The Rohingya genocide
By Center for the Study of Genocide and Justice (Liberation War Museum)
Perhaps no research based fact finding study on genocide of a helpless minority community is more important than The Rohingya Genocide. Published by Liberation War museum's Center for the Study of Genocide and Justice, the 91 page publication is a compilation and analysis of the Rohingya survivors' testimony in Bangladesh. Divided in six chapters it has 11 annexure and a bibliography.
It's a very important journal which outlines six important aspects of the Rohingya genocide based on firsthand horrific experiences narrated by survivors. Most importantly, it's an informative journal that also clearly explains six aspects of the Rohingya massacre. The aspects, in terms of their arrangement in a chronological order are - the context and the prelude to the research, historical background to the present Rohingya humanitarian crisis, the Burma citizenship Act, 1982 and the sufferings of the Rohingya people, the pattern of atrocities and the crimes associated with the genocide, the crime of rape and sexual violence amounting to international crime against the Rohingya women, finally the question of accountability of the perpetrators.
The related 11 annexure contains valuable historic information dating back to the beginning of the crisis along with the methodology applied to conduct for preparing the journal.
In short the journal is helpful to understand the causes and details behind the Rohingya crisis based on facts, figures, testimonies and analytical studies. More to it, it's similar to a brief history of the Rohingya crisis which briefly portrays the magnitude and atrocities of the crisis.
The journal is also complimented with some recent photographs of refugees, images of legal documents and statistics.
It is, however, important to bring the publication in a wider circulation inside and outside of the country. Especially the international community can gather insightful information on the nature of the genocide and how it was executed by the Myanmar military junta.
Last of all, such publications are important for building up public opinion worldwide, otherwise objective of such journals are lost. And there should be more comprehensive and detailed studies on the Rohingya genocide which would further enrich world genocide literature.
First published in September 2018, the journal has been priced at BDT 500 and has been published by the Liberation War Museum.
The reviewer is in-charge of the editorial section, The Daily Observer