Genocide against Rohingyas shows no sign of abatement in Myanmar: BROUK

The genocide against Rohingyas have shown no sign of abating in Myanmar, said the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) today.

The Myanmar military continues to subject the Rohingyas to a vicious pattern of abuse and extortion in Rakhine State, where the Rohingyas are kept in what amounts to an open-air prison, creating intolerable conditions of life, it said in a news briefing today.

"Since the beginning of 2021, at least 15 Rohingyas -- including nine infants and young children -- died as a direct result of onerous and illegal travel restrictions preventing access to medical care," BROUK President Tun Khin said in a statement.

It comes at a time that coincides with Myanmar's duty to report to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on how it is preventing genocidal acts against the minority group in Rakhine State, the news brief said.

The ICJ, as part of the genocide case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar, in January 2020 imposed "provisional measures" ordering Myanmar to prevent and halt genocidal acts against the Rohingyas.

Myanmar is required to report periodically to the Court on its compliance with these measures, with a report due by May 23, 2021. The military coup in Myanmar has added much uncertainty around the case, it added.

Against this backdrop, it is unclear if the military dictatorship intends to engage with the ICJ, or if it will submit a report. Myanmar's agent in the ICJ case, former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, has also been placed under house arrest by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces), the briefing also added.

BROUK has called on the international community to redouble efforts to hold the Myanmar military accountable for the atrocity.