Rohingya in Bangladesh Await Justice After US Recognition of Genocide in Burma

Rahima Khatun, a refugee in Bangladesh and whose two daughters were burned alive by the Burmese army, finally awaits justice after the United States acknowledged that the Rohingya Muslim minority was the victim of “genocide.”

“The Burmese military massacred and raped women. One day they came and threw our children alive into the fire. My two daughters were among them,” Khatun, 52, tells AFP Khatun, crying.

The United States declared on Monday that the Rohingya were victims of a “genocide” perpetrated in 2016 and 2017.

“The attacks against the Rohingya were widespread and systematic, so they are crimes against humanity,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken explained.

A proceeding before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the highest jurisdiction of the UN, seeks to determine whether Burmese power is guilty of such a crime.

The exactions led to the exodus of some 740,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh, where there were already more than 100,000 refugees who fled previous waves of violence.

Since then they have survived crowded in unsanitary camps composed of barracks made of tarps, veneers and bamboo and refusing to return to Burma, which is mostly Buddhist, until they obtain citizenship rights.

Community leaders in the camps, activists and victims of violence told AFP that the US position could hold the Burmese junta accountable, allowing them to dream of an upcoming return to their homes to rebuild their villages and their lives.

- We waited for this day -

“We have waited a long time for this day. The United States is the most powerful country in the world. Their decision will have repercussions all over the world. Perhaps justice will soon be done,” says Sayed Ullah, 33, the leader of an organization that defends the rights of Rohingya refugees, to AFP.

He himself lost several relatives, victims of the 2017 repression.

Sawyeddollah, a 23-year-old activist, says that Blinken's speech - shared via cell phones - caused a great commotion in the camps.

“I hope that the administration (of US President Joe) Biden will quickly create a tribunal to enforce its decision,” he adds.

Blinken assured its support for international efforts in this matter, including the procedure before the International Court of Justice.

Mohammad Zafar, a leader of the Rohingya community in Kutupalong is skeptical. “I very much doubt that this will change our fortunes,” he says, “we have literally been stuck in a foreign country for years, barely surviving,” he says.

“Evil is done and nothing can compensate for what happened unless concrete measures are taken”, he abounds.

For Bangladesh, the US statement is late, but it is “good news” that will strengthen the ICJ file against Burma.

“Let's hope that, following the statement of the US Secretary of State, there will be increased pressure on the Burmese government to repatriate its population as promised,” said Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen.

On Tuesday, the Burmese junta “categorically rejected” the US statement. “Burma has never taken genocidal action nor does it intend to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, racial or religious group or any other group,” he said.

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