Inside Story

Is the world ignoring the plight of the Rohingya?

Malaysian prime minister urges foreign intervention to stop what he calls the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.

Pressure on government leaders in Myanmar is being ramped up – as Malaysia has accused its neighbour of committing genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Government leaders in Buddhist-majority Myanmar deny the ethnic cleansing of people they consider illegal immigrants – and “terrorists”.

Rohingya gunmen are blamed for the killing of nine policemen in October. Since then, dozens of Rohingya have been killed and tens of thousands forced from their homes in a military crackdown.

Some soldiers are accused of gang rape, torture and destroying entire villages in Rakhine state.

The Myanmar government denies the allegations but has banned journalists from visiting Rohingya areas.

Why has there been little international action so far? And why hasn’t Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi spoken out?

Presenter: Sami Zeidan

Guests:

Tun Khin – President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation in the UK

Maung Zarni – Genocide Documentation Centre of Cambodia and human rights activist