Everybody should not resort to only reading about this situation. The United Nations has reported that some 73,000 Rohingya refugees have crossed the border to Bangladesh since August 25.
Satellite images released by Human Rights Watch on Saturday showed tens of thousands of people trapped at the Bangladesh border without any food and medical help.
They ran away because of the genocide and ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar military junta towards the Rohingyas. Junta killed tens of thousands of Muslims in the Rakhine state.
Houses were burned, men were killed, women were raped and young children were also victimized by the situation.
The situation has touched the hearts of many. Many were affected by this inhumane cruelty. This situation happened with the knowledge of the world's Nobel laureates.
No single human is able to witness another human being the victim of a mass murder, of a genocide. Everyone will argue against it. It hurts to see what's happening in Myanmar.
Malaysia is not only the champion of the SEA Games, but is also a champion in humanitarian issues happening in ASEAN. Malaysia is among the first to speak against the cruelty issue that happened in the Rakhine state among other ASEAN countries.
On December 4, 2016, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the President of UMNO along with Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, the President of PAS, together with some 10,000 Muslims gathered at Stadium Mini Titiwangsa, denouncing the cruelty of the Myanmar military junta.
"We have something to say to the Myanmar's government. We want to tell Au San Suu Kyi, enough is enough, enough is enough."
"They (the Myanmar's government) warned me. They warned me but I do not care, I'm here in the name of the ummah and as a Malaysians. Allahuakbar!!!" said Datuk Seri Najib.
On January 31, 2017, Datuk Seri Najib sent a flotilla on a mission to bring thousands of supplies and medicines to Myanmar.
Datuk Seri Najib's consistent effort to protest against the cruelty in Myanmar was praised by Rached Ghanbouchi, the President of Tunisia who described it as a noble endeavor for the sake of the Muslims.
It cannot be up to Malaysia solely. All other ASEAN countries need to demonstrate their loyalty and agreement regarding the humanitarian issues than is happening towards the Rohingyas. ASEAN needs to be involved in this humanitarian issue and not just in sporting events. All ASEAN leaders must come together to fight this situation.
Ban Kin Moon has been praising Malaysia's effort on the issue since 2015. This means that Malaysia's efforts and initiatives over the Rakhine issue on the UN and regional platform have been recognized by the world's body.
On December 12 2016, Yanghee Lee, UN representative confirmed that the Myanmar government could face humanitarian crimes in the international court. This is because there are so many pictorial and video proofs about the brutality of the Myanmar military junta.
The UN should not just praise Malaysia's efforts. They should not stop at talking about making a move but instead, they should start making a move. The genocide is still happening. Babies died in the arms of their mothers because of milk and food shortages. How long do we have to witness babies becoming victims of such cruelty?
UN and ASEAN must act now. It's time to turn words into actions. Last Sunday, Datuk Seri Najib had asked Ban Kin Moon to urge the Myanmar military to use a holistic approach to resolve the issues in Rakhine.
ASEAN needs to call for a special session. All ASEAN countries need to be together with Malaysia on this humanitarian issue. It is necessary to embargo the economy against Myanmar if the junta is still in full force with the genocide.
This cruelty is a humanitarian issue. It hurts to see such brutality. Come on Malaysians, together we opposed the junta's cruelty.
Let's tweet the objection on @UN twitter page and use the #Rohingya hashtag.
Written by:
Beruang Biru
BB564, Tuesday
5 September 2017
