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Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, 2015. Credit: EU/ECHO/Pierre Prakash, CC 2.0

By James T. Davies & Tridivesh Singh Maini
August 17, 2015

As it moves towards democracy, the country is facing questions over who belongs to the national community, and which groups it is willing to include

The ongoing democratic transition in Myanmar has had devastating consequences for the Muslim Rohingya of western Myanmar. They have suffered communal violence, exclusion and disenfranchisement. This process is not unique to Myanmar. Political transition in ethnically diverse societies can often involve communal violence.

During the period of parliamentary democracy in Myanmar from independence in 1948 to the military coup of 1962, the Rohingya were generally treated well. The national government recognised the minority as an ethnic group of the country, and committed itself to an autonomous Rohingya area, the Mayu Frontier. Under military rule, the status of the Rohingya deteriorated. They were no longer recognised as a legitimate “national race” of Myanmar. The government refused even to recognise the term “Rohingya”, instead referring to the group as Bengalis. The Mayu Frontier was taken off the table, and replaced by violent military incursions which sent hundreds of thousands of refugees over the border. Military propaganda emphasised Buddhism. The government encouraged the idea that the country’s ethnic and religious minorities were loyal to outside powers. Muslim communities in particular were scapegoated to divert discontent with governance.

Fast-forward to the current democratic transition, beginning in 2011, when communal violence between Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists broke out. The first instances occurred a year after the inauguration of President Thein Sein’s government, and just nine weeks after the transition’s first free and fair by-elections, in which Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to parliament. IDP camps housed about 140,000 desperate Rohingyas, while an estimated 100,000 persons fled by boat. After pressure from increasingly vocal nationalistic Buddhist organisations, Naypyidaw revoked voting rights for the Rohingya in early 2015.

Credit: Human Rights Watch, 2013

In a departure from past instances of conflict in Rakhine state, the military in 2012 was praised for its role in quelling the conflict. While the police were implicated in facilitating and even committing abuses against the Rohingya, Human Rights Watch noted the positive role played by the military. The European Union praised the President’s “measured response”. The military has also been appreciated for ensuring the violence did not spread on an even larger scale, although its methods of segregation and its failure to resettle the displaced have been questioned.

Whatever the other failings of autocratic governments, it is commonly believed that democratic transition can “lift the lid” on communal tensions, with devastating violence as a result. This phenomenon is explained as elites manipulating identities for electoral gains, or as the result of increased freedom of communication and expression degenerating into hate speech, and incitement to violence. In Myanmar, the root of this issue goes beyond the inherent tension in democracy between majority rule and minority rights. The country is facing questions over who belongs to the national community, and which groups it is willing to include. The oft-proposed solution is more democracy—in the form of elections, minority rights, and deeper civil society. Yet democracy is no magic bullet for communal violence.

Indeed, it is the early processes of democracy under transition that are often said to have contributed to this problem. There is little appetite across Myanmar for minority rights for the stateless Rohingya, and even less in Rakhine state. As Aung San Suu Kyi has made clear through her silence on the issue, there are few votes to be won by standing up for the Rohingya. Decentralisation of power from Naypyidaw to Rakhine may well compound problems for the disenfranchised group. A more powerful state government would inevitably be dominated by Rakhine Buddhists. Democracy alone cannot solve this problem. Deadly communal pogroms have taken place in the context of an institutionalised democracy and civil society as well as a vibrant media, the best instance being India.

This is not to say that minority rights are better protected under an authoritarian government. Naypyidaw’s relations with the Rohingya and other minorities were characterised by civil war and repression under military rule. The future of the Rohingya in Myanmar will be one of the many complex issues the government formed after the elections in November this year will face. Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy are yet to outline their policy on the issue. Leadership will be required to bring the Rohingya into an inclusive Myanmar. All stakeholders must remember that democracy does not just end at casting a ballot—the treatment of religious and cultural minorities is an essential attribute. While it is for Myanmar to decide what sort of democracy it wants, it would do well to realise that religious schisms will come in the way of the country’s growth.

James T. Davies is a PhD Candidate in International and Political Studies at the University of New South Wales, Canberra.

Tridivesh Singh Maini is a Senior Research Associate with The Jindal School of International Affairs, Sonepat.

In this Wednesday, Aug 12, 2015, photo, Myanmar's Parliament speaker Shwe Mann leaves after a press conference at the Union Solidarity and Development Party headquarters in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Security forces have seized control of the headquarters of Myanmar's ruling party as rifts between party members intensified ahead of upcoming general elections, witnesses said Thursday. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

By Matthew Pennington
August 16, 2015

WASHINGTON — U.S. policymakers are criticizing the role of Myanmar security forces in the nighttime ouster of the ruling party chief this week, which shows the fragility of political reforms as the Southeast Asian nation gears up for November elections.

The State Department and the Senate majority leader both voiced concern Friday over how general-turned-politician Shwe Mann was removed as party leader on Wednesday night in a murky power play reminiscent of the decades the country also known as Burma spent under direct military rule.

Also Friday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on all parties "to recommit to free, fair and credible elections in November," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell, the most prominent congressional voice on Myanmar, has expressed mounting unease over the country's direction. He said the manner of Shwe Mann's ouster "should give pause to supporters of democratic reform in Burma."

"The reported role of state security forces in the effort to unseat a party official is deeply disturbing, especially given Burmese history," McConnell, of Kentucky, said in a statement.

Security forces had surrounded the headquarters of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party in the capital Naypyitaw, and the party announced that Shwe Mann was being removed as chairman. He remains a lawmaker and parliament speaker.

In many ways, Shwe Mann's career has epitomized the nation's historic shift from military rule to fledgling democracy. The former junta member was a close associate of then-dictator Than Shwe and visited North Korea in 2008 to promote defense ties. But since Myanmar opened up, winning its diplomatic rapprochement with the U.S., he had cooperated with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Shwe Mann has visited Washington twice, most recently in May. He met top administration officials.

Tensions have been building for months between him and President Thein Sein, who could now be poised to seek a second term. Shwe Mann's star fell after he supported a failed effort in early July to push through constitutional amendments that would have reduced the military's role in parliament.

President Barack Obama has counted Myanmar's reforms as an important achievement of his foreign policy, but stalled reforms and repression of minority Muslims has put the administration on the defensive over its rapid move to roll back sanctions that critics say was too hasty.

