Burma’s Oppressed Muslims at Crisis Point

Thousands of Burma’s Muslim Rohingya are facing worsening abuses by the military after parts of western Rakhine state were placed on lockdown following an Oct. 9 attack on border police blamed on Rohingya jihadists. Amid reports of rape, extrajudicial killing and razing of villages by the army that led Burma until last year’s historic democratic elections, the world is now looking to the country’s de facto leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, to calm tensions.

UNWANTED ANYWHERE

The Rohingya, who number about 1.1 million, are viewed by many in the Buddhist-majority country as illegal immigrants, though they have lived in Burma for generations. Suu Kyi has long been criticized for failing to condemn or even address the treatment of the stateless people by the military, which still controls large parts of the government.

HUMAN COST

Activists say at least 100 Rohingya have been killed since the start of a military campaign described by one U.N. official as “ethnic cleansing.” More than 150,000 people in need of aid live in the region, and at least 30,000 people have been displaced. Over 3,000 children there are severely malnourished; as many as half may die without immediate treatment. The true impact will be impossible to assess, however, until aid workers are allowed access to the restricted areas.

SUU KYI’S DILEMMA

The crisis is an embarrassment for Suu Kyi, exposing her powerlessness against the Burmese army, which oversees all matters of national security, and undermining her credibility as a champion of human rights. Her allies, particularly in the West, want her to allow immediate humanitarian access and facilitate an independent, U.N.-assisted investigation into allegations of army abuse. Suu Kyi’s ability to follow through will be a test of what influence she actually has.

–FELIZ SOLOMON