The Rohingya Muslim refugees marked the third anniversary of their exodus to Bangladesh with a silent protest. This exodus, as a result of clashes between Myanmar army and Rohingya insurgents, set off a huge movement of Rohingya Muslims as refugees into Bangladesh.
Ideally, they would have gathered in a mass gathering to commemorate this day. Owing to the novel coronavirus pandemic, they said that they had decided against it and marked what they call the Remembrance Day with a silent protest. Since 2018, they have been observing August 25 as “Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day” as on the same day in 2017, Myanmar army began a brutal crackdown against Rohingya insurgents, forcing more than 750,000 people to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.
More than 1.2 million Rohingya have been living in makeshift settlements in Bangladesh’s southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar for years. Authorities say 88 cases of the virus have been found in the camps and six people have died. The Myanmar military crackdown that followed forced 730,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh, joining more than 200,000 already there.
Meanwhile, the United Nations said the crackdown by the Myanmar military was carried out with genocidal intent. Myanmar denies genocide, saying its forces were engaged in a legitimate campaign against the Rohingya insurgents, and it was the insurgents who were responsible for most of the violence, including the torching of villages.