Katina Adams, a State Department spokeswoman for East Asia, said: "It is important that authorities act in a way that reinforces — not decreases — the Burmese public's confidence in their government's commitment to democratic processes."

This week, Republican and Democratic leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee called for U.S. sanctions on those responsible for increasing human rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims and others in Myanmar, saying thousands have been displaced or disenfranchised.

"The failure to do so undermines U.S. policy of promoting democratic reforms and human rights," Reps. Ed Royce, R-California, and Eliot Engel, D-New York, wrote in a letter Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew.


By Timothy Mclaughlin
August 16, 2015

Yangon -- Farmers in flood-hit Myanmar face a scramble to replant damaged paddy fields in the next two weeks to avoid food shortages, and aid efforts in some of the country's hardest hit areas remain a challenge, the United Nations said on Saturday. 

More than 1.3 million people have been critically affected and at least 106 people have died since heavy monsoon rains coupled with a cyclone last month caused floods across the country, according to the government. 

Water has receded in many areas, allowing farmers to assess the damage to their crops and also to seed stocks as the end of planting season nears.

"If farmers aren't able to get rice seeds and plant in the next two weeks the window for the next season is pretty much over," said Pierre Peron, spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) in Myanmar. 

"If they are not able to replant they will miss out completely on this season and the impact on food security will be much larger than if we can provide them with support to replant." 

Myanmar is a rice exporter, but has halted exports to stabilize prices. 

The U.N. and NGOs have supplied emergency food assistance to 386,000 people impacted by the floods, OCHA said in its latest situation report on the flooding.

Over 1.4 million acres of paddy was flooded, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. The crops in over 500,000 acres have been destroyed in what has been the worst natural disaster in Myanmar since Cyclone Nargis killed nearly 140,000 people in May 2008.

The government has provided $1.2 million for paddy seeds in Rakhine State, one of the hardest hit areas, but, "further support will be needed to help farmers and rural communities rebuild", OCHA said.

In Chin State, a mountainous region bordering Bangladesh and India, where heavy rains caused major landslides, aid workers were still struggling to access some of the state's more remote regions. 

"Access to areas in Chin State has been difficult and continues to be difficult," Peron said on Saturday. 

In the capital of Hakh five out of six townships experienced landslides that damaged hundreds of homes. 

Zung Hlei Thang, an MP representing Chin State, said the prices of rice and other commodities had risen sharply since the landslides made many state roads largely impassable, stemming imports. 

"The living conditions are difficult," he said.

Image: Flickr: European Commission DG ECHO

By Yuanyuan Kelly
August 14, 2015

"We don’t have any relatives here, and I don’t have any legal documentation, so there was no option for me except marriage." 21 year old Ambiya Khatu told New York Times reporters about her experience being smuggled from Myanmar to Thailand, and finally, Malaysia. She was bought from the traffickers by her husband for $1,050. 

"If you don’t want to marry me, you can simply pay back my money which I spent on you," she recalled her now-husband's proposal of marriage.

I remember drifting closer and closer towards the Myanmar border from Thailand in 2012. I was there with my school, jittery with excitement over the floating markets and the possibility of being in multiple countries at once. Little did I know, past the must-see tourist attractions along the Golden Triangle, the Rohingya were facing terrible violence and persecution.

Although discrimination against the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority group in Myanmar, has existed for more than 2 decades, Buddhist extremism is rising. In fact, the humanitarian crisis had been labeled by Archbishop Desmond Tutu as a "slow genocide against the rohingya people."

Buddhism is the majority religion in Myanmar. Although there are over 1.3 million Rohingya people, the government imposed cruel laws on them like citizenship denial and a two-child policy, rumored to be a a form of "ethnic cleansing" to prevent the population from growing.

Because these families are denied basic necessities--health care, education and and employment--many are fleeing, jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. In order to escape the poverty and persecution, young Rohingya women are being sold into marriages; in return, they're granted refuge in Malaysia, just south of Myanmar.

There are Muslim-majority countries nearby--are they providing asylum?

Malaysian and Indonesian officials have stated that they don't have the means to officially take in groups of migrants. Bangladesh has (unofficially) helped out, but refugees are now being expelled from camps. Evidently, Bangladesh doesn't have the economic means or the space for them to reside permanently.

Some try to get to other countries themselves, but the journey is dangerous.According to NYT, boatloads of Rohingya migrants were abandoned at sea when trying to get to Malaysia recently. There were cases where traffickers physically abused some of the women, and even held them for ransom.

Mothers are selling their own teenage daughters (as young as 15) for the chance of getting a comfortable home and a decent amount of food. It's hard to imagine, but being sold into marriage is sometimes the most promising option for women. That's why these marriages are becoming more prevalent.

If husbands are found, many of these young women face rape and domestic abuse. If they aren't, Rohingya women can be sold into the sex trade in Thailand or India by their traffickers.

As a country that's signed the Declaration of Human Rights, the fact that Myanmar's government is allowing these crimes is unacceptable. It's also unacceptable that other countries all over the world are turning a blind eye. 

The issue may seem to difficult to address, but global citizens can still hold leaders accountable for their promises to end violence against women and forced marriages.

Rohingya refugees from Myanmar at a shelter set up in a hotel for romantic encounters in Medan, Indonesia (Naoji Shibata)

By Naoji Shibata 
August 14, 2015

MEDAN, Indonesia -- A shelter in an old building here on the island of Sumatra, converted from a hotel for romantic encounters, accommodated 43 Muslim Rohingya, six to eight persons to a room, when I visited it during Ramadan.

The occupants were not allowed to leave the premises and had no access to telephones. The only things they could do, therefore, were to pray and to chat. But they all said they were happy. That was probably the flip side of the cruelty in the lives they were forced to endure before arriving here.

Mohamad Harun, 21, said he paid a broker and departed from Rakhine State, in western Myanmar, aboard a small boat on March 25. He then changed vessels to a larger ship, which carried both Rohingya people and stowaways from Bangladesh, of whom there were about 900 in total.

When the vessel entered Indonesia’s territorial waters, a warship turned up and gave the party fuel and food. But the ship was towed toward Malaysian waters where a Malaysian warship turned it away. People on board jumped into the ocean one after another two days later, when the water and food had run out.

Harun and others were rescued several hours later by a passing Indonesian fishing boat, but dozens of people perished beneath the waves. The date was May 15.

Kamal Hussen jumped into the sea with his parents, a younger sister and a younger brother. The 10-year-old said he was rescued by a man who had been on the same ship but his parents, whose hands he let go of, disappeared into the ocean.

