( CNN ) -- When the European Union recently lifted economic sanctions on Myanmar , it closed a decades-long chapter designed to encourage democratic reform in the country . Although an arms embargo remains in place , the action will send an unequivocal message of `` mission accomplished . '' But while the EU is celebrating the `` new Myanmar , '' Rohingya Muslims in the western part of the country are targets in what appears to be an ongoing campaign of government-supported crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing . Killings and arson attacks between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims first erupted in Myanmar 's Rakhine State in June 2012 , and were followed in October by well-coordinated attacks on Rohingya populations . More than 125,000 Rohingya were forced into dozens of internally displaced camps while tens of thousands of others fled the country , launching Southeast Asia 's newest refugee crisis . Satellite images obtained by Human Rights Watch from just five of the 13 townships that experienced violence since June show 27 unique zones of destruction , including the destruction of 4,862 structures covering 348 acres of mostly Muslim-owned residential property . Myanmar 's government has repeatedly characterized what happened as `` inter-communal violence '' between bitter enemies -- Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims -- denying any involvement of the state or abuses by state security officials . Since June , I visited several sites of attacks and every major camp for the displaced , interviewing more than 100 victims and witnesses of abuse , as well as some perpetrators of violence . There is extensive evidence of complicity of the state in ethnic cleansing . Following the first wave of violence and without setting foot in Rakhine State , the EU and others were quick to welcome the Myanmar authorities ' `` measured response '' to the crisis . A spokesperson for the EU 's high representative on foreign affairs , Catherine Ashton , said on June 11 , `` We believe that the security forces are handling this difficult inter-communal violence in an appropriate way . '' The reality on the ground was very different . Rohingya survivors alleged how in June soldiers not only failed to protect them from arsonist mobs , but opened fire when they attempted to extinguish the fires , killing scores . Government authorities in Arakan State were busy bulldozing mosques , blocking humanitarian aid to Rohingya populations , conducting violent mass arrests of Muslim men and boys , and digging mass graves , impeding accountability . Human Rights Watch located the existence of at least four such grave sites . IN PICTURES : Myanmar 's sectarian crisis . Two days after the EU 's June statement , a government truck dumped 18 naked and half-clothed bodies near a camp for displaced Rohingya , according to Human Rights Watch . Some of the victims had been `` hogtied '' with string or plastic strips before being executed . The move sent a strong message , consistent with a policy of ethnic cleansing , that the Rohingya should leave Myanmar permanently . `` They dropped the bodies right here , '' a Rohingya man told me on a visit to the grave site . `` Three bodies had gunshot wounds . Some had burns , some had stab wounds . '' After the smoke cleared in June , the Arakanese Buddhist monkhood ( or the sangha ) , political operatives , and local government officials allegedly held public meetings in Rakhine State , plotting to drive Rohingya Muslims from their homes . They seized on President Thein Sein 's remarks on July 12 that `` illegal '' Rohingya should be sent to `` third countries , '' and they actively worked to isolate Muslim communities from daily necessities and income . Influential groups released public statements calling explicitly for `` ethnic cleansing '' and forced population transfer -- the government took no action to stop them . The planned second wave of violence began on October 22 . Thousands of Arakanese reportedly descended by foot and boat on Muslim villages in nine townships , carrying machetes , swords , spears , homemade guns , Molotov cocktails , and other weapons . Plumes of smoke dotted the sky along the fertile patchwork of Arakan State 's intra-coastal waterways as entire villages were razed . State security forces once again either failed to provide protection , or actively participated in attacks . On October 23 in Yan Thei , Mrauk-U Township , security forces took away sticks and other rudimentary weapons from Rohingya and enabled an Arakanese mob to kill about 70 villagers , including 28 children , 13 of whom were under age five . Today , tens of thousands of displaced Rohingya are being denied access to humanitarian aid , have their movements restricted , and are unable to return home . They live in segregated , squalid camps without adequate food and health services . In just weeks the monsoon season will flood several IDP sites , intensifying the humanitarian emergency . At the root of the persecution is the question of citizenship . The Myanmar government considers all Rohingya to be immigrants from Bangladesh . They are denied citizenship under discriminatory national legislation from 1982 , although many families have resided in Myanmar for generations . Official government statements reject their very existence and refer to them as `` Bengali , '' `` so-called Rohingya , '' or the pejorative `` kalar . '' The world should not be blinded by the excitement of Myanmar 's political opening . Rohingya are paying for that approach with their lives . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Matthew Smith .
Smith : Despite reforms , ethnic cleansing continues against Myanmar 's Rohingya Muslims . Attacks between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims erupted in June . More than 125,000 Rohingya were forced into dozens of internally displaced camps . Smith : World should not be blinded by the excitement of Myanmar 's political opening .