Myanmar Playing Off Western Islamophobia to Justify Atrocities against Rohingya
They have committed grave human rights abuses on every level, and they’ve done it to Christians, animists, Buddhists and most recently, the Rohingya Muslims.
The violence toward the Rohingya civilians has been particularly harsh — Doctors Without Borders reported 8,170 deaths in the first month, over 1200 of them children under five — to include throwing babies against trees, burning families in their homes and rape followed by executions.
These human rights abuses have garnered significant criticism on a global scale, so the Myanmar government responded by putting their state-owned media groups to work.
Playing off the western Islamophobia, the Myanmar government took advantage of the fact that the Rohingyas are, by and large, a Muslim population.
They used phrases like “We have no policy to negotiate with terrorists,” as said by Zaw Htay, the spokesman for the office of State Counselor. They use the buzz words “insurgents” and “extremists” to press just the right buttons.
Many conveniently forget that this isn’t the first time that the Myanmar government has committed atrocities against the Rohingya, or countless other ethnic groups within their borders.
Source: Sofrep
