Five years ago, on Aug. 25, 2017, the Myanmar military poured into Rakhine State where my people, the Rohingya, have lived for generations. Over the course of a few weeks, soldiers murdered, raped, and burned their way through the region, killing thousands of people and torching hundreds of villages. Close to 800,000 people fled for their lives across the border to Bangladesh. Many were my friends and family.
Five years later, it is no exaggeration to say that the Rohingya have been pushed to the brink of extinction. More than one million people languish in overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh, while the military that committed these atrocities is more powerful than ever, having carried out a coup against the civilian government in 2021. The world must act now to prevent this ongoing genocide against us—starting with supporting the international justice efforts that have provided a ray of hope.
The vicious military "cleansing operation" against the Rohingya in 2017 did not happen in a vacuum. The Myanmar state has led a decades-long effort to eradicate us as a people. Military campaigns like the one five years ago also took place in 1978, the early 1990s and in 2016. Such outright violence has been coupled with repressive policies that prevent Rohingya from accessing education, healthcare and the job market. It is no wonder that the US government in March this year formally recognized what Rohingya have known for decades: that we are facing a genocide.
For the 600,000 Rohingya who still remain in Myanmar, Rakhine State is essentially an open-air prison. Many are confined to the villages, and must pay a bribe or risk their lives just to go to the hospital or to school. Meanwhile, the military coup in Myanmar on 1 February 2021 has made the situation even more precarious. The junta has tried to repress peaceful opposition to its rule with an iron fist, killing more than 2,000 people and arresting more than 15,000. On 25 July, the regime carried out its first executions in decades, when four people – including a prominent democracy activist – were sent to the gallows.
Many friends and family members I speak to in Rakhine State are terrified that sooner or later, they will become the next targets of the junta's violence. For now, we stand in solidarity with all people of Myanmar, united against our common enemy, the military.
For the more than 1 million Rohingya who languish in Bangladeshi refugee camps, returning to Rakhine State in safety is simply not an option. Instead, they are confined to sprawling and overcrowded camps, where they have little hope for the future. While Bangladesh has generously opened its borders to the Rohingya, it is concerning that the government continues to restrict refugee children's access to education. For Rohingya to have a chance to take control of our own futures, we need an educated generation of new leaders.
But despite it all, there are reasons for hope. Over the past years, we have seen real momentum behind international justice efforts to hold the Myanmar military to account for their crimes. In 2019, the International Court of Justice in the Hague took up a genocide case against Myanmar that was first brought by the Gambia. Since then, the court has ordered Myanmar to halt all genocidal practices against the Rohingya, and a few weeks ago rejected the junta's ludicrous objections to the case. That means a trial can soon begin in earnest. In the same vein, the International Criminal Court is also investigating Myanmar's leadership for crimes against humanity against the Rohingya.
Slowly but surely, the net is closing in on the Myanmar military and its commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing.
But Rohingya still need all the help we can get. The international community must immediately throw its weight behind these justice efforts. States should follow the lead of Canada and the Netherlands, who both formally support the ICJ case, while also exploring universal jurisdiction cases within their own borders. The full weight of international might must also be brought on the junta, through sanctions and arms embargoes, and by avoiding anything that could lend legitimacy to this murderous regime.
Five years ago, I watched in horror as the Myanmar military unleashed unspeakable violence in Rakhine State. The world must act now, not only to avoid a repeat, but to ensure the very survival of the Rohingya.
Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organization UK, is a Rohingya from Arakan State, Burma. He recently filed a universal jurisdiction case in Argentina against the Myanmar military and civilian government for genocide and crimes against humanity.
The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
