2016–17 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar
| Date | 9 October 2016 – present |
|---|---|
| Location | Rakhine State, Myanmar |
| Type |
|
| Theme | Military crackdown by Myanmar's armed forces and police on Rohingya Muslims |
| Cause |
|
| Outcome |
|
| Deaths | 1,000+ |
| Publication bans | Media access in northern Rakhine State heavily restricted by the Burmese government. |
The 2016–17 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar refers to the ongoing military crackdown by Myanmar's armed forces and police on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State in the country's northwestern region. The crackdown was in response to attacks on Burmese border posts in October 2016 by unidentified insurgents. The Burmese military have been accused of wide-scale human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, gang rapes, arson and infanticides, claims which the Burmese government dismisses as "exaggerations".
The military crackdown on the Rohingya people has drawn criticism from the United Nations (which cited possible "crimes against humanity"), the human rights group Amnesty International, the U.S. Department of State, the government of neighboring Bangladesh, and the government of Malaysia (where many Rohingya refugees have fled to). The de facto head of government of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, has particularly been criticized for her inaction and silence over the issue and for doing little to prevent military abuses.
The Rohingya people have been described as "amongst the world's least wanted" and "one of the world's most persecuted minorities." The Rohingya are deprived of the right to free movement and of higher education. They have been denied Burmese citizenship since the Burmese nationality law was enacted. They are not allowed to travel without official permission and were previously required to sign a commitment not to have more than two children, though the law was not strictly enforced. They are subjected to routine forced labour where typically a Rohingya man will have to give up one day a week to work on military or government projects and one night for sentry duty. The Rohingya have also lost a lot of arable land, which has been confiscated by the military to give to Buddhist settlers from elsewhere in Myanmar.
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