate without civilian oversight. Furthering difficulties are a widespread hatred of the Rohingya; although an ethnic group that has existed in Myanmar for generations, the government contends they are illegal Bangladeshi migrants and, as a result, prohibited from gaining citizenship and having even the most basic rights. Bangladesh also rejects them as nationals.
The refugee crisis demands regional and international responses. At the local level, Suu Kyi has to use her political and moral authority to bring about an end to the state-sponsored violence. Letting aid agencies into Rakhine should be a priority but, as importantly, dialogue has to be opened with Rohingya leaders and the army made aware of the damage being done to Myanmar’s image.