[Covering up wrongdoing in the name of unity and as a strategy
against the junta will only ensure that past injustices are
perpetuated and that military rule will live on indefinitely. ]
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THE NATIONAL UNITY GOVERNMENT CANNOT AFFORD TO IGNORE PAST INJUSTICES
IF IT TRULY SEEKS TO FREE MYANMAR FROM MILITARY RULE  
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Khin Ohmar and Thinzar Shunlei Yi
August 24, 2021
Myanmar Now
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_ Covering up wrongdoing in the name of unity and as a strategy
against the junta will only ensure that past injustices are
perpetuated and that military rule will live on indefinitely. _

A family of Rohingya refugees arrives in Bangladesh after fleeing
Myanmar military attacks in September 2017 , EPA-EFE

 

The formation of Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) by
elected members of parliament, ethnic and civil society leaders, and
representatives of the Civil Disobedience Movement and General Strike
Committees of the Spring Revolution was a historic moment. For the
country’s diverse communities, it offered real hope that a genuine
federal democracy—one that guarantees and protects their rights—
can be established. As a moral as well as a political guide, the NUG
must therefore transparently communicate to the people of Myanmar what
and who it stands for.

To live up to its historic role, the NUG must now face the lack of
justice and accountability that have allowed the Myanmar military to
commit grave crimes against ethnic communities, including the
Rohingya, for decades. For far too long, the military has acted with
total impunity.

The last decade has seen the enactment and maintenance of racist,
Islamophobic, and misogynistic legal frameworks that have served to
enable the military’s most egregious abuses. The four “Race and
Religion Protection Laws” adopted in 2015 built on the 1982
Citizenship Law to enshrine deeply discriminatory attitudes against a
segment of the population; together with the empowerment of extremist
Buddhist nationalists, they laid the groundwork for the incitement of
anti-Muslim violence and the Myanmar military’s “clearance
operations” against the Rohingya in 2017.

The genocide of that year went beyond the horrific crimes routinely
committed by the military in ethnic areas for decades. More than
800,000 Rohingya were systematically murdered, raped and expelled from
their homeland and a system of apartheid was created in which those
who remained in Myanmar were confined to internment camps.

When it was in power, the National League for Democracy (NLD) remained
silent in the face of the military’s grave crimes, particularly
those committed against the Rohingya. Rather than cooperating with
international mechanisms to hold the military accountable, the ruling
party defended the generals at hearings held by the International
Court of Justice. It even intentionally avoided using the term
“Rohingya”, in line with state attempts to erase Rohingya
identity. The NLD government did not repeal racist laws, despite
having the capacity to do so with their parliamentary majority.

The culpability of the previous NLD government needs to be addressed
head on. Covering up wrongdoing in the name of unity and as a strategy
against the junta will only ensure that past injustices are
perpetuated and that military rule will live on indefinitely.

We have seen some signs of hope. The NUG has adopted a policy paper on
the Rohingya that is a positive start in acknowledging their rights,
ending systemic efforts to oppress and exclude them, and recognizing
the atrocity crimes that they have faced. It is encouraging that the
NUG has moved towards achieving justice and accountability by working
to become a party to the Rome Statute. However, more concrete steps
must be taken.

It is precisely because the military has never faced any significant
consequences for its crimes against the Rohingya and other ethnic
groups that it is now able to inflict horrific atrocities against the
rest of the population. Justice and equality for the Rohingya will
serve not just the Rohingya alone, but also all the other peoples of
Myanmar.

This is the moment for the NUG to start building the foundation for an
inclusive, federal, and democratic Myanmar. The NUG’s declaration
that it will grant the International Criminal Court jurisdiction to
prosecute crimes dating back to 2002, made in response to calls from
Myanmar civil society organizations and the international community,
is a welcome move. The NUG must continue on this path towards
ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and
support the Court’s procedures in order to bring the perpetrators of
serious crimes to account.

The NUG and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)
should use their power now to repeal racist laws such as the 1982
Citizenship Law and the four “Race and Religion Protection Laws”.
These laws are not only racist and xenophobic, but also perpetuate
gendered discrimination and violence and violate the rights of
children, while subscribing to the misogynistic and patriarchal system
fostered by decades of military rule.

The NUG must listen to the voices of all the people of Myanmar,
including those of the Rohingya and other ethnic and religious
minorities—and particularly those of the victims and survivors of
crimes committed by the Myanmar military. More importantly, it is
vital that the Rohingya are included in the NUG’s political
processes as we work towards dismantling institutionalized systems of
oppression and discrimination built and entrenched by the military.
This will be essential as we reimagine an inclusive and transformative
future for Myanmar that guarantees and respects the humanity and human
rights of all.

As the Myanmar military has waged a nationwide campaign of terror
against the country’s people, solidarity with the Rohingya has been
displayed on protest banners, on social media, and in comments by
public figures. On August 25, the anniversary of the start of the
military’s 2017 campaign against the Rohingya, members of Myanmar
civil society plan to release an open letter calling for the
restoration of their rights and for the military to be held
accountable for its crimes. In this way, we can begin to imagine a
Myanmar that derives strength from its diversity, rather than from
notions of ethnic supremacy.

The NUG must act as a beacon for this future Myanmar and take concrete
actions to demonstrate its political will to ensure and guarantee the
equal rights of the Rohingya. They must also recognize that the crime
of genocide was committed by the military against the Rohingya in 2017
and fully cooperate with international accountability mechanisms to
seek justice for the victims and survivors.

Only by doing so can the NUG ensure that when democracy is restored in
Myanmar, it will be able to foster a just and peaceful society based
on federal principles, inclusivity, human rights, and human dignity
that we can all belong to and be proud of and keep nurturing for
future generations to come.

_Khin Ohmar is a Burmese activist and founder and chairperson of
Progressive Voice, a Myanmar human rights organisation. As a student
activist in 1988, she took part in organising the 8-8-88 pro-democracy
uprising in Myanmar._

_Thinzar Shunlei Yi is a youth advocate and activist. She works with a
grassroots political coalition called ACDD. She has advocated publicly
against the junta since the coup and is currently running a global
campaign called #Sisters2Sisters, which promotes solidarity for
Myanmar women in the revolution._

_Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate
and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and
English.  _

_Independent media is under attack in Myanmar... help us hold the
powerful to account. DONATE NOW
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