US (Washington Insider Magazine) – United States foreign policy continues to evolve as the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar have been recognized as brutalized, and victims of crimes against Humanity by the United States government. Unfortunately, this decision comes about five years after the plight of these people was discovered, and the news was leaked that the women and children were being beaten, raped, brutalized, and ultimately murdered for their beliefs…or for no reason at all.
The tragedy of the genocide was the timing of it all, as little to no aid was rendered and the recognition came far too late, and at far greater a price than anyone was willing to pay — the safety and lives of countless Muslim Rohingya individuals in their home country.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the statement and declaration on Monday, which may enable the United States legal entities and liaisons to assist the Rohingya people in building a legal case against the genocide, perpetrated by Myanmar’s corrupt government officials, allegedly at the hands of the military and government sympathizers. The case would be tried in the international court of law, and require a ruling from the international judiciary panel.
This determination complicates the already ongoing dissent and confusion that is coming from the current state of affairs in Myanmar, which is currently dealing with the ramifications of a coup led by the Nation’s military.
While this realization does come at far too late a time, it was made nonetheless. The concern is that Secretary of State Blinken currently only attributes the atrocities to current and previous Myanmar military officials, rather than the government that remained in power at that time. According to Secretary Blinken, there is enough compiled evidence against Myanmar’s military to convict them of attempted genocide, as soldiers were ordered to shoot Rohingya people on-site in an attempt to remove their kind from the nation.
The Secretary urged listeners to see beyond the numbers and statistics when it comes to the Myanmar genocides, as he spoke to the crowd and reporters from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. He was quoted honoring that behind every single statistic you’ll see, lies a life that was brutalized and ended far too soon. He looks forward to a day where justice is served, and the individuals behind the crimes are apprehended in the international court of law.
Kelley Currie commented on the ruling of Secretary of State Blinken, applauding the progress, but dissuading listeners from thinking this was timely in any form or fashion. Currie served as a specialist working in Myanmar, assisting with women’s rights issues in the region. She went on record stating that failure to acknowledge the intensifying state of affairs in Myanmar was shown in what led up to a tumultuous militaristic event.
Currently, Currie is among many who are pressing the Biden Administration to take further action on the perpetrators of the Myanmar genocides, specifically against the Myanmar military. According to statistics provided by Human Rights Watch, the military has been accused of killing over 1,500 people since the coup began, claiming lives for a cause that leaves the nation divided.
John Sifton, advocate for Human Rights Watch and operator within the Asian regions, believes that the crimes will continue so long as no one is held accountable for them.
