BSS-33 Genocide committed against Rohingyas: Holocaust Museum

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BSS-33

HOLOCAUST-GENOCIDE-ROHINGYA

Genocide committed against Rohingyas: Holocaust Museum

DHAKA, Dec 4, 2018 (BSS) – The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
today said that there is compelling evidence that the Burmese military
committed ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and genocide against the
Rohingyas, the Muslim minority population of Burma.

“Our analysis concludes there is compelling evidence that Burmese
authorities have intentionally sought to destroy the Rohingya people because
of their ethnic and religious identity,” said Naomi Kikoler, Deputy Director
of the Museum’s Simon-Skjodt Centre for the Prevention of Genocide.

The Museum came to this conclusion based on a careful analysis in
consultation with an advisory group of atrocity experts; its own on-the-
ground, original research that resulted in a joint report in 2017 with
Fortify Rights; and information recently released in the Department of
State’s documentation report and the United Nations Fact Finding Mission,
said a press release here today.

“The Burmese military’s campaign against the Rohingya, especially the
attacks of August 2017, were deliberate, systematic, and widespread,” said
Lee Feinstein, a member of the Museum’s governing Council and the Chairman of
its Committee on Conscience, which advises the genocide prevention work of
the Museum.

For decades, the Burmese government has persecuted the Rohingya, stripping
them of citizenship and subjecting them to waves of mass violence. In March
2015, the Museum issued a report warning that preconditions of genocide
against the Rohingya were clearly evident. Other organizations also issued
warnings that went unheeded. The Burmese government has consistently denied
any wrongdoing, the report said.

In August 2017, attacks on the Rohingya community by the Burmese military
and others included mass killing, rape, torture, arson, arbitrary arrest and
detention, and forced displacement of more than 700,000 people. The 2017
report issued by the Museum and Fortify Rights, “They Tried to Kill Us All,”
documented these atrocities.

The Museum’s reporting shows that other religious and ethnic communities in
Burma – including the Kachin and Shan – are also at risk of mass atrocities
at the hands of the Burmese military.

Kikoler said that in order to respond to crimes of this magnitude, the
Burmese government needs to be pressed by other states to undertake genuine
efforts to prevent further atrocities; protect all vulnerable communities
including the Rohingya who remain in the country; cooperate with
international investigations and assistance programmes; hold perpetrators
accountable in a credible and independent court; and undertake significant
reforms to end discrimination against the Rohingya and restore their
citizenship.

A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum inspires leaders and citizens worldwide to confront hatred, prevent
genocide, and promote human dignity.

The Museum’s Simon-Skjodt Centre for the Prevention of Genocide works to
make the prevention of genocide and related crimes against humanity a
national and international priority.

BSS/PR/SAH/RY/2040 hrs