I heard an equally appalling account of experiences on the ship when I visited a shelter in Langsa, Aceh province, also on the island of Sumatra. I was told that Bangladeshis and Rohingya fought over drinking water, and some 50 people were beaten to death.

I was left to wonder what prompted their exodus at the risk of their lives.

Harun said members of his people are not treated like human beings in Rakhine, where the armed forces and police routinely abuse them. He said he was detained by police two years ago for no reason on his way home, and he was struck for two days on end until his family paid a bribe. He added that that sort of experience was a common occurrence.

NEIGHBORS UNWILLING TO HELP OUT

A U.N. organization has estimated that more than 88,000 people have attempted to flee Bangladesh-Myanmar border areas by boat since 2014. Rohingya people, who are not even given citizenship and occasionally have to face physical abuse, are believed to account for about half of that figure.

Disappointingly, most of Myanmar’s democracy activists, who confronted the country’s military administration, make the same argument as the military and the government when it comes to the Rohingya issue. They say the Rohingya are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, for whom Myanmar is not responsible.

Their attitude shows no hint of sympathy or consideration toward people who are finding themselves in a desperate plight, whatever their historical background.

Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, has seldom spoken out on the issue ahead of a general election to be held in November.

The response of neighboring countries is anything but welcoming.

Indonesia and Malaysia set up shelters after they faced international criticism for turning back the vessel from their respective territorial waters. That measure comes with a one-year limit and with a proviso that assistance will be provided by other countries. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has decided to set up a fund, but each nation will be contributing only $100,000 (12.4 million yen).

The end of the Vietnam War 40 years ago was followed by an exodus of 1.44 million refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Asian boat people have drawn the world’s attention probably for the first time since then.

Asia has, in the meantime, undergone a sea change.

ASEAN, which started as an anti-communist league, has co-opted Vietnam, its one-time foe, and Myanmar, which remained under a military dictatorship until recently, and plans to embark on economic integration this year.

The economy in the region, with China and India included, has grown many tens of times in scale and now rivals that of the Western world.

Many of the administrations in the region, however, remain authoritarian and disrespect human rights. No government is there to demonstrate the largesse of a “major power” by accepting refugees within the region.

JAPAN, TOO, TURNING COLD SHOULDER

And Japan is another part of Asia.

Tokyo said in June that it would contribute $3.5 million to assist Rohingya through the intermediary of international organizations. But there has been no talk of accepting fellow Asians who remain adrift.

Just like in the case of Syrian refugees, whom the United Nations has asked countries to accept, Tokyo is generous in terms of cash, but remains extremely wary even about recognizing as refugees those who have arrived in Japan after long journeys.

More than 200 Rohingya have applied for refugee status in Japan, but only about 20 of these have been recognized as such, according to Shogo Watanabe, representative of the Japan Lawyers Network for Refugees.

“Rohingya people, who precisely fit the definition spelled out in the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, are treated in other countries unconditionally as refugees,” Watanabe said. “But Japan’s immigration offices are setting higher hurdles.”

It is believed that the government of Japan was traumatized when its $13 billion contribution to coalition forces during the Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s failed to be appreciated by the international community. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also noted in a book that “providing assistance in cash alone is not enough to win global appreciation.”

I don’t understand why Abe does not realize the same thing applies not only to security issues but also to assistance for refugees.



By Joshua Carroll 
August 14, 2015

Rights group warns that unregistered Muslim Rohingya rescued from abandoned people smuggling boats by Myanmar may be detained 'indefinitely'

YANGON, Myanmar -- A rights group warned Wednesday that more than 50 Rohingya Muslims rescued from abandoned people smuggling boats by Myanmar may be detained “indefinitely” because they had been living as unregistered refugees in Bangladesh and are not on official records in Myanmar.

Chris Lewa of the Arakan Project - an NGO that monitors the plight of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya - told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday that female and child Rohingya were among those still being held by Border Guard Police in Taung Pyo, Rakhine state, after being rescued more than two months ago.

Over 800 boat people were rescued by Myanmar’s navy in two separate incidents in late May. Just over 500 of those have been declared citizens of neighboring Bangladesh and repatriated following a verification process.

The Myanmar government officially denies the existence of the Rohingya ethnic minority and refuses them citizenship, and it is unclear how the authorities will deal with the Rohingya among those rescued.

“As they were unregistered refugees in Bangladesh, they will be excluded from the verification and repatriation process by Bangladesh and are not recorded in villages in Rakhine state either,” Lewa said. 

“Their fate is uncertain and they may be detained indefinitely."

The Rohingya were among thousands left to fend for themselves at sea after a crackdown by Thai authorities led to a crisis in which scared human trafficking gangs who had been shipping the migrants to holding camps in the country's south abandoned their boats.

Myanmar has been blamed as the root cause of the crisis because its treatment of the Rohingya has forced tens of thousands to flee coastal Rakhine by sea after being targeted in communal violence in 2012.

The government has denied responsibility, instead blaming the traffickers.

Lewa added that in Thailand, where many smuggling boats have come ashore, over 400 Rohingya faced a similar fate to the 50 detained in Rakhine.

“Thailand does not register them as refugees and Myanmar has so far never re-admitted any Rohingya.”

She added that Bangladeshis found by Myanmar’s navy were being treated better than in previous cases.

“I certainly appreciate the speed by which Bangladesh authorities have conducted their verification process this year as, in past years, Bangladeshi boat people arrested remained in immigration detention for a year or more until the repatriation process was completed.”

DESPAIR: An ethnic Rohingya refugee boy residing in Malaysia, waits with his mother near the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday. A rumor about refugee status cards being issued by the UNHCR saw hundreds of ethnic Rohingya refugees throng the office. (AFP)

By AFP
August 14, 2015

DHAKA: Bangladesh is to hold a census of hundreds of thousands of undocumented Rohingya who have crossed into the country seeking refuge from persecution in neighboring Myanmar.

Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque said the government had earmarked $2.7 million for the census to be carried out in Bangladesh’s southeast, near the border with Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

Official estimates have put the number of undocumented Rohingya in Bangladesh at between 200,000 and 500,000, in addition to around 32,000 registered Rohingya refugees living in two UN-managed camps.

“The procedure (census) will commence any time during the second half of this year,” Haque told AFP on Tuesday after briefing diplomats about the move.

