Myanmar

Baroness Sheehan Excerpts

Thursday 10th May 2018 Grand Committee

[Baroness Sheehan (LD)]

My Lords, I add my thanks to those expressed to the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, for introducing this debate on such an important issue. Four minutes is barely time to do justice to the grave injustices that have been meted out to the Rohingya people. However, it is important that details, gross as they are, are recorded in Hansard, just as they are being meticulously documented by those who will hold to account the perpetrators of these heinous crimes, because held to account they must be.

We must suppose that the premeditated and systematic nature of the horrific abuse was calculated to inspire abject terror, and that must strengthen our resolve comprehensively to censure those who had the power to speak out but did not. Does the Minister agree that not only must the generals and their henchmen face the courts, but the lady with moral authority and a holder of the Nobel Peace Prize must answer questions also? Ignorance is something that Aung San Suu Kyi cannot plead.

One of the most sinister moves by the Myanmar authorities is to pull down the shutters: those who have spoken out, however gently, have been punished by being denied access. Ms Yanghee Lee, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar for the Human Rights Council has reported:

“Despite my efforts to remain impartial, I am now declared unwelcome in Myanmar”.


Members of the House of Commons International Development Committee were denied visas to Myanmar this February. One reason given was that individual members of the committee had signed a letter calling for the senior general of the Myanmar army to be held accountable for military behaviour in Rakhine—good on them.

The repatriation process that has started causes great concern. As I understand it—maybe the Minister could confirm whether this is the case—it is being carried out against a backdrop of secrecy. Independent observers, including UN agencies, are still barred from witnessing the treatment of the returnees. What are they returning to? Satellite evidence shows that whole areas that were Rohingya homes have been razed to the ground and replaced with military bases. Continuing reports of brutal violence against minorities in Kachin, Shan, Kayin and other states show that we are not dealing with forces seeking to appease their detractors. Will the Minister state the Government's position on repatriation?

I shall end with a few words about Cox’s Bazar, where the pre-monsoon rains are already throwing up challenges, some unforeseen, such as the conflict of sharing terrain with elephants, but others that were foreseen. In the debate brought by the noble Baroness, Lady Greengross, last month on anti-microbial resistance, I voiced concerns conveyed to me by the Malaria Consortium, of which I am a trustee. The monsoon rains, coupled with the combination of poor sanitation and substandard housing, will provide perfect breeding conditions for malaria-transmitting mosquitoes. The native population of Cox’s Bazar is highly vulnerable to malaria because the people have not been exposed to the disease recently. To compound the problem, the refugees from Myanmar are coming from areas where drug-resistant malaria has been detected. I know that the Minister responding is not a DfID Minister but I hope he will take these comments back to the relevant Minister. DfID is well placed to take action as a world leader in the fight against malaria, so can the Minister reassure me that DfID is alert to the dangers, and is working effectively with the Bangladeshi authorities, who must be commended for their response to this most tragic of man-made crises?