PSPD in English Int. Solidarity 2021-08-26 1389

[Joint Statement] Commemoration of the 4th Anniversary of the Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day

[Joint Statement]

Joint Statement of the South Korean Civil Society in Commemoration of the 4th Anniversary of the Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day

This year marks the 4th anniversary of the Rohingya genocide committed by the Myanmar military. In 2017, the military genocide killed tens of thousands of Rohingyas, deprived 800,000 of their homes and forced them to refugee camps in other countries. Now, four years later, the tragedy is still standing in the very place with no end in sight. Rohingyas are still struggling as refugees in harsh conditions without being able to return to their home. Some are wandering through the Indian Ocean under constant threat to their lives. The COVID-19 pandemic is driving their lives as refugees into a crisis of survival by cutting off relief and support. The light of Rohingyas’ lives are fainting, faced with the sad reality that their existence is slowly being forgotten on Earth, as the Myanmar military hopes.

Nonetheless, finding the truth about the horrendous crime and punishing those responsible seems distant. Instead of being punished internationally, the Myanmar military, the main culprit of the genocide, has staged a coup, pushing back Myanmar’s democracy. The gunfire once directed at the Rohingya is now directed at the people of Myanmar. The lives and human rights of the people of Myanmar are in a state of emergency, and the tragic and unfortunate situation in which many lives are sacrificed continues. Similar to the Rohingya genocide, these massacres and atrocities committed by the Myanmar military clearly violate the values of life, safety, human rights and democracy as stipulated in international law. This is the result of the international community’s failure to hold the Myanmar military gravely accountable for the Rohingya genocide. Myanmar is being driven into a civil war, and the damage is completely done to the people of Myanmar.

The massacre and atrocities by the Myanmar military are anti-life and anti-human rights acts that cannot be condoned as a national problem. The international community must fulfill the mutual cooperation obligations of governments to realize and guarantee the values of life, safety, human rights, and democracy as stipulated in international law. The Korean civil society calls on the international community to stop sitting idle and to take decisive measures against the Myanmar military’s genocide and atrocities, including the Rohingya, to prevent this from ever happening again. In addition, we urge the South Korean government to make substantial diplomatic efforts to protect the Rohingya’s human rights and Myanmar’s democracy in ASEAN and the United Nations, and to take stern measures in accordance with the international standards to prevent South Korean companies’ investments in Myanmar from being linked to Myanmar’s military-run companies or human rights violations of Rohingya people.

Over the past four years, the international community has started to recognize the seriousness of the Rohingya genocide, urging the recognition of the Rohingya as members of the Myanmar society and calling for human rights guarantee. This signals a positive sign in holding the Myanmar military accountable. It is also encouraging that, in the process of fighting the military coup, a sense of acceptance and solidarity with ethnic minorities is growing within Myanmar. In particular, reflecting on and apologizing to the Rohingya people for discriminatory acts, and the growing awareness that they are members of the Myanmar society who should coexist together is a positive change that gives hope even in the difficult reality of the Rohingya. We sincerely hope that this trend will spread and peace in Myanmar could be achieved.

On the 4th anniversary of the Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day, the South Korean civil society commemorates the victims of the genocide, and will continue to make efforts to protect the dignity and human rights of the Rohingya. In addition, facing the harsh reality of Myanmar today, we send our sincere support to the Myanmar people’s struggle for democracy and a humane life. The South Korean civil society promises to stand with the people of Myanmar til the very end, in strong solidarity for a society where the values of life, safety, human rights, and democracy are realized and all members of the ethnic groups in Myanmar live in peace and harmony.

August 26, 2021

List of signatories (33 organisations):

Asian Companions Against Brutality

Asian Dignity Initiative

Changjak21

Columban JPIC Korea

Dasan Human Rights Center

Ecosophialab

Goyang YMCA

Green Party Seoul

Gyeongbuk Bukbu Migrant Workers’ Center

Hope Center with Migrant Workers