An organisation born out of the desire to prevent a Rwanda like genocide might just have helped create one
December 16, 2016
It would seem the government of Myanmar is in a tight diplomatic corner. Many international and regional powers have put what seems to be unprecedented pressure on the government to halt ethnic cleansing against the beleaguered Muslim community. Yet the sad truth is with the possible exception of the two ASEAN Muslim powers, much of this is an eyewash.
The international pariah that was Myanmar had ceased to exist since the wily former president Thein Sein started this country on the path to economic and political reform. The country with its vast untapped resources has gradually opened up to the world, most significantly the USA.
One of the ways the USA has maintained geo political superiority over her rivals is the use of soft power. The soft power is difficult to read but it is universally agreed that one of the cornerstones of US might is her unrivalled influence in many non governmental and non profit international organisations. One of these organisations is the Brussels based International Crisis Group (ICG). In such circumstances, it comes as little surprise the ICG has published a report that is extremely detrimental to the welfare of the Rohingyas. It does not help that Rohingyas are Muslims.
In all fairness, the ICG report calls for addressing the root causes of the Rohingya insurgency. It condemns atrocities against the Muslim population and identifies the failure of the government as the reasons this insurgency was born. Yet the practical truth is that ICG did not publish a report that would encourage the international media to carry headlines such as ‘Ethnic cleansing of Rohingyas creating new Muslim insurgency’. Rather predictably the headlines were ‘Myanmar’s Rohingya insurgency has links to Saudi, Pakistan’. The ICG was well aware this would be the end result of their report when instead of emphasising on the genocide of Rohingya Muslims, the ICG stressed on the Saudi and Pakistan links of the insurgency, placing the beleaguered community on the wrong side of the war on terror.
It is also imperative at this point to remember the recommendations given by this group in other conflicts. When Western backed rebels chose war against erstwhile dictator Muammar Gaddafi what did ICG do? Did ICG reports claim the rebels were backed by the Western and Middle Eastern powers? Did ICG recommend the Libyan army to hunt down insurgents? Instead the ICG recommended the best options for the prevention of conflict was the removal of Gaddafi. Five years later, we all know how that one went.
The international media should question the ICG on where they got their information concerning Rohingya rebels. Because Arakan state has long been restricted for international observers. Since the start of this conflict, the Maungdaw area has been totally sealed. So how did ICG conduct their field research? It claims to have conducted interviews with insurgents but where did they find them? Also can the reports of these insurgents be actually verified without conducting extensive field research in the conflict zone?
By disseminating information irresponsibly, the ICG has given the government of Myanmar the very excuse it wanted to prolong the recent crackdown against Rohingyas that have already killed hundreds. ICG, an organisation born out of the supposed desire to prevent a Rwanda like genocide might just have helped create another one. Instead of its stated motto “working to prevent conflict worldwide”, it had done quite the opposite in Arakan state.
