Recent reports have shone a light on the dark side of a country supposedly reforming its ways.
All of a sudden, Myanmar is being squeezed from all sides. It couldn’t have happened at a worse – or better – time, depending on how one looks at it.
This past week, the country’s security forces have been accused of profiting from human trafficking of Rohingya Muslims via boats off the west coast of Myanmar.
Fortify Rights revealed, in a report released this week, that Myanmar security forces in Rakhine State, where most of the Rohingya reside, have since 2012 been collecting payments from these Muslims, who are desperate to get out and find better lives, usually in Malaysia. The United Nations says Rohingya are some of the most mistreated people in the world.
In some cases, the Myanmar navy escorted boats run by criminal gangs out to international waters, the report claimed.
“Not only are the authorities making life so intolerable for Rohingya that they’re forced to flee, but they’re also profiting from the exodus,” said Matthew Smith, executive director of Fortify Rights. “This is a regional crisis that’s worsening, while Myanmar authorities are treating it like a perverse pay day.”
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