THE Myanmar government-appointed commission has cleared its security forces of allegation of systematic rape, murder and arson against the Rohingyas during the recent crackdown. The UN allegations were based on interviews with 204 Rohingya witnesses who fled to Bangladesh, but the state-backed probe body found "no such evidence” and it even termed some of the allegations of abuse as "fabricated". This belies the many images and videos published by the international media depicting the persecution of Rohingyas.

Absolving the security forces of the alleged crimes is not surprising since the government of Aung San Suu Kyi has all along been denying the allegations. Her government has not allowed a UN fact-finding team to conduct its own probe into the charges. And only last month, a United Nations special rapporteur, after visiting the country, said that her movements had been severely restricted as she could not visit the crisis-hit areas.

What does such government stance against the UN and other international organisations imply? Isn't it an indication that the Myanmar government is only trying to cover up the crimes committed allegedly by its security forces?

The degree of persecution the Rohingyas have been subjected to amounts to ethnic cleansing. By denying such abuses, the Myanmar government is only prolonging the crisis. Instead, it should recognise the Rohingyas as one of the country's ethnic minorities and give them citizenship. And it is of utmost importance that the international community comes forward and puts pressure on the Myanmar government so that such violence is stopped once and for all. The world does not want to witness such gross human rights violations in a country which is headed by a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.