It has been more than a year since Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims started fleeing to the neighbouring Bangladesh to escape systematic persecution at the hands of their country's repressive regime. Yet there is no end in sight to their suffering. An estimated 800,000 of them live in appalling conditions many of them in landslide prone areas, fearing just one storm could wash them all away. Earlier this month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, where he "heard unimaginable accounts of killing and rape from Rohingya refugees who recently fled Myanmar." He was there not only to see firsthand the situation in the camps but to remind the international community to "do more" for the survival of the refugees, and return to their homeland.
For now, Western governments and the donor agencies need to help the UNHCR to provide for the refugees' humanitarian needs. That alone though will not resolve the crisis. Bangladesh is quite unhappy to host the refugees. In fact it has been threatening to send them to an isolated island in the Bay of Bengal. The local people resent the presence of such a large number of refugees, seeing them as competitors in the job market. The longer they stay the higher would go the tensions between the two peoples. It is imperative therefore that the UN and influential international players take steps to ensure the refugees safe return to their land with long-term guarantees of security. So far, UN efforts have failed to bring about any change in the Myanmar government's policy of ethnic cleansing. The country's military, which orchestrated the campaign of violence and destruction against the Rohingya community, may be beyond the control of its de facto civilian head of the government, Aung Suu Kyi, but she - ironically, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate - has refused to do as little as to express sympathy for the Rohingya people. In fact, she has been indirectly condoning the atrocities perpetrated by the Buddhist extremists, and overseen by soldiers.
UN appeals to the Myanmar government to reverse its catastrophic policy have proved to be like water off a duck's back. The recommendations made by a commission headed by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan have been consigned to the dustbin. Yet there are a few things that can bring about a positive change. Western governments may not have much influence with that country, but the least they can do is to slap targeted sanctions on Myanmar military leaders, as they have been doing in so many other instances. A more effective role, however, can be played by China, a major supporter of the regime. Unfortunately, it has chosen to do next to nothing because of its geo-political interests in that country. Intervening on the side of a humanitarian cause is unlikely to jeopardize its relation with Myanmar. The two sides have a lot to gain from one another. China must use its leverage on the Myanmar government and its military leadership to have them accord due respect to the rights of Rohingya people.