When religion becomes not a way of life - but a way of death

The cartoon above may apply to Aung San Suu Kyi

but it also references the inauguration speech of

U.S. President John F. Kennedy which related to countries

flirting with communism.

It's the quiet genocide. That's partly because the government of Aung San Suu Kyi bans the media and the UN from any access to the area of Myanmar where the army has been killing and purging the Rohingya minority.

It's partly because in the West the political right doesn't want to make too much fuss about a pogrom against Muslims. It's partly because the political left in the West is still in lovelorn bewilderment at the shocking transformation of their fallen angel.

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The woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize when she was the victim of the Myanmar army's repression has become its chief apologist.

And it's a quiet genocide partly because most of Myanmar's neighbours are themselves brutally repressive regimes. They have no interest in drawing attention to human rights atrocities.

Suu Kyi herself is very quiet on it. She avoids speaking about it. Rather than chide the army for the systematic killing of a civilian population and their mass displacement, she congratulates its soldiers for their bravery.

Go here to read the whole article by

Peter Hartcher 

The plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma)

An Urgent Call for Justice for Rohingya Muslims

Rohingya children in Burma. Image: Rohingya News Network

Since 2010, when a democratic government was elected for the first time in 50 years, the people of Myanmar have had ample reasons to celebrate the country’s growing democracy. However, for nearly a million Rohingya Muslims living in Myanmar, there is little to celebrate. Widespread violence against the Rohingya erupted in June 2012 and sporadically continues today. In one incident, police in Rakhine fired on a crowd of Rohingya Muslims who demanded the release of a deceased Rohingya fisherman’s body that was being held by the police. The gunshots killed eight people and injured many others. Yet, the government of Myanmar has done little to suppress communal violence against Rohingya Muslims, and local authorities are further perpetuating human rights abuse.

The persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar extends beyond ad hoc violence to include government policies that are blatantly discriminatory. Presently, a Rohingya woman is only permitted to have two children, and Rohingya men are prohibited from marrying Buddhist women. Even more pejorative than these laws is the government’s refusal to grant the Rohingya citizenship. Without citizenship, the Rohingya do not benefit from the rule of law or the protection of the state. Furthermore, the Rohingya lack access to basic services and are limited in their ability to travel. The situation in western Myanmar has escalated to such a point that Human Rights Watch has describe it as an “ethnic cleansing.”

Read more at Georgetown Journal of International Affairs