Distinguished Professor of Politics and Government Ali Riaz expressed concerns that a Rohingya militant group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) killed Hindu women, men, and children last August in Myanmar. A report by the Amnesty International (AI) published on Tuesday unearthed the massacres.
Based on dozens of interviews conducted in Myanmar and Bangladesh, as well as photographic evidence analyzed by forensic pathologists, the AI revealed how Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army fighters sowed fear among Hindus and other ethnic communities with these brutal attacks in Rakhine State.
“Such heinous acts should to be condemned unequivocally.” –Ali Riaz
In an interview with Bangladeshi wire Service UNB, Riaz said that it is disconcerting to know that common people had been targeted for their religious and ethnic identities. “Such heinous acts should be condemned unequivocally.” Those who have committed such horrific acts must be brought to justice, he added.
The Myanmar government since then has conducted an unprecedented security operation in the Rakhine State and forced more than 700,000 Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh. The UN has described the refugee crisis as one of the worst humanitarian crises and alleged Myanmar of “ethnic cleansing.”
Professor Riaz also said these dreadful acts by the members of the ARSA by no means exonerate the Myanmar authorities of their disproportionate response and their preplanned acts of crimes against humanity.
