Myanmar is bulldozing villages and building security bases in Rakhine state, many of them on sites where Rohingya families once lived, Amnesty International said on Monday. This could destroy evidence of violence against Rohingya Muslims, and also raises doubt over their ability to come back to their homes safely and with dignity, the nonprofit said.
Lakhs of Rohingya Muslims have fled from Rakhine state to neighbouring Bangladesh since August 2017, when security forces began a violent crackdown against the community. The United Nations and the United States have called it “ethnic cleansing”.
Citing photographs and satellite imagery, a report by Amnesty found that authorities were razing burnt remains of Rohingya villages, demolishing surviving buildings and clearing trees and other vegetation. The landscape has become “virtually unrecognisable” in many areas, the report said.
New construction has begun, in the form of security bases and infrastructure, or villages meant for non-Rohingya people. Authorities have rejected the accusation that this will destroy evidence, and said clearing of land was to help build new homes for refugees when they return home.
Amnesty International reported an instance of buildings in a market being bulldozed despite being intact, but the owner of the market was not given any compensation.
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