External actors like Pak's culpability in turning Rohingyas into terrorists contributed to their plight: European think-tank

A European think-tank has castigated "external actors like Pakistan" for supporting violence-prone Rohingyas and turning them into terrorists saying that Islamabad has contributed in "no small measure" to the plight that the Rohingyas find themselves in today.

"The Rohingya have suffered enough and deserve nothing less than a dignified return to their homesteads, equality under the law, and a life of respect," said European Foundation For South Asian Studies (EFSAS), in its commentary, while referring to Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's statement during ICJ hearing over alleged human rights abuses of Rohingya in her country.

"At the same time, as brought out by Suu Kyi in her statement at the ICJ, the culpability of external actors like Pakistan, which by supporting the miniscule proportion among the Rohingyas that were violence-prone and turning them into terrorists, have contributed in no small measure to the plight that the Rohingyas find themselves in today," it added.

 

The commentary cited, Suu Kyi as saying in her statement before the ICJ, that Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) has received weapons and explosives training from Afghan and Pakistani militants.

Stressing that support to violence-prone Rohingyas and turning them into terrorist is an important aspect that must not be lost sight of even while "ceaselessly pursuing justice for the Rohingyas", EFSAS in its commentary said, "Unless countries like Pakistan are compelled to stop exporting terror, the likelihood of a grievance in a foreign land being exploited and twisted through encouragement to the disaffected to embrace violent means would always be there."

Highlighting that such violence would only provide an excuse and the justification to Myanmar government to respond disproportionately, the think-tank said, "The terror-supporting country, Pakistan in this case, must also be held responsible and brought to book for the terrible retribution that the vast majority of the Rohingyas, who are peace-loving, non-violent, family people, have had to endure because of Pakistan's ill-considered and ill-intentioned encouragement to the minority among the Rohingyas with an affinity for the gun."

The think tank quoted Suu Kyi and asserted that she touched upon the role that Pakistan had played in stoking militancy among the Rohingyas.

"The situation in Rakhine state is complex and not easy to fathom. The troubles in Rakhine state... go back into past centuries and have been particularly severe. Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) has received weapons and explosives training from Afghan and Pakistani militants," Suu Kyi was quoted as saying.

The commentary also lauded African country, The Gambia for dragging Myanmar to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague for its alleged severe human rights abuses tantamount to genocide against its Muslim Rohingya minority, saying that it is a stark reminder of the increasingly self-absorbed, illiberal, and apathetic times that we live in today."

"After all, the option of taking Myanmar to the ICJ, a palpably legitimate course of action, rather than illegally arming and training Rohingya militants, was equally available to Pakistan as it was to The Gambia if it had the best interests of the Rohingyas at heart," the EFSAS said.