The worsening plight of Muslim Rohingya communities in the Rakhine state of Burma (Myanmar) could soon imperil the country’s government, as well as the reputation of its leader, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The crisis has been escalating since last October, when Burma’s military launched an offensive in which 130 Rohingya were killed, and dozens of their buildings were torched. At the time, the military’s leaders claimed that the attack was part of an effort to locate unidentified insurgents who were thought to be responsible for the slayings on Oct. 9 of nine policemen at three border posts in the district of Maungdaw.
According to a Human Rights Watch analysis of satellite images, more Rohingya villages were destroyed over the course of nine days in November, bringing the number of buildings razed to 1,250; meanwhile, 30,000 people have reportedly been displaced.
The United Nations considers the stateless Rohingya to be among the world’s most persecuted minorities. (Courtesy of opinion.inquirer.net)
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