In August 2017, the Myanmar government accused the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army of attacking police posts in the Rakhine. In response, Myanmar’s military junta launched an offensive led by Senior General Than Shwe. They killed 6700 Rohingya, including at least 730 children under the age of five, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The attack on the Rohingya people was a ‘foreseeable and planned catastrophe’ that was ‘grossly disproportionate’ to security threats. People were killed by gunfire and large bladed weapons. Women were raped or gang-raped, children were maimed, subjected to sexual violence and killed, according to a report published by Frontline, 2018. The Myanmar military’s ‘ethnic cleansing drive,’ has resulted in the death of 24000 people. Over 700,000 people have fled Myanmar; 392 villages stand partly or totally destroyed.
Today, Myanmar stands at a similar juncture. The Nobel Laureate Aunt San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD), who stood silent and even defended the Rohingya genocide globally in 2019 has been silenced by accusations that tie her to corruption and election rigging. The coup in Myanmar, under the de facto leader Min Aung Hlaing, has already claimed more than 500 lives. More than 3000 people have been arrested in two months. March 27, 2021, celebrated as the Armed Forces Day, turned out to be the bloodiest day for civilians in Myanmar. The military shot and killed at least 90 civilians, with some reports putting the death toll at 114.
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