The mainly Muslim Rohingya minority started crossing into Bangladesh in the early 1990s from Myanmar.

They say they face discrimination and mistreatment by that country’s Buddhist-majority government, which does not recognize them as citizens.

Their plight was thrust into the global spotlight this year when thousands of desperate migrants headed mainly for Malaysia had to be rescued from rickety boats in waters off Myanmar’s coast.

But the Rohingya are deeply unpopular in impoverished Bangladesh, and it is unclear how the government plans to use the data.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which is assisting Bangladesh with the census, said it was a positive move for the stateless migrants.

Shwe Mann, center, and Maung Maung Thein, left, emerge from a USDP press conference on Wednesday. The pair were dramatically ousted from their positions as USDP chairman and general secretary, respectively, in an overnight meeting at the party’s headquarters in Naypyidaw while security forces surrounded the building and prevented members from leaving. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

By Hnin Yadana Zaw & Aung Hla Tun
August 13, 2015

RANGOON — Burma’s powerful ruling party chief Shwe Mann has been ousted from his post, party members said on Thursday, apparently after losing a power struggle with President Thein Sein three months before a general election.

Security forces surrounded the headquarters of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in the capital, Naypyidaw, late on Wednesday and prevented members there from leaving.

Shwe Mann’s ouster from the party follows rare discord within the establishment over the role of the military, which handed power to a semi-civilian government in 2011 but retains an effective veto over the political system.

“Shwe Mann isn’t the chairman of the party anymore,” said a USDP member of parliament.

“He’s in good health and at home now.”

Family members said Shwe Mann was at home in Naypyidaw when the soldiers took control of the USDP compound.

Shwe Mann still holds the position of speaker of parliament, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.

Shwe Mann has been replaced as party chairman by the Htay Oo, who will also retain his position as vice chairman, another senior member of the party said. Htay Oo is an ally of Thein Sein.

One of Thein Sein’s closest aides, Tin Naing Thein, resigned from his post of minister at the president’s office on Wednesday and has become the new secretary general of the party, a senior party official said. He replaces Maung Maung Thein, a supporter of Shwe Mann.

Tension has risen between Thein Sein and Shwe Mann, both former top military officers, over the selection of candidates for the November election, party sources said earlier.

The two are old rivals and both have suggested they would accept the job of president after the Nov. 8 parliamentary election.

Shwe Mann has built ties with Nobel laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has called repeatedly for the military to withdraw from politics, and he supported an attempt in parliament in June to amend the constitution to limit the military’s political role.

Tension rose on Wednesday after the USDP selected only 59 of 159 senior officers who retired from the military to run as candidates for the party in the coming election, the party sources said.

Late on Wednesday, several trucks of soldiers and police officers arrived at the ruling party’s headquarters.

After the security forces took control of the compound, Soe Tha, one of the founders of the USDP, and Htay Oo led a late-night meeting of senior party officials that lasted into the early hours of Thursday, party members said.

Both men are close to the president.

Shwe Mann and high-ranking party members considered to belong to his faction in the USDP were not present at the meeting, the sources said.

The security forces left after the meeting concluded at around 2.30am, sources said.

“What I heard…was that there was a lot of reorganization in the party last night,” said government spokesman Ye Htut, who said he could not give further details as he is not a member of the party.

Shwe Mann was a presidential hopeful when the military handed over power to a semi-civilian government after 49 years of rule in 2011.

Despite the establishment of the new government, the military has resisted recent efforts to introduce constitutional amendments to loosen its grip.

The USDP is comprised largely of former military officers and was created from a social movement set up by the former junta.

It is unclear why the party selected only 59 of 159 senior officers to be candidates in the election but the decision likely angered officers and politicians keen to preserve the military’s sway.

The party is expected to fare poorly against Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy in the election.

The constitution reserves 25 percent of seats in parliament for unelected military officers. Changes to the constitution require the support of at least 75 percent of lawmakers, giving the military an effective veto over changes.

An amendment that would have seen the threshold of support lowered to 70 percent failed, as expected, to gain enough support with lawmakers in a June vote.

(Photo: Reuters)

By Nyan Lynn Aung
August 13, 2015

The government has accepted the first official case of human trafficking in Rakhine State, after maintaining for years that no such crime occurs in the poverty-stricken region.

Twenty people accused of smuggling Bangladeshis and Rohingya asylum-seekers will be brought to court this month under the state’s first prosecution of trafficking, according to police.

The 20 suspects were already convicted in June of violating immigration laws and were charged but not tried for “habitual dealing in slaves”, which is an offence under the criminal code rather than under anti-human trafficking legislation.

On August 4, the Ministry of Home Affairs accepted a further lawsuit against the group explicitly for trafficking, according to U Min Naing, police major with the police force’s anti-human trafficking unit.

While the trafficking case has been approved, it has not yet been filed at the local court.

“They are at Buthidaung prison and they will face court if the case is opened under the trafficking law,” said Police Major Khin Win from Alaethankyaw police station in Maungdaw township.

The men, who were arrested after two boats carrying smuggled people were recovered and brought to land by the Myanmar navy, are from Aye-yarwady and Tanintharyi regions, according to the immigration office.

According to the initial arrest records, an officer in charge of the anti-human trafficking unit filed a lawsuit against the suspects on May 24. It is not yet clear what section of the 2005 Anti Trafficking in Persons Law will be used to prosecute them.

The new case was only entered into official logs after receiving ministry approval – too late for it to be included on a recently released national human trafficking report, which tallied cases in the first half of the year.

“It is not yet on the list that trafficking cases have been recorded in Rakhine State so far,” Pol Maj Min Naing said.

The government has long denied the existence of a trafficking route stemming from Rakhine State even though rights groups such as Fortify Rights and the Arakan Project have documented swells of people – mostly members of the stateless Muslim minority who identify as Rohingya – fleeing the state with the assistance or under the force of smugglers. The well-worn route is so profitable that rights groups have said fishing boats turn instead to hauling human cargo, and later extort and sell the passengers at camps in Thailand and Malaysia.

Even as a regional crisis erupted in May with thousands of Myanmar and Bangladeshis left stranded at sea, the government continued to reject assertions by the international community that treatment of the Rohingya – whom it officially refers to as Bengali – leads them to flee the primitive camps many are confined to.

The US State Department’s 2015 Trafficking in Persons report noted that the 146,000 displaced people in Rakhine State are especially vulnerable to trafficking and that reports have indicated that women and children from Rakhine have been subjected to sex trafficking, while others have been forced into labour, including for government and military forces. The report also noted that fewer traffickers were convicted in 2014 than in 2013.

From January to the end of June, the government has recovered 225 trafficking victims, including 108 women and 117 men. Seventy-four criminal cases have been initiated, across all states and regions except for Rakhine, Karen and Chin states and the Nay Pyi Taw Council area.

Pol Maj Min Naing said 125 “perpetrators” had been arrested, while police were still searching for another 65 suspects.

Mohammed Tahir, a 17-year-old Rohingya from Myanmar, is pictured in New Delhi, July 24, 2015. (Photo: BenarNews)

By Rohit Wadhwaney
August 11, 2015

At 17, Mohammed Tahir has experienced more suffering than most people of his age can imagine.

A Rohingya Muslim, he fled Myanmar three years ago, only to land a job in Bangladesh as a servant in which his master beat him, Tahir said. He escaped to India but wound up in prison in West Bengal state after authorities caught him entering the country illegally.

“I’ve seen my childhood crumble before my eyes,” Tahir told BenarNews in a New Delhi slum, where he now lives after being bailed out of prison last month.

Some 10,600 Rohingyas live in India, including nearly 6,700 in the restive northern state of Jammu & Kashmir, Bureau of Immigration figures show.

The Rohingyas are among more than 200,000 foreigners who have fled to India from conflicts in other countries. However, India has no legal framework that recognizes or protects them as refugees.

As for Rohingya Muslims, their situation is even more precarious because the government of Myanmar does not recognize them as citizens. Myanmar officials often refer to Rohingyas as “Bengalis.”

Relatively lucky

Mohammed Tahir lives today with his 37-year-old brother, Ilyas, in a makeshift hut in a Delhi wasteland, which some 60 other Rohingya families call home.

The teen fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar in 2012, following a wave of attacks in western Rakhine state that mostly targeted Rohingya Muslims.

“I saw my father being beaten to death by the army. That night, my mother made me promise that I would find a way to escape and never return to Burma,” Tahir said in his native language, as his brother translated his words into broken Hindi.

A few days after he and 13 others landed in Bangladesh by boat, a wealthy landlord hired him as a servant.

He employed Tahir for two years, but treated him like a slave, the young man recalled. The boss provided him with “bare minimum food” and “enough beatings to last a lifetime,” Tahir said.

“It was terrible. But then, I thought that’s a Rohingya’s fate,” Tahir said.

When he finally escaped from the landlord, the teenager said he had to bribe Bangladeshi border guards to let him cross into India. He was arrested after setting foot there.

Tahir spent the next three months incarcerated in the Balurghat Correctional Home. Ilyas, a laborer who earns about 200 rupees ($3) a day, somehow scraped together 35,000 rupees ($548) to retain a lawyer and post bail for his brother’s release.

“I saved up every penny I made, took loans from neighbors to collect the amount. I had to. I couldn’t sleep at night, knowing my younger brother was in prison,” said Ilyas, who has been living in the low-lying slum in southeast Delhi with his wife and two children since 2013.

Not all Rohingya immigrants who get caught trying to cross into India from Bangladesh have relatives like Ilyas who can bail them out.

An intelligence source told BenarNews that “nearly 1,000” Rohingya migrants are thought to be languishing in prisons in West Bengal as well as in northeastern Indian states that border Bangladesh and Myanmar.

“I’m fortunate I got out and can at least hope to restart my life,” Tahir said. “There were several other Rohingyas in prison with me. Some of them have been there for years and have no hope of ever getting out.”

Incarcerated well past their terms

Adhir Sharma, additional director general of West Bengal’s Correctional Services, challenged the authenticity of the figure of nearly 1,000 Rohingyas incarcerated in West Bengal and the northeast.

“As far as I know, there are no more than 150 Rohingya people in West Bengal prisons,” Sharma told BenarNews.

He acknowledged that some Rohingya inmates had identified themselves as Bangladeshis in the hopes that India might deport then to Bangladesh after they served out their sentences.

“The number of Rohingya migrants in Indian prisons may very well be higher than that on record because they hide the fact they are from Myanmar. If they don’t, they’ll be stuck in prison even after completing their sentences because their government doesn’t recognize them as citizens,” Madhurima Dhanuka of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a local BGO, told BenarNews.



By Nabilah Hamudin
August 11, 2015

PETALING JAYA: About 1,000 Rohingya gathered in front of the UNHCR office here today after they were told that the would be given refugee status cards.

According to Brickfields police chief ACP Shahrul Othman Mansor, about 200 Rohingya started gathering at the UNHCR office along Jalan Bukit Petaling at about 1am.

Shahrul added about 4.30am, several policemen arrived at the office and ordered them to leave the place.

"We also informed them that the news which they received was false.

"At 5am, some of them were seen slowly dispersing and left the place," added Shahrul.

However, the situation got worse between 7am - 8am when the area was flooded by some 500 Rohingya who just arrived.

"It is believed that they came from the Klang Valley and some other parts of the country," told Shahrul.

About 12pm, the crowd was growing and about 1,000 Rohingya were there. Most of them came by bus.

Shahrul added that the incident was believed to be sparked by an unknown party who spread the false news.

"Our Special Branch personnel have gotten the confirmation from the UNHCR officers that the information was false.

"However, there were no untoward incidents reported and we are still monitoring and investigations are underway to find the culprits behind the case," said Shahrul.

By Aamir Saeed
August 11, 2015

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would raise the issue of Rohingya Muslims’ genocide in Myanmar at the United Nations during its upcoming General Assembly session.

Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said this Monday in the National Assembly while responding to a question asked by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf member Dr Shireen Mazari.

“The prime minister will mention the Rohingya Muslims’ issue in the General Assembly as they are not getting their citizen rights,” he informed the members.

He said the government has also offered $5 million dollar aid to the Rohingya Muslims on humanitarian grounds and was also in touch with members of Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) to resolve the issue.

“The impression that Pakistan is doing nothing for Rohingya Muslims is not correct,” he said, adding that Pakistan has taken more concrete steps to raise the issue than all other OIC countries.

Aziz said the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva has already passed a resolution on 3 July 2015, proposed by Pakistan, on behalf of the OIC.

Among others, the resolution called upon the Government of Myanmar to ensure co-operation to allow full access of humanitarian assistance to the affected persons and communities, and to implement various co-operation agreements made between the authorities of Myanmar and the international community for the distribution of humanitarian aid to all affected areas, including Rakhine State, without any discrimination, he said.

