Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Compton—Stanstead.
I rise today to take part in this important debate on the violence and persecution being faced by the Rohingya community in Myanmar and to add my voice to the call for strong action by the international community to put an immediate end to the violence.
I have been following the situation of the Rohingya in Myanmar for some time and, unfortunately, the circumstances on the ground have only been getting worse. When I sponsored an e-petition on this issue in January, which I then presented in the House in May, the situation of the Rohingya was already dire. The Rohingya people had been termed by the United Nations as the most persecuted minority in the world. They are documented victims of ethnic cleansing, rape, violence, and constant persecution. At that time, more than 100,000 Rohingyas were in camps for internally displaced persons, where they face poverty, violence, and persecution. Many had fled across the border to Bangladesh, which is ill-equipped to deal with this massive influx of refugees. As bad as things were in the spring, as we go into the fall things have only gotten worse, with more violence, more killings, more villages burned, more communities displaced, and more Rohingya trying to flee across the border into camps in Bangladesh.
We can trace the roots of this crisis back to the actions of the Myanmar military, which has been conducting a campaign against this defenceless minority, which our government has rightly termed “ethnic cleansing”. According to United Nations figures, more than 400,000 Rohingyas have fled for their lives to Bangladesh in just the last few weeks. There have been extra-judicial killings, entire villages have been burned to the ground, and landmines are even being planted to prevent people from fleeing across the borders to safety. This systematic killing of an entire people cannot be justified as a legitimate national security operation. No security concerns justify rendering a population stateless, burning their homes, and the systematic killing of an innocent civilian population.
While we suspect that the political leader of Myanmar, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, has no real control over the Myanmar military, her complete abdication of her responsibility to the Rohingya and to humanity is unacceptable. Let us be clear: the Rohingya should legitimately be citizens of Myanmar. They were stripped of their birthright and rendered stateless due to racism and intolerance. Whatever their legal status, they are as much her responsibility as every other citizen of Myanmar.
However, that should not matter. We often talk about the Rohingya Muslim minority, but these are not just Muslims. This is not about race or ethnicity or religion; this is about humanity. The Rohingya are being wiped out of existence and we, as human beings, as citizens of this planet, have a moral responsibility to stand up and say, “This is wrong”, and to demand an end to the violence. That is the least we should expect of each other, and we should surely demand more of a woman who is a recipient of the Nobel prize for peace, a woman who built a career as a champion of human rights, a woman whom we named an honorary Canadian citizen.
Ms. Suu Kyi's public comments have been unworthy of those honours. She has gone beyond her earlier cowardly silence to outright lies about what is happening on the ground. She claims this is an internal security matter.
However, gone are the days when tyrants and despots could act with impunity within their own borders, free from the eyes of the international community. We know what is happening in Myanmar. We know what the Myanmar military is doing to the Rohingyas, the crimes that Ms. Suu Kyi is complicit in. We do not believe her lies. When she calls herself a champion of human rights, she apparently means only those of some humans. Whatever moral credibility Ms. Suu Kyi once had is now dead. When the time came to choose sides, she stood with the very despots she once opposed.
I appreciate the actions our government has taken to date. We sent Canada's ambassador to Myanmar, to Rakhine State in February and March. The Prime Minister and foreign affairs minister met with Ms. Suu Kyi when she visited Ottawa in June and pressed her on the Rohingya. In recent statements by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of International Development we have strongly, forcefully, and unequivocally made Canada's position clear that the violence must end.
I also appreciate the announcement of increased aid assistance to help those refugees who have fled their homes, including those in camps in Bangladesh. I urge Canada to continue to be a strong voice, to exercise moral leadership, and to lead the charge for substantive international action.
While we have been generous, I would like to see more humanitarian aid and assistance provided to help those displaced in the region. We should also support the generosity of spirit here at home. I have met many members of the community in my riding and elsewhere who wish to make donations to assist humanitarian agencies helping people on the ground. I call on our government to encourage this by matching on a dollar-for-dollar basis donations made by Canadians to registered and approved aid groups supporting the Rohingya.
I also call on our government to send a delegation of officials and parliamentarians to Bangladesh to visit the refugee camps first-hand, to meet with displaced Rohingya, and to help recommend further actions that Canada can take.
We must demand stronger action by the United Nations and the UN Security Council, including a referral to the International Criminal Court for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. The international community must be allowed access to Rakhine State so that diplomats, aid groups, and NGOs can see the situation on the ground for themselves and to bring aid and assistance to those who are suffering.
We need a whole-of-government approach to examine what resources Canada can bring to bear and how we can work with our allies to multiply the effect our resources can have. I have heard the demand for action loud and clear from my constituents. I have held round tables in Scarborough with community leaders, and attended several protests in Toronto where thousands of ordinary Canadians have come out to raise their voice. Canadians are deeply concerned about the violence the Rohingya are facing.
I thank Canadians for their passion and activism. I bring their voices here to Parliament, and I add my voice to theirs. This is a time for members of the international community to stand up and be counted. The time to act is now. The Rohingya need our help. We cannot fail to act.