I was quoted in the South China Morning Post in an article about ASEAN envoy Prak Sokhonn’s visit to Myanmar.
Jonathan Chow, an assistant political science professor at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, said acknowledging the atrocities committed against the Rohingya was essential to establishing an authoritative historical record, and in dealing with misinformation, denial, and efforts to erase the identity of the Rohingya people.
Chow said an important step towards changing the junta’s calculations would be to impose a worldwide embargo on the sale or transfer of arms to the country’s military. He cited the report released last month by Thomas Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Myanmar, which noted that China, Russia and Serbia had all supplied categories of weapons to the junta since the coup. These include fighter jets, armoured vehicles, rockets and artillery that have been used to attack civilians.
In June last year, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling for member states to “prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar”, but it is non-binding.
“But such an embargo has not been forthcoming due to the likelihood of vetoes by China and Russia,” Chow said, referring to the two permanent members of the UN Security Council who share close ties with Myanmar.