Media Blackout Amid Slow Burning Genocide

Ethnic cleansing isn’t new for Burma (Myanmar), where the long-standing tensions have been happening between the Buddhist majority (Rakhine people) and the Muslim minority including Rohingya Muslims of Bangladeshi decent, Chinese and Arab origin. After a prolonged military rule, the country with Buddhist majority (89%) is on its way to democratization; nevertheless, ethnic cleansing of the 4% minority (Muslims) seems to be the real focus of the Buddhism-extremists.
Sinfully, the Western mainstream media is silent about the ongoing massacre, which shows their strong anti-Muslim bias.
Historically speaking, March 28, 1942 was the day when 5,000 Muslims were massacred in Minbya and Mrohaung Townships by the Rakhine nationalists. Rohingyas, the most persecuted minorities of the world are a Muslim community living in the Arakan region.
The persecution of the Rohingya Muslims dates back to the early World War II when the Japanese forces invaded Burma which was then under the British colonial rule.
According to Amnesty International, the Rohingya Muslims have long suffered from human rights violations and as a result, scores of them left for the neighbouring Bangladesh for better life.

Currently 300,000 Rohingya Muslims live in Bangladesh and 24,000 in Malaysia. Around 111,000 of them live in the Thai-Myanmar border.
Since the Muslims are being massacred by the Buddhist terrorists, the Burmese President Thein Sein wants them to stay in refugee camps or simply leave the country.
Amnesty organisation reports: Muslims in Burma have been victims of ethnic cleansing since 1978.


It’s disappointing as there isn’t any international reaction so far. Because of the State sponsored terrorism, it's the ongoing phenomenon - as more than 20,000 Muslims in Myanmar were killed in less than a month time by the police, army and Buddhist extremists.
Ironically, dismantling the Buddhism statutes in Afghanistan received more media attention, and hype was created to generate public rage against the Afghans for destroying non-human things, but the ongoing massive killing of Burmese Muslims couldn’t persuade the main stream media to open its mouth - meaning no value of human life.

Over loaded with refugee influx, Bangla Desh asks the Myanmar government to adopt measures to take back some 500,000 Rohingya Muslims presently taking refuge in Bangladesh. However, Bangladesh’s request comes at the wrong time - amid the ongoing state-sponsored ethnic cleansing against the minority Muslim group in Myanmar.
It’s disheartening to know that the so-called Myanmar’s democracy icon/peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is not bothered by the atrocities committed against the Rohingya Muslims. Moreover, she told reporters she didn’t know if Rohingyas were Burmese Muslims.

The UN says decades of discrimination have left the Rohingyas stateless, with Myanmar implementing restrictions on their movement and withholding land rights, education and public services.

Unfortunately, the international community is doing nothing for the Muslims in Burma. Apparently the United Nations and the other international organisations wouldn’t act unless countries with both money and power do so first. However, Canada maintains its claim to continue to work with allies in the international community, and will continue to support those Burmese working inside and outside Burma, to promote human rights, fundamental freedoms and a transition to genuine democracy.

Recently, the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has launched a major international campaign to put an end to the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslim minority in the Arakan state of Myanmar to protect their legitimate rights and is making intense efforts to foster international intervention on the issue. The OIC is in touch with the United Nations, UN Human Rights Council, European Union and other international organizations to defuse the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar; and has strongly condemned the renewed repression of Rohingyas since June 2012, which has resulted in deaths of innocent Muslims, burning of their homes and mosques, and forcing them to leave their homeland. Historical facts show that Rohingyas have been present in the land of Myanmar for centuries before the arrival of the British and before the formation of Burma.
But the government of Myanmar continues to persecute the Rohingyas depriving them of citizenship rights.

The OIC sent a letter to Myanmar’s pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi urging her to help end the violence against the Rohingya community.

The authorities describe the community as “illegal immigrants from Bangladesh” due to their ethnicity and religion.
Arbitrary killings, rapes, torture, land confiscation, forced labor, forced relocation, theft, extortion perpetrated by the authorities in cohort with local miscreants and xenophobes, are widespread against the Muslim community.
The late dictator Ne Win enacted a bad citizenship law violating several fundamental principles of international charters and rendered the Rohingyas stateless. Basic rights including freedom of movement, marriage, education, and economic activities are severely restricted. No more construction of new mosques or religious institutes are allowed and even the Muslim relics, monuments and place names have been erased.

Furthermore, a planned increase in Buddhist settler villages has caused serious demographic changes in Rohingya homeland. Their lands have been confiscated, forcing them to become increasingly landless, internally displaced, all aimed at starving them out of the country.

Solution: First of all, an early and effective intervention by the world community can save the Rohingya from further blood bath.
Secondly, the Buddhist leader and Nobel Peace prize winner Dalai Lama who always cry over the atrocities on Tibetan people by China - should raise his voice against the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Buddhist Myanmar.
Thirdly, the international community has to address the root cause of the Rohingya problem for a viable result.
Hopefully, Myanmar government would respond to the concerns of the international community in a positive and constructive manner, so that all its Rohingya Muslims are able to return to their homeland honourably with safety and dignity.

