Tougher measures needed to stop campaign of terror

By now the misery that engulfs the lives of Burma’s Rohingya people is well-documented, despite every effort by that country to prevent the world from knowing their fate. Indeed, the United Nations now considers the Rohingya to be the most persecuted minority in the world. There’s little reason to question that.

About 645,000 Rohingya have been living in unsanitary conditions with little food in camps in Bangladesh since they began fleeing Burma on Aug. 25.

Alarmingly, they are the lucky ones. After all, they escaped with their lives from what the Burmese army euphemistically called “clearance operations” – the systematic rapes, murders and burnings of their homes and villages.

What is to be done? Condemnations are not enough, as Human Rights Watch and 80 other NGOS warned the UN Security Council in a joint appeal this week. Instead, they called for the Security Council to impose an arms embargo against Burma’s military and target sanctions against officers responsible for “crimes against humanity.”

Canada, too, can step up pressure on Burma. Though it already has an arms embargo in place, it can do more. Indeed, in November Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland indicated she was considering “targeted sanctions” against Burma’s leaders.

That would be a good place to start. Still, despite Burma’s ongoing ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, Canada has no immediate plans to hold Burmese leaders to account. Instead, Freeland’s spokesman said on Tuesday Canada would simply “continue to explore all possible options at our disposal, including targeted sanctions, to contribute to ending this tragic persecution.”

That falls short. While Canada is “exploring” options, the situation for the Rohingya grows more dire. For example, an agreement between Burma and Bangladesh to permit them to return home starting Jan. 23 leaves the refugees between a rock and a hard place.

As Human Rights Watch points out, the agreement contains “insufficient guarantees that return at this time can be informed, safe and voluntary.” Nor is it clear that Burma will actually allow the Rohingya to return, despite the agreement. It is requiring documentation of prior residence, something many who escaped with just the clothing on their backs may not have. And once they are returned, it seems they will be contained in “camps.”

Worse, perhaps, is the fact the agreement suggests Rohingya still fleeing ethnic cleansing might not be able to get out. The agreement expresses Burma’s commitment “to take necessary measures to halt the outflow of Myanmar residents to Bangladesh.”

Staying is not an option while the military operations against the Rohingya are still ongoing. On Tuesday the Associated Press reported on the vicious gang rapes of women and girls as young as nine, many of whom witnessed the murders of their husbands and male relatives. AP says their accounts bolster the UN’S accusation that the Burmese armed forces are employing rape as a “calculated tool of terror” against the Rohingya.

That is something the Burmese government denies. Still, though she has not publicly lifted a finger to protect the Rohingya, Burma’s civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, once admitted that Burma’s armed forces used rape as a weapon against ethnic nationalities.

Though Canada could do more to hold the Burmese government to account, it has done much to help the Rohingya. In November it committed $35 million over five years to help Bangladesh address the needs of women and girls among the enormous influx of refugees. And it named former interim Liberal leader Bob Rae as a special envoy to get a first-hand view of the crisis and report back on solutions.

Rae told the Star on Tuesday he will be releasing his interim report soon and it will deal with the issues of “impunity and accountability.”

His report can’t come soon enough. The world must stand up to Burma and end the suffering of the Rohingya. Canada should lead the way.