508 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 64 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H2'ed 9/27/17

Does the Rohingya Genocide Justify Revoking a Nobel Peace Prize?

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   7 comments

Arshad M Khan
Message Arshad M Khan

When the German transatlantic liner the St. Louis set off with 900 German Jews seeking refuge, it was 1939 and they were trying to escape what became one of the most despicable events in European history. Neither Canada nor the United States offered to help the people on this ship and it sailed on to Cuba.

Seventy-eight years later, almost 400,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar since the last week of August . In an ethnic cleansing led by the military, they have been driven out, their villages burnt so they have nothing to return to, and, to be doubly certain they stay out, the border peppered with landmines. Their recitation is familiar: killings, rape, torture and individual horrors often too grotesque to describe. The incidents are just the latest in a half-decade long persecution described in horrific detail by a UN report released in February.

Nobel Peace Prize winners President Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi.
Nobel Peace Prize winners President Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi.
(Image by U.S. Department of State)
  Details   DMCA

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has urged Myanmar to end the cruelty. UN Secretary-General Antà ³nio Guterres has affirmed evidence of genocide punishable as a crime.

As a former prime minister of Portugal, Guterres is cognizant of the responsibilities of a head of government. Thus it is with sadness one comes to Aung San Suu Kyi, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, an icon of patience, calm and fortitude who faced with unwavering courage a military dictatorship that had little regard for human rights.

She has labeled the Rohingyas terrorists and done nothing, while Myanmar's military has determinedly continued its genocide. There is a formal definition of it in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, which in Article II, describes each of the genocidal acts punishable as a crime. The Myanmar military is guilty of all except the last. It's worse: The February UN human rights report describes killings such as newborns being stamped to death.

There are other reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International displaying copious evidence that Aung San Suu Kyi continues to ignore, claiming the Rohingya are terrorists. She has been uncooperative with the UN, obstructed aid to the region, and even accused aid workers of helping terrorists. Reporters are generally not allowed in the area.

Fellow Nobelists have beseeched Aung San Suu Kyi: Archbishop Desmond Tutu has appealed directly through an open letter, and Malala Yousafzai has repeatedly urged her to protect these vulnerable people. Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Mairead Maguire, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman have jointly signed a letter asking "How many Rohingya have to die; how many Rohingya women will be raped; how many communities will be razed before you raise your voice?" It is not new; they have been trying since 2015. Aung San Suu Kyi's silence has been overwhelming.

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 2   Well Said 2   Valuable 2  
Rate It | View Ratings

Arshad M Khan Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Arshad M Khan is a former Professor. Educated at King's College London, Oklahoma State University and the University of Chicago, he has a multidisciplinary background that has frequently informed his research. He was elected a Fellow of the (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter

Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

a Chilling Documentary, the UN Discusses the Rohingya and an International Judges Tribunal Declares Genocide

Assad Is Not an Idiot

Trump Tweets Scorn As Weather Disasters Sweep World

Is the U.S. Losing Its Clout?

Oh Say Can We Really See ...

Unusual Independence Day Military Display -- An Iran Bluff or Could It Signal a War?

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend