New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is this year devoting his annual “win-a-trip” reporting journey to Rakhine State, traveling with student journalist Nicole Sganga from Notre Dame University. Thus far, Kristof has published two op-ed articles, and both he and Sganga have blogged their experiences through the newspaper’s website. Broadly I very much welcome this high-level global exposure.

Kristof’s first article draws attention to apartheid in Myanmar – an apartheid “more appalling” than South Africa’s because it “deprives members of one ethnic group even of health care”. He argues for robust American diplomacy, and especially for President Obama to make more use of his rather large stock of political capital. “We should work with Japan, Britain, Malaysia and the United Nations to pressure Myanmar to restore humanitarian access and medical care… Myanmar seeks American investment and approval. We must make clear that it will get neither unless it treats Rohingya as human beings.”

Kristof’s overlapping second article looks in more detail at the denial of health care to Rohingya communities. “What we found is dangerous tension and some malnutrition, but by far the biggest problem is medical care. More than one million Rohingya are getting little if any health care, and some are dying as a result.” He spells out the distinctiveness of the Myanmar situation. “Look, I’ve seen greater malnutrition and disease over the years — in South Sudan, Niger, Congo, Guinea — but what’s odious about what is happening here is that the suffering is deliberately inflicted as government policy. The authorities are stripping members of one ethnic group of citizenship, then interning them in camps or villages, depriving them of education, refusing them medical care — and even expelling humanitarians who seek to save their lives.” Identifying this as “an affront to civilization”, he again calls for greater US engagement. “Please, President Obama, find your voice.”

As I said, I applaud this focus on the plight of the Rohingya people. I hope the New York Times columns and blog posts will be widely read. I certainly agree that global diplomatic resources need to be mobilized more fully in response to a deepening crisis. At the same time, I worry about the hint in Kristof’s first article that sanctions might need to be reimposed. Generally, I feel there’s still more to be said and done. For now, then, I simply want to draw attention to Kristof’s initiative. Later in the week, I’ll return to the situation in Rakhine State.