He said the OIC passed a resolution “The situation of the Muslim community in Myanmar,” during the Council of Foreign Ministers meeting on 27-28 May 2015 in Kuwait.

Among others, the resolution renewed the call to the Myanmar authorities to adopt an inclusive, transparent policy towards the Rohingya Muslims and to recognise them as ethnic minority.

Aziz informed the Lower House that during the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting, every member urged the OIC to take measures for the rehabilitation of displaced Rohingya Muslims.

“Pakistan also proposed the creation of a special OIC Fund to provide food and other assistance to Rohingya Muslims,” he said.

To another question asked by the PTI member Murad Saeed, the advisor said that Kuwaiti authorities do not officially acknowledge imposition of any ban or restriction on issuance of the visas to Pakistanis.

However, in the backdrop of a number of Pakistanis arrested on drugs trafficking and deterioration in the general law and order situation, the issuance of visa is restricted since 2011, he said.

Aziz said the government is in touch with the Kuwaiti authorities, some relief has been provided to professionals, such as doctors and engineers who if employed, are now being given the visa. The two governments have been in touch on the issue to ease restrictions.

“Our embassy in Kuwait has taken up 250 acute visa cases of family visa with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait of families of our senior professionals who are reluctant to stay in Kuwait if their families are not accommodated for visa. Our embassy had scrutinised these cases, and convinced of their merit, is interceding with the Kuwaiti Authorities,” he said.

Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan Muhammad Birjees Tahir informed the house while responding to a question that his ministry has sent a summary to the prime minister for increase of monthly stipend of Azad Jammu and Kashmir refugees living in camps.

He said the government has also allocated funds in the PSDP to reconstruct 277 schools in the AJK.



Around half of deaths recorded been Rakhine state, where about 140,000 Rohingya Muslims live in makeshift displacement camps

By Joshua Carroll
August 11, 2015

YANGON, Myanmar -- The official death toll from floods wreaking havoc across Myanmar has passed 100, state media reported Monday, as residents in low-lying regions were warned to brace for more floods and rivers swelled to dangerous levels.

Almost one million people have been affected by the flooding after weeks of heavy monsoon rains followed by the arrival of Cyclone Komen.

All but two of Myanmar’s 14 states and regions have been affected in what local residents have called the worst flooding in decades.

Around half of the deaths have been in coastal Rakhine state, which bore the brunt of Cyclone Komen when it hit land late last month.

Some activists have accused authorities of neglecting the state’s persecuted Rohingya Muslims during the response to the disaster. Around 140,000 live in makeshift displacement camps following communal violence in 2012.

The UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, said Friday that she had been denied permission to visit the state during her tour of the country last week. 

More than 1.2 million acres of rice fields have been inundated, and over a third of that has been destroyed, according to the country’s Ministry of Agriculture.

Almost 2,500 schools remain closed in the worst affected areas after being hit by landslides and floods, the Ministry of Education said. Hundreds of other schools have been reopened, the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported Monday.


Aman Ullah
RB Article
August 11, 2015

“Muslims of Arakan certainly belong to one of the indigenous races of Burma, which you represent. In fact, there are no pure indigenous races in Burma and that if you do not belong to indigenous races Burma; we also cannot be taken as indigenous races of Burma.” President Saw Shwe Thaik,

The International Day of the World's Indigenous People falls on 9 August as this was the date of the first meeting in 1982 of the United Nations Working Group of Indigenous Populations of the Sub-commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the Commission on Human Rights.

Every year, 9 August is commemorated as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The day is celebrated with special events around the world, including at United Nations Headquarters in New York.

This year's theme puts a spotlight on the issue of indigenous peoples' access to health care services, as improving indigenous peoples’ health remains a critical challenge for indigenous peoples, Member States and the United Nations. 

In a message to mark the Day, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “On this International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, I call on the international community to ensure that they are not left behind. To create a better, more equitable future, let us commit to do more to improve the health and well-being of indigenous peoples.”

Who are Indigenous?

The adjective indigenous is derived from the two Ancient Greek words indo= endo/ "ενδό(ς)", meaning inside/within, and genous= (γέννoυς), meaning birth/born and also race, etymology meaning "native" or "born within".

James Anaya, former Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has defined indigenous peoples as "living descendants of pre-invasion inhabitants of lands now dominated by others. They are culturally distinct groups that find themselves engulfed by other settler societies born of forces of empire and conquest". 

They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal system. 

In 1972 the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP) accepted as a preliminary definition a formulation put forward by Mr. José R. Martínez-Cobo, Special Rapporteur on Discrimination against Indigenous Populations. This definition has some limitations, because the definition applies mainly to pre-colonial populations, and would likely exclude other isolated or marginal societies.

“Indigenous communities, peoples, and nations are those that, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them. They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop, and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems.”

Thus, Indigenous peoples were the descendants of those peoples that inhabited a territory prior to colonization or formation of the present state.

Rohingyas are one of the Indigenous peoples of Burma

The Rohingyas are Muslims who are living in Arakan generation after generation for centuries after centuries. They are nationals as well as an indigenous community of Burma. They are equal in every way with other communities of the country. Their arrival in Arakan has pre-dated the arrival of many other peoples and races now residing in Arakan and other parts of Burma. They developed from different stocks of peoples and concentrated in a common geographical location forming their own society with a consolidated population in Arakan well before the Burman invasion in 1784.

Mr. M.A. Gaffer, from Buthidaung, was a member of 1947 Constitutional Assembly, an Upper House MP from 1951 to 1960 and also a Parliamentary Secretary in Health Ministry. 

He wrote, in his Memorandum, which was presented to the Regional Autonomy Enquiry Commission dated the 24th May, 1949, that “We the Rohingyas of Arakan are a nation. We maintain and hold that Rohingyas and Arakanse are two major nations in Arakan. We are a nation of nearly nine lakhs more than enough population for a nation; and what is more we are a nation according to any definition of a nation with our own distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of value and proportion, legal laws and moral codes, customs and calendar, history and traditions aptitude and ambitions, in short, we have our distinctive outlook on life and of life. By all canons of international law the Rohingyas are a nation in Arakan." 

