Rohingya admire UK’s decision to intervene in genocide case against Myanmar

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AA) – The stateless Rohingya refugees living in congested camps in Bangladesh’s district of Cox’s Bazar have lauded the UK’s decision to intervene in their case against Myanmar before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The UK announcement has given persecuted Rohingya Muslims in the country and around the world renewed hope for their safe and dignified return to their homeland.

As the stateless Rohingya in Bangladesh and throughout the world marked the 5th “Genocide Remembrance Day” on August 25, Amanda Milling, the British minister for Asia, confirmed the UK’s intention to intervene in the ICJ case between the Gambia and Myanmar.

On July 22, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected Myanmar’s preliminary objections to Gambia’s case filed in November 2019 under the International Genocide Convention for alleged genocide against ethnic Rohingya in Rakhine State, with a focus on military operations launched in October 2016 and August 2017.

In 2017, the Myanmar army (Tatmadaw) and extremist Buddhists massacred thousands of Muslim Rohingya men, raped women, burned down houses, and perpetrated other atrocities across Rakhine State under the cover of an anti-insurgent military campaign.

The state-sponsored atrocities caused almost 750,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh in a matter of days, bringing the total number of persecuted people in the South Asian state to about 1.2 million.

“In March of this year, the US recognized the crimes against us as genocide, and we now learn that the UK will support the genocide case before the ICJ,” Fayaz Ullah, a Rohingya community leader in refugee camps said.

“Our problem is gaining traction on a worldwide scale, and we think that our battle will be over one day,” he said, adding that the UK’s move would motivate other powerful nations to join the Rohingya in their quest for justice.

Mohammad Abdullah, 65, a resident of Camp No. 5, believes that they would return to Myanmar. “We will never feel comfortable returning to Myanmar until those who massacred the Rohingya are brought to justice,” she said.

Another refugee, Maymuna Begum, said that major countries are increasingly speaking out against the genocide in Myanmar, which they escaped five years ago.

“We hope that our new generation will be given justice and will be able to return to their motherland with dignity and safety. I am confident that our citizenship rights will be restored soon, in conjunction with the trial of the genocide case,” she added.

Meanwhile, different rights groups, including Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) and Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), have also hailed the UK’s declaration.

“We would now like to see the British government, as penholder on Burma at the UN Security Council, bring the issue forward there to increase their efforts to protect the Rohingya people,” BROUK President Tun Khin said.

Sixty countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, UK, and all 57 members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), supported the case.