Australia has told Myanmar that international observers must be allowed into the isolated Rakhine state to monitor the situation of Rohingya still living there, and to supervise the return of any of those who have fled and wish to come back, according to a report by The Guardian.
In its strongest statement yet against the quasi-military regime, Australia condemned Myanmar’s violence at the United Nations Human Rights Council, saying anyone guilty of human rights abuses “must be held to account”.
“Australia reiterates its deep concern about events in Rakhine state, including reports of widespread and systematic human rights violations and abuses by Myanmar security forces and local vigilantes,” the charge d’affaires of Australia’s mission to the UN, Lachlan Strahan, said in Geneva. “We also note with concern ongoing clashes between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups in north-eastern Myanmar and barriers to humanitarian access.”
International observers must be allowed into the isolated state, Strahan said.
“Australia reiterates its call for a thorough, credible and independent investigation, including through the fact-finding mission,” he said. “We encourage Myanmar to grant the fact-finding mission access to affected areas. Perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses must be held to account.”
The Rohingya ethnic and religious minority have faced decades of intense persecution in Myanmar, including statelessness through denationalisation, exclusion from healthcare and education, and violent oppression by the military.
But violence against the minority reached a new zenith beginning last August, with a systematic pogrom against the Rohingya by the military, including the murder of civilian men, women and children – including by burning alive – the razing of villages and rape being used as a weapon of war.
The UN has said the persecution “bears all the hallmarks of genocide”.