Myanma blogger invites wrath of Myanma social networkers for being neutral

A 32-year-old Myanma blogger has invited wrath of his country's social media users for writing against hatred and discrimination aimed at Rohingiyas Muslims.

The blogger was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2008 for his links with Saffron Revolution. However, he was released in January this year as part of a political prisoner amnesty.

Tensions have been going on between Muslims and Buddhists of Myanmar in Rakhine for the last couple of months. The official figure says that around 80 people of both sides have been killed so far, while unofficial figures are in hundreds. Human rights groups fear the figure may mount in future if the conflict continues to rage on.

International organizations like Amnesty International should be lauded for their roles in highlighting the abuses and conveying their concerns to the relevant authorities. At the same time, human rights organizations do not have any specific mandate to intervene and put an end to the human rights violations.

We have seen that the United Nations and its other subsidiary organizations have failed in effectively curbing the menace in different countries. Interestingly, human rights violations, most of the time, are state-sponsored and purposeful. The only thing human rights groups and watchdogs can do is to highlight and condemn the violations. It is the responsibility of the relevant state and international bodies to look into the matter and put an end to the practice.

If my short memory serves me correctly, there is no politician or military dictator that has been held on the charges of human rights violations. The phenomenon encourages the tyrants and dictators to continue with their brutal ways, as they know they will never be held accountable for their crimes. If ever a tyrant was held for his crimes, he was absolved later for reasons we know better. The International Court of Justice, the United States and other European countries besides Arab countries should intervene immediately in Myanmar to curb human rights violations as otherwise the situation can slip out from their hands.

A number of discerning observers believe that if the situation in Myanmar is not controlled right away, Muslim terrorists and extremists would get an excuse to enter the country in the name of protection of their brethren. If al-Qaeda-linked terrorists and extremists succeed in entering the country, it can become another breeding ground for militants.