As the great Persian poet Sa'di says, “Human beings are members of a whole, In creation of one essence and soul. If one member is afflicted with pain, Other members uneasy will remain. If you've no sympathy for human pain, The name of human you cannot retain!”
Since we are One Human Family, let’s bridge the gaps.

Amending the Constitution in Self defence

The contempt laws are regarded as a sound piece of legislation in the United States, United Kingdom, India, Australia, Canada and many other countries, because ridiculing the courts of law and publicly criticizing the judicial verdicts or trial proceedings does have serious consequences. During Clinton-Lewinsky case, the then serving US President Bill Clinton did not have any immunity nor does any parliamentarian in the neighboring Canada ever dare break the contempt law. Even the Australian judge may impose a fine or convict any wrong doer irrespective of the social status of the culprit.

On the contrary, the federal cabinet of Pakistan has recently approved a bill in hurry to change the contempt law to clip the judiciary’s wings before July 12. In other words, previously guilty of having broken the ‘contempt law,’ the PPP regime of Pakistan is bent upon “customizing the constitution” through rubber stamp parliament just to protect unlawful deeds of the top brass, come what may.
Additionally, the cabinet also approved a draft bill tabled by the ministry for overseas Pakistanis proposing amendment to enable Pakistanis having dual nationality to contest election for the membership of parliament. Currently, the Supreme Court is hearing several cases against parliamentarians and has suspended membership The said controversial bill allowing some amendments in the existing contempt of court law is a major source of frustration among the members of legal fraternity, civil society and the unbiased media.

Furthermore, the passage of the bill would allow the beneficiaries to be more disrespectful towards the authority of the honourable judges.

Would the new contempt law rescue the defiant PM Raja Pervaiz? Only time will tell – because rule of law enforced by the Supreme Court is the ultimate interpreting and controlling factor on which the Constitution is actually based. Therefore, the Supreme Court and high court judgments aimed at upholding the constitution must be accepted by all.

The Zardari regime, nevertheless, is more focussed on bringing a constitutional amendment for simplifying the cumbersome procedure of the impeachment of the Chief Justice to save the current Prime Minister who is also refusing to write to the Swiss authorities for re-opening money laundering cases against Pres Zardari.

It’s noteworthy that the proposed constitutional amendment draft consists of four paragraphs and four sections; the sections 1 and 2 of the proposed amendment are related to the Supreme Judicial Council. The proposed Section 1 says only one senior judge of the Supreme Court, except the chief justice, will be included in the Supreme Judicial Council. Section 2 says the chief justices of all the four provincial high courts will be included in the Supreme Judicial Council as its members. Sections 3 and 4 of the proposed amendment are related to the impeachment of the chief justice.

The Upper House of the Parliament (The Senate), with two-thirds majority can impeach the chief justice under Section 3, while Section 4 of the proposed constitutional amendment says the impeachment process of the Chief Justice will start with a resolution, which would be required to have the signatures of at least half the members of the Senate.

The proposal says the chief justice could be declared disqualified after the impeachment trial.

On the other hand, Justice Chaudhry said, “the parliament cannot legislate any law repugnant to the constitution - adding that no one could claim supremacy over the law and constitution.”

Obviously, if a PPP friendly law is promulgated, the Supreme Court under its power of judicial review can review it. “The underlying object of judicial review is to check abuse of power by public functionaries and ensuring just and fair treatment to citizens in accordance with law and the constitutional norms," said Justice Chaudhry while addressing a delegation of Youth Parliament at the Supreme Court.

Furthermore, the government is attempting to interfere with the exercise of judicial powers in pending proceedings which amounts to obstruction of justice.

Like various other countries, the Supreme Court of Pakistan established that once judicial power has been exercised in a case pending before a court, legislative power may not be used to interfere in the exercise of judicial power.

Such use of legislative power is nothing but an unconstitutional legislative judgement.

Everyone knows that the PPP government has been continuously defying the Supreme Court orders ever since it came to power. Maliciously amending the contempt law means the courts will be irrelevant.

Fairly speaking, the holders of dual nationality should be allowed to vote and contest elections, but once elected they must surrender their foreign nationality before taking oath as people’s representatives.

Although, the parliament has a right to amend the Constitution and law, yet such a move would be considered mala fide in the current scenario. Just a simple majority is required to amend a law, while for making a constitutional amendment, a two-thirds majority of the two houses of parliament is needed.

With regard to the current Prime Minister, he is absolutely required to write to the Swiss authorities right away without delay, because the issue already stands adjudicated upon. Actually, PM Pervaiz Ashraf is liable to be convicted and disqualified on July 12 unless the judicial order is executed by him immediately as directed by the apex court.

[image from dawn.com]

On July 9, the contempt of court bill 2012 has been passed to provide a shelter to the top office holders including Prime Minister, federal ministers, ministers of state, chief ministers and provincial ministers against contempt of court proceedings.

Apparently, the new law would benefit the rulers’ cronies to defend their contempt, but the Supreme Court is empowered to review it upon petitioning and it may declare “the new law” as unconstitutional after due process.

Most importantly, as the Constitution is supreme, the Supreme Court is responsible to make sure that all institutions do respect “the Constitution and Rule of law” in true letter and spirit.