I would like to commend the French and British governments for their efforts to pursue a concrete solution for the ongoing Rohingya humanitarian crisis that has gone on for far too long.
On the 24 September 2018 the French Foreign Minister and the British Foreign Secretary hosted ministers from Myanmar and Bangladesh in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York. They were joined by high-level representatives from Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey and the United States as well as senior UN Officials.
The French and British ministers have expressed deep concern regarding “the conclusions of the report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission, which allege the Burmese military’s responsibility for serious human rights violations, possibly amounting to crimes against humanity… and conclude that there is sufficient information to warrant the investigation and prosecution of senior officials in the Burmese army so that a competent court can determine their liability for genocide in relation to the situation in Rakhine state.”
Over 723,000 Rohingyans have fled their ancestral home of Rakhine province, amid a storm that has been described by the UNHRC where “…gross human rights violations and abuses” have taken place.
Much of these refugees have been hosted by the Bangladeshi government who have shown great strength and compassion towards a people that have been betrayed by their own government.
It is my sincerest hopes that with this, the international community can finally move forward in bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.
As I have mentioned in previous statements, the Rohingyan genocide represents the greatest humanitarian crisis in South East Asia in modern times, a view that has been echoed by not only the co-chairs but the greater international community.
Malaysia should take up the challenge posed the by co-chairs to “continue and intensify support for the refugees and Bangladeshi host communities”.
Once again, I implore the Malaysian government to take up its responsibility as a leading partner in ASEAN to utilise the latter to as a platform to end the suffering for the victims of this unjust conflict. We must revisit the doctrine of non-interference in extreme humanitarian cases such as the Rohingyan genocide.
NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD
PAKATAN HARAPAN YOUTH LEADER
PARTI KEADILAN RAKYAT YOUTH LEADER
SETIAWANGSA MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT