Never Again Coalition, Americans for Rohingya and Friends of Rohingya USA
Stand Together on the 4th Anniversary of the Clearance Operation
Carried Out Against the Rohingya in Rakhine State

August 25, 2021 - Today we mark four years since the violent and systematic attacks perpetrated against the Rohingya in Rakhine State. Villages were burned, women were raped, men were slaughtered and babies drowned. Over 740,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh. These attacks are part of systemic persecution of the Rohingya orchestrated and carried out by the Burmese military, or Tatmadaw, that goes back decades and is still ongoing.

Failure by the U.S. to acknowledge the persecution of the Rohingya for what it is – genocide, has further emboldened the military to act with impunity. On February 1, 2021 the Tatmadaw carried out a coup, unleashing a brutal crackdown on civilians. The general population is now faced with the same authoritarian behavior that the Rohingya and other ethnic and religious minorities in Burma have faced for decades.

As Rohingya and Rohingya advocates, we know the strength of a community that has faced unspeakable persecution but continues to persevere. The Rohingya deserve to determine their own future but the community cannot stop the military junta on its own. It is the moral obligation of the international community to stand up against persecution and human rights violations wherever they may occur. It is all of our responsibility to protect.

There is sufficient evidence from Refugees International, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and others, including the report Public International Law & Policy Group, contracted by the State Department, that have found reasonable grounds to believe that genocide and crimes against humanity were committed. There must not be any more delay. The U.S. must make a genocide determination in the case of the Rohingya. This is a necessary step to creating a path for the Rohingya to experience what they have long desired, life with peace, justice, safety and dignity. Acknowledging these atrocities for what they are will furthermore move the international community towards addressing the root causes of the Tatmadaw’s behavior and help secure a path to inclusive democracy for the Rohingya and all the people of Burma.