What future for the Rohingyas?
Saturday, 26 December 2009
Nurul Islam
THE Burmese military regime brought an amendment to the Burma citizenship law in 1982 to deprive the Rohingyas of their citizenship. The law made the Rohingyas homeless in their own country. The authorities in Myanmar, as Burma is called now, are subjecting the Rohingyas to serious restrictions of movement from village to village, besides other persecutions. All of it severely affects their daily life.
The Rohingyas are passing through the darkest phase of their life in Arakan where they have been living for centuries. Every Rohingya feels that they have been pushed to the brink of destruction. The rulers in Myanmar are achieving what they want. They want to deprive the Rohingyas of education. They want them to be economically crippled, socially marginalised and politically liquidated. The Rohingyas do not matter in Myanmar. No Muslim marriage can be solemnised without official permission which is difficult to obtain even in line of bribe. The restriction on marriage seeks to reduce the Rohingya population in Myanmar. The Rohingyas face sever discrimination because of their religion as well.
The Rohingya youth denied employment to make their future in Myanmar uncertain. They are forced to flee Arakan to South-East Asian countries by boat at the risk of life. Caught by security forces, while on their perilous journey, they face torture in different countries. In 2007 a group of Rohingya youth were rescued by Indonesian and Indian navy, while adrift on the sea in boats without engine and food Thai navy forced them into. Many Rohingya youth died due to starvation and thirst while adrift in the sea. The new episode of Rohingya plight on the sea began late in 2006 as they were desperate to unknown destinations by boats.
Earlier, the bulk of Rohingyas saw Saudi Arabia as a positive destination for migration. The Myanmar authorities have been forcing them into Bangladesh. But stringent measures adopted by Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia in recent years, make the destinations difficult to reach. The situation leaves no option for the Rohingyas but to take the sea route to unknown destinations and difficulties. As Myanmar remains closed to media, there is no scope for the world media to cover the goings-on with the Rohingyas in Arakan province of Myanmar.
The Buddhist Rakhines and the Muslim Rohingyas, the two major ethnic minorities of Myanmar used to peacefully co-exist in the Arakan province but for minor dispute that occurred rarely. A riot between the two ethnic groups in 1942 was instigated by Magh, Rakhine and Burman leaders because of religious and political jealousy. Arms left behind by the British soldiers fell in the hands of Maghs (Rakhines). The result was Muslim massacre of 1942 in which Muslims disappeared from 307 villages in Arakan. More than 100,000 Muslims were massacred and 80,000 others fled to Chittagong and Rangpur. The Muslim majority area on the east of Kaladan River turned into a Muslim minority area. But the loss in terms of human civilisation and moral value was much greater. The 1942 massacre left a bitterness in the minds of the two-sister communities, who, until then, peacefully co-existed in Arakan for 1200 years. The bitterness motivates the Rakhines not to recognise the Rohingyas as sons of the soil of Arakan. And the military junta is taking the advantage in its bid to eliminate the Rohingya Muslim population from Arakan by imposing various restrictions.
Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Myanmar authorities are quietly erecting a concrete and barbed-wire fence along Myanmar's border with Bangladesh, to prevent the return of 200,000 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh.
The Rohingyas contested every election in Myanmar since its independence from the British in 1948. As only citizens of a country can contest elections, the Myanmar military government amended the citizenship law of the country in 1982 to deny citizenship rights to the Rohingyas. The Narinjara News published from Arakan recently reported that the military junta of Myanmar would issue "green cards" (guest citizenship) to Rohingyas in Arakan just before the election scheduled for 2010 to facilitate their vote casting. This is quite unjust, because as citizens of Myanmar the Rohingyas are entitled "Red Card", the citizenship document of Myanmar. The green cards for Rohingyas, are a ploy of propaganda campaign by the Myanmar authorities in Rohingya villages to exploit the Rohingya vote with the allure of financial help. The money given to the villagers is collected from Rohingya merchants living in Yangon. But there is no assurance from the Myanmar authorities that the problems of ethnic Rohingyas would be solved. The villagers dare not to raise questions on the issue because of fear of punishment.
Since 1962, when Myanmar Military seized power, the ethnic minorities, including the Rohingyas, have been denied of their rights. The military rulers regularly took severe action against the ethnic minorities ever since. Many were killed without any allegation or court verdicts. The brutalities against the Karen, in eastern Burma is known to the world. From 1948 the war between the Karens and the Burmese army, that began in 1948, continues. The Myanmar military frequently burns Karen villages and kills the villagers for which about two millions Karen and other ethnic people from eastern Myanmar fled to Thailand. In Arakan, too, the Myanmar army subjects the Rohingyas to such authorities to eliminate them from their native soil. The Myanmar authorities rehabilitate Buddhists on Rohingya-owned land, for which Rohingyas are evicted. Rohingya youths are forced to build model Buddhist villages. The Rohingya youth who can earn for their families are forced to leave their country for livelihood. Harassment and harsh treatment are what they get in different countries.
The Rohingyas fare a bleak future unless the international community pays attention to the problems of their persecuted people. The Rakhine and the military rulers of Myanmar refuse to recognise "Rohingya" identity and prefer to describe them as Muslims in Arakan. The Rohingyas are described as Bangalis, who arrived in Arakan during the British rule. The Rohingyas are depicted as illegal migrants from Bengal. Their claim is baseless because the Rohingyas lived in Arakan much before the British rule began in Arakan and the rest of Myanmar. Burma-Rohingya language was a language of broadcasting by the State Radio before the military rule began. No change in government policy in favour of ethnic minorities including Rohingya is expected in Myanmar under military rule.