The Rohingyas are a group of people who believes that they are similar; because of this similarity, they believe that their fates are intertwined. That is they have a common identity and a belief in a shared future through collective action. They have acted together in the past, they are acting together in the present, and they will act together in the future. As a collective agent, they are participants in a common venture. Through common action, they want to create a common future, where their people can live out their distinctive life ways in freedom, safety and dignity. As a nation they are jointly committed to create a space for people like them.

Mr. Sultan Ahmed, from Maung Daw, was a member of 1947 Constitutional Assembly, a Member of Parliament from 1951 to 1960 and was Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Minorities, Ministry of Relief and Resettlement, and the Ministry of Social and Religious Affairs, with the status of Deputy Minister. He was one of the longest serving parliamentary secretaries. 

According to him, ‘when section 11 of the constitution of the Union of Burma was being framed, a doubt as to whether the Muslims of North Arakan fell under the section of sub-clauses (I) (II) and (III), arose. In effect an objection was put in to have the doubt cleared in respect of the term “indigenous” as used in the constitution. But it was withdrawn on the understanding and assurance of the President of the Constitutional Assembly, at present His Excellency the President of the Union of Burma, who, when approached for clarification with this question, said, “Muslims of Arakan certainly belong to one of the indigenous races of Burma, which you represent. In fact, there are no pure indigenous races in Burma and that if you do not belong to indigenous races Burma; we also cannot be taken as indigenous races of Burma.” Being satisfied with his kind explanation, the objection put in was withdrawn.’

Being indigenous peoples, they have the right to maintain and strengthen their distinct political, economic, social and cultural characteristics, as well as their legal systems, while retaining their rights to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of State. Not only have they had the right to a nationality but also the rights to their lands, territories and resources, which derive from their political, economic and social structures and from their cultures, spirituals traditions, histories and philosophies. 

However, the present Thein Sein government vehemently denies the existence of a Rohingya ethnicity, referring to the group, even in official documents, as “Bengali.” Ultra-nationalist Rakhine Buddhists vehemently reject this view, framing the Rohingyas as illegal immigrants who migrated from East Bengal during the British rule of Burma and/or after Burma and Pakistan’s independence in 1948 and 1947, respectively. 

In one hand the government is trying to enforce with a temporary card known as green card on ethnic Rohingya requiring them to apply for citizenship by naturalization with ‘Bengali identity’ as foreign residents with a view to denationalizing and dividing the entire Rohingya people while putting them in permanent limbo. 

On the other hand they are propagating that, “If any Rohingya accepts Bengali the government will give him; - Red Card Citizenship, - free movement, the Mosque can be opened back, his children can go to school, he can travel freely, he can married without restriction, he can do business and earn money freely, he can vote and can stand for the vote, etc..”

Ethnic identity is an essential human need that provides a sense of belonging and historical continuity and created a foundation on which to build a concept of self. It is an individual’s self-concept developed from knowledge of membership in a cultural group. Ethnic identity and self-identity has supported a strong relationship between the two.

According to Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.’ For the ‘equal in dignity’ the right to self- identification is important. It is very significantly important to know differentially the incomparable difference between “ethnicity or ethnic group and ethno-religious group”. “Ethnicity or ethnic group” is a specific term to identify the ancestral background of each community who are eligible to belong an ethnicity—particular language, distinct culture, racial dress, populous territory.

The Rohingyas are a nation with a population of more than 3 million (both home and abroad), having a supporting history, separate culture, civilization, language and literature, historically settled territory and reasonable size of population and area. They share a public culture different from the public culture of those around them. They are determined not only to preserve and develop their public culture, but also to transmit to future generations as the basis of their continued existence as people, in accordance with their own cultural pattern, social institution and legal system. 

The term Rohingya is widely used by the international community to identify a group of Muslims of Arakan. According to Dr. Ganganath Jha of Jawaharlal Nehru University of India, the term Rohingya is derived from Rohang the ancient name of Arakan. The Muslims of Arakan called their country, in their own language, ‘Rohang or Roang’ and called themselves as Rohangya (Rohang+ya) or Roangya (Roang+ya) means native of Rohang or Roang. In Burmese it is ‘ရိုဟင္ဂ်ာ’, in Rakhine’s pronunciation it will read as ‘Rohangya’ but in Burmese pronunciation it became ‘Rohingya’ and now it’s established as ‘Rhinggya’. Like other peoples of the world, they have needed to identify as Rohingya to some degree for centuries.

In the work of Arab geographer Rashiduddin (1310 AD) it appears as ‘Rahan or Raham’. The British travelers Relph Fitch (1586 AD) referred the name of Arakan as ‘Rocon’. In the Rennell’s map (1771 AD), it is ‘Rassawn’. Tripura Chronicle Rajmala mentions as ‘Roshang’. In the medieval works of the poets of Arakan and Chittagong, like Quazi Daulat, Mardan, Shamser Ali, Quraishi Magan, Alaol, Ainuddin, Abdul Ghani and others, they frequently referred to Arakan as ‘Roshang’, ‘Roshanga’, ‘Roshango Shar’, and ‘Roshango Des’. Famous European traveller Francis Buchanam (1762-1829 AD) in his accounts mentioned Arakan as “Rossawn, Rohhawn, Roang, Reng or Rung”. In one of his accounts, “A Comparative Vocabulary of some of the languages spoken in the Burman Empire” it was stated that, “The first is that spoken by the Mohammedans, who have long settled in Arakan, and who call themselves Rooinga, or natives of Arakan.” The Persians called it ‘Rekan’.” The Chakmas and Saks from 18th century called it ‘Roang’. Today the Muslims of Arakan call the country ‘Rohang’ or Roang’ or ‘Arakan’ and call themselves ‘Rohingya’ or native of Rohang.

Rohingya is not simply a self-referential group identity, but an official group and ethnic identity recognized by the post-independence state. In the early years of Myanmar’s independence, the Rohingya were recognized as a legitimate ethnic group that deserved a homeland in Burma.

· On 31st December 1942, Brig-Gen C E Lucas Phillips of 14th British Army declared the North Arakan as “Muslim National Area” As per Public Notice No. 11-OA-CC/42. Then formed a Peace Committed headed by Mr. Omra Meah and Mr. Zahir Uddin Ahmed and entrusted for administration of the area. On 1st January 1945 Brigadier C.E Lucas Phillips became the Chief Administrator of the area and appointed members of Peace Committee as administrative officers of the area. The British recognized the Muslims of Arakan as a distinct racial group and the British officer-in-command promised to grant more autonomy in North Arakan. 

