March 1, 2019 – Rohingya Refugees

“As the first modern Filipino leader with Muslim relatives and the first Filipino President from Mindanao, Duterte’s sensitivities towards the Ummah (global Muslim community) go far beyond that of his predecessors. As such, it remains conceivable that some Rohingya refugees could make a new home in The Philippines, ostensibly in Bangsamoro, where they share a faith with local people.
Perhaps counter-intuitively, the arrival of Rohingya in Mindanao could help to demonstrate that within the framework of an autonomous political and economic model, a growing workforce could actually make the Bangsamoro region more collectively productive. This itself would help to bolster the nationwide argument in favour of federal-parliamentary reforms, in addition to job creating FDI (foreign direct investment). Whilst few non-Muslim Filipinos tend to internally migrate to Muslim Mindanao, when the region’s economic productivity inevitably increases due to peace creating political autonomy secured by a democratic and effective parliamentary model, Bangsamoro could become a model of how a foreign workforce, when arriving in sensible numbers, can help to increased sustained regional economic activity on a win-win basis.
While Duterte’s liberal critics support the neo-imperial model that has lead to death, genocide and the displacement of millions of innocent people, Duterte’s support for human life at and home and abroad, offers a contrast which itself reveals his genuine credentials as a deeply ethical and moral leader.”
https://eurasiafuture.com/2019/02/28/duterte-the-humanitarian-is-ready-to-accept-rohingya-refugees/

In this passage, the author put a lot of information on government officials that are trying to help the Rohingya, such as the Philippines. While this is an important topic to write about there are some parts of the article the author could’ve improved on. For example, the author could have some interviews with some Rohingyas and citizens from the Philippines to hear how they feel about Duterte, since Duterte plans to have some Rohingya refugees relocate to the Philippines. The author could’ve also brought up real life examples of the neo- imperial model and its downfalls, since the author didn’t put a lot of detail on how this model could lead to genocide, the main reason why the Rohingya are leaving Myanmar.

“The brutal Burmese regime – including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi – insist that their own commission of inquiry will do the job. But we all know that perpetrators can never be trusted to deliver justice for their victims, especially for crimes of this scale.
This week, the situation may finally change. In September, the UN’s Human Rights Council agreed to establish a new independent mechanism to investigate these crimes and to prepare cases for prosecution. This was a massive step forward, and the most concrete signal this year that the international community will no longer stand idly by in the face of genocide.

While the United Nations and United States loudly protested against these actions, some even calling it a “genocide”, Asean refrained from making any judgements and only commented on the need for a humanitarian response.
Myanmar and Bangladesh reached a deal to repatriate the first batch of refugees mid-November, but failed to implement it due to resistance from refugees who feared for their safety. The Muslim minority are treated as outsiders in the predominantly Buddhist state, where they are called “Bengali” as a rejection of their Myanmar heritage, and refused citizenship.
Myanmar delegates at the Chiang Mai meeting briefed their Asean counterparts on their perspective of the situation, but the details were not made publicly available. While the terms of reference of the needs assessment team was endorsed by a meeting of high-level strategic coordinators during Lim’s visit to Myanmar last month, a schedule for the team to visit Rakhine for its mission could not be fixed.”
https://astutenews.com/2018/12/19/will-the-world-help-the-rohingya-to-attain-justice/

In this article, the author brought up an important issue on how many Asian government officials, other than Aung San Suu Kyi, and how they are reacting to the issue. This shows how vital it is for neighboring governments to help support the Rohingya because of how their persecution by the Myanmar government was officially recognized as a genocide by the UN. Aung San Suu Kyi, State Counsellor of Myanmar, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her nonviolent approach for a democratic government. However, during her time as State Counsellor of Myanmar, she was unresponsive to violence against the Rohingya. This made her face many criticisms from several governments and organizations, which caused her to lose many of her prestigious awards. Therefore, when Aung San Suu Kyi said Myanmar would have their own investigation on the Rohingya, it would make many organizations suspicious of how the investigation is being conducted. This makes it all the more impotant that organizations like Asean, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the UN investigate such an important issue because of how the Rohingya had to endure many acts of terror under the Myanmar government.

Source:

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1991/kyi/facts/