(The writer can be reached at e-mail: wisdom_peace@ymail.com)
THE Burmese military regime brought an amendment to the Burma citizenship law in 1982 to deprive the Rohingyas of their citizenship. The law made the Rohingyas homeless in their own country. The authorities in Myanmar, as Burma is called now, are subjecting the Rohingyas to serious restrictions of movement from village to village, besides other persecutions. All of it severely affects their daily life.
The Rohingyas are passing through the darkest phase of their life in Arakan where they have been living for centuries. Every Rohingya feels that they have been pushed to the brink of destruction. The rulers in Myanmar are achieving what they want. They want to deprive the Rohingyas of education. They want them to be economically crippled, socially marginalised and politically liquidated. The Rohingyas do not matter in Myanmar. No Muslim marriage can be solemnised without official permission which is difficult to obtain even in line of bribe. The restriction on marriage seeks to reduce the Rohingya population in Myanmar. The Rohingyas face sever discrimination because of their religion as well.
The Rohingya youth denied employment to make their future in Myanmar uncertain. They are forced to flee Arakan to South-East Asian countries by boat at the risk of life. Caught by security forces, while on their perilous journey, they face torture in different countries. In 2007 a group of Rohingya youth were rescued by Indonesian and Indian navy, while adrift on the sea in boats without engine and food Thai navy forced them into. Many Rohingya youth died due to starvation and thirst while adrift in the sea. The new episode of Rohingya plight on the sea began late in 2006 as they were desperate to unknown destinations by boats.
Earlier, the bulk of Rohingyas saw Saudi Arabia as a positive destination for migration. The Myanmar authorities have been forcing them into Bangladesh. But stringent measures adopted by Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia in recent years, make the destinations difficult to reach. The situation leaves no option for the Rohingyas but to take the sea route to unknown destinations and difficulties. As Myanmar remains closed to media, there is no scope for the world media to cover the goings-on with the Rohingyas in Arakan province of Myanmar.
The Buddhist Rakhines and the Muslim Rohingyas, the two major ethnic minorities of Myanmar used to peacefully co-exist in the Arakan province but for minor dispute that occurred rarely. A riot between the two ethnic groups in 1942 was instigated by Magh, Rakhine and Burman leaders because of religious and political jealousy. Arms left behind by the British soldiers fell in the hands of Maghs (Rakhines). The result was Muslim massacre of 1942 in which Muslims disappeared from 307 villages in Arakan. More than 100,000 Muslims were massacred and 80,000 others fled to Chittagong and Rangpur. The Muslim majority area on the east of Kaladan River turned into a Muslim minority area. But the loss in terms of human civilisation and moral value was much greater. The 1942 massacre left a bitterness in the minds of the two-sister communities, who, until then, peacefully co-existed in Arakan for 1200 years. The bitterness motivates the Rakhines not to recognise the Rohingyas as sons of the soil of Arakan. And the military junta is taking the advantage in its bid to eliminate the Rohingya Muslim population from Arakan by imposing various restrictions.
Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Myanmar authorities are quietly erecting a concrete and barbed-wire fence along Myanmar's border with Bangladesh, to prevent the return of 200,000 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh.
The Rohingyas contested every election in Myanmar since its independence from the British in 1948. As only citizens of a country can contest elections, the Myanmar military government amended the citizenship law of the country in 1982 to deny citizenship rights to the Rohingyas. The Narinjara News published from Arakan recently reported that the military junta of Myanmar would issue "green cards" (guest citizenship) to Rohingyas in Arakan just before the election scheduled for 2010 to facilitate their vote casting. This is quite unjust, because as citizens of Myanmar the Rohingyas are entitled "Red Card", the citizenship document of Myanmar. The green cards for Rohingyas, are a ploy of propaganda campaign by the Myanmar authorities in Rohingya villages to exploit the Rohingya vote with the allure of financial help. The money given to the villagers is collected from Rohingya merchants living in Yangon. But there is no assurance from the Myanmar authorities that the problems of ethnic Rohingyas would be solved. The villagers dare not to raise questions on the issue because of fear of punishment.
Since 1962, when Myanmar Military seized power, the ethnic minorities, including the Rohingyas, have been denied of their rights. The military rulers regularly took severe action against the ethnic minorities ever since. Many were killed without any allegation or court verdicts. The brutalities against the Karen, in eastern Burma is known to the world. From 1948 the war between the Karens and the Burmese army, that began in 1948, continues. The Myanmar military frequently burns Karen villages and kills the villagers for which about two millions Karen and other ethnic people from eastern Myanmar fled to Thailand. In Arakan, too, the Myanmar army subjects the Rohingyas to such authorities to eliminate them from their native soil. The Myanmar authorities rehabilitate Buddhists on Rohingya-owned land, for which Rohingyas are evicted. Rohingya youths are forced to build model Buddhist villages. The Rohingya youth who can earn for their families are forced to leave their country for livelihood. Harassment and harsh treatment are what they get in different countries.
The Rohingyas fare a bleak future unless the international community pays attention to the problems of their persecuted people. The Rakhine and the military rulers of Myanmar refuse to recognise "Rohingya" identity and prefer to describe them as Muslims in Arakan. The Rohingyas are described as Bangalis, who arrived in Arakan during the British rule. The Rohingyas are depicted as illegal migrants from Bengal. Their claim is baseless because the Rohingyas lived in Arakan much before the British rule began in Arakan and the rest of Myanmar. Burma-Rohingya language was a language of broadcasting by the State Radio before the military rule began. No change in government policy in favour of ethnic minorities including Rohingya is expected in Myanmar under military rule.
(The writer can be reached at e-mail: wisdom_peace@ymail.com)