· In 1947, Hon’ble Bo Let Ya the Deputy Prime Minister, came to visit Maungdaw, to expound the principles laid down in the constitution of the Union of Burma, but it appeared on the "New Times of Burma" that he addressed the inhabitants of Maungdaw as "Chittagonians" which was objectionable and contradictory in relation to the Muslims of North Arakan forming parts and parcel of Indigenous races of Burma. The Prime Minister U Nu expressed regrets for the use of wrong terms "Chittagonians” and as per letter No.153/22 PM 48 dated; 20 February 1948, instructed that it should be either "Arakanese Muslims" or "Burmese Muslims". The term ‘Burmese Muslims’ published in the form of Press communiqué issued by His Excellency Sir Domon Smith, the Governor of Burma, on 27th September 1941. 

· On 30th 1949, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a Burma Gazette Extra Ordinary, as par letter No. 282/ HD- 49, in which it was, mentioned that the Arakanese Muslims of Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships of Akyab district as indigenous peoples of Burma.

· On September 1954, U Nu, the first elected Prime Minister of Burma, in his radio address to nation, announced that, “The people living in northern Arakan are our national brethren. They are called Rohingyas. They are on the same par in the status of nationality with Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Mon, Rakhine and Shan.” 

· On 3rd and 4th November 1959, U Ba Swe, Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Affairs, in the public meetings of Maungdaw and Buthidaung, announced that, ‘The Rohingyas are equal in every way with other minority races like Shan, Kachin, Karen, kayah, Mon and Rakhine. They have lived in Burma ages according to historical facts. There is historical evidence that they have lived faithfully and harmoniously with other races of Burma.’ 

· On 4th July 1961, Brig-General Aung Gyi, Deputy Chief of Staff, officially explained that, ‘On the west, May Yu district borders with Pakistan. As is the case with all borderlands communities, there are Muslims on both sides of the borders. Those who are on Pakistan’s side are known as Pakistani while the Muslims on our Burmese side of the borders are referred to as ‘Rohingya.’ Here I must stress that this is not a case where one single race splits itself into two communities in two different neighbouring countries. If you look at the Sino-Burmese border region, you will see this kind of phenomenon, namely ‘adjacent people’. To give you a concrete example, take Lisu of Kachin state, or La-wa (or Wa) and E-kaw of the same Kachin State by the Chinese borderlands. They all straddle on both sides of the borders. Likewise, the Shan can be found on the Chinese side as well as in Thailand – and they are known as ‘Tai’ or ‘Dai’ over there...They speak similar language and they have a common religion.’

· The Rohingyas were enfranchised in all the national and local elections of Burma. Their representatives were in the Legislative Assembly, in the Constituent Assembly and in the Parliament. As members of the new Parliament, their representatives took the oath of allegiance to the Union of Burma on the 4th January 1948. Their representatives were appointed as cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries. They had their own political, cultural, social organizations and had their programme in their own language in the official Burma Broadcasting Services (BSS).

· As a Burma’s racial groups, they participated in the official “Union Day’ celebration in Burma’s capital, Rangoon, every year.

· To satisfy part of their demand, the government granted them limited local autonomy and declared establishment of Mayu Frontier Administration (MFA) in early 60s, a special frontier district to be ruled directly by the central government.

Thus, the Muslims of Rakhine region over the centuries have had many terms by which to identify themselves, including the terms Rakhine Muslim, Arakan Muslim, and Rohingya, the last of which has become more prominent in recent times. 

However, the Rakhine nationalist claims that, the term Rohingya was created in the 1950s to promote the political demands of the Bengalis in Myanmar.

Ethnic identity is not a God-given thing, but different forms of identities are invented and reworked thorough space and time. That’s why the process of identity formation is known as ‘social construction’. And Ethnicity is not just a ‘thing’ but also a ‘process’ in which the state actors impose identities, and the people themselves actively articulate their own identities for the sake of political and material livelihood.

As Burma and Arakan state are the products of the nation-sate formation through a relatively long, history, The name ‘Rakhne’ and the place ‘Arakan’ have been “invented” at particular points of time, just like the name “Rohinggya’ was invented another points of time. If Rohingya ‘migrated’ from Bangladesh of somewhere else at one historical point of time Rakhines must have ‘migrated’ at similar or another historical points of time. But immigrating earlier of later does not negates the problematic reality that both groups have migrated from somewhere else. None of these groups fell from the sky. The claim that the name ‘Rohingya’ is invented is unacceptable and completely contradicts the very foundational understanding of ethnicity and ethnic identity. 

Since 1942, the Rakhine Buddhists pushed the Muslims from the southern Arakan to the northern Arakan. 

Since 1962, successive military regimes denied their citizenship right by labeling that they are illegal immigrants from Bangaladesh.

Since 1982, the regimes completely denied the citizenship rights of the Rohingyas by enacting the most controversial Citizenship Law -1982.

Since 2012, the Thein Sein regime rejected their identity and forcefully making them Bengali. 

The Rohingya Muslims of Arakan, both home and abroad, believed that they belong to Burma and they are parts and parcel of indigenous races of Burma. They never try to be Bengali. At present there are more than 3 million Roghingyas both home and abroad. Their only blood related community is the Roai people, a third and fourth generation Rohingyas, who strongly believed that their ancestors were from Arakan or related to Arakan. Their population is round about 10 million lived in Cox’s Bazaar district and southern Chittagong district. These peoples are morally concerned to the Rohingyas Muslims of Arakan.

However, the present Thein Sein Government and Ultra- Nationalits Rakhines are going to forcefully making the Rohingya to Bengali. Then the Bengali peoples became concerned to the case and cause of the Rohuingyas. In Bangladesh, there are 160 million Bengali, in India also about 100 million Bengali and other parts of the world also more than 40 million Bengali. So there are more than 300 million Bengali throughout the world. In the case of the Rohingya has forcefully became Bengali then they will be parts and parcel of other Bengali peoples, and the world’s over 300 million Bengali will try to stand behind the ill-fated 3 million Rohingya people. The Government is playing with a great risk that will not good for the country and for the peoples of Burma, particularly for Arakan.

The Arakan problem can be easily solved to the satisfaction of all the stake holders if the Rakhine Buddhist is simply follow the golden rule of “Live and let Live”. This will definitely put an end to all the mutual ill-feeling and mistrusts; and there lies mutual happiness.

    • Rohingya Exodus