US to Myanmar: Ensure dignified return of Rohingyas
The US Department of State also appreciated the Government of Bangladesh’s ongoing generosity in hosting these refugees
The US Department of State has urged the government of Myanmar to take steps to end the institutional discrimination against the Rohingyas, and to create the conditions that would allow for the dignified return of Rohingya refugees to their country.
In a press statement released on Sunday, the US Department of State also appreciated the Government of Bangladesh’s ongoing generosity in hosting these refugees.
The press statement was issued as August marks two years since the release of the report of the Kofi Annan-led Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, and its recommendations, many of which concern the institutional discrimination against Rohingya that continues to this day.
“We continue to encourage the Burmese government to implement the Advisory Commission’s recommendations, which offer the best path forward for Burma and all the people of Rakhine State, as well as all those who fled,” said the US Department of State in its statement.
It also said, “We continue to work with international organizations to encourage Burma to create the conditions that would allow for the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of refugees to their places of origin or other places of their choosing.”
Two years ago, Myanmar’s security forces engaged in a brutal attack against hundreds of thousands of unarmed men, women, and children in a grossly disproportionate response to attacks by militants on security posts in northern Rakhine State.
The Myanmar military’s horrific atrocities against Rohingya villagers caused an exodus of more than 740,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh in actions that constituted ethnic cleansing.
The US Department of State said that Rakhine State is not the only place in Myanmar where the military has committed violations of human rights against its own people over the past seventy years.
It also said, the lack of accountability and civilian oversight of the military means that military abuses continue today in Rakhine State, as well as in Kachin and in Shan States and elsewhere in Myanmar.
The US Department of State called upon all those involved to respect human rights, to allow unhindered humanitarian access, and to engage in political dialogue to pursue peace.