Bangladesh, China, India, and Myanmar (BCIM) Region Cooperation Forum, earlier known as "Kunming Initiative", was established in 1999 with the objective of enhancing physical connectivity and boosting trade relations among the member countries. One of the major objectives of the BCIM-Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC) is to increase people-to-people contacts in the BCIM sub-region. Being a hub of ethnic minorities, the sub-region is historically troubled with ethnic conflicts and violence. Thereby, it is important to trace the ongoing status of ethnic minorities among the BCIM countries.
Amid the strife-torn ethnic scenario in the sub-region, there are exemplary initiatives of maintaining ethnic harmony and upholding ethnic values. China's south-western Yunnan Province is indeed a bright example. After arriving in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, I obtained a lot of practical experiences about Chinese government's successful policy with regard to ethnic minorities which largely influence me to draw attention on the vital issue as well as to exemplify Chinese policy towards its minority groups.
Yunann Province is one of the most diverse regions of China in terms of biological and cultural diversity. Around 25 ethnic groups, including Hani, JiNo, Bai, Yiao, Dai, Miao, Lisu, and Wa people live peacefully in Yunnan Province side by side with the majority of the Han population. While enjoying every facility like the Han majority, the ethnic minorities also enjoy their own distinct nationality to elucidate their indigenous identity and status. Â
In order to preserve the cultural heritage of ethnic minorities, the provincial and central governments have undertaken numerous initiatives. For instance, the establishment of Yunnan Ethnic Nationalities Village, Yunnan Nationalities Museum and Yunnan Provincial Museum in Kunming represent the local government's attempts to preserve traditional values, customs, and cultural diversities of ethnic minorities of the province. The tourist places of Yunnan Province are, therefore, represented by distinct minority groups that intensify the beauty of these places. While visiting Stone Forest, one of the beautiful World Heritages, I was surprised by the active representation and the depth of knowledge of Yi nationality people.
My visit to Dehong Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province near China-Myanmar border also surprised me a lot. The prefecture is bestowed with some ethnic minorities, such as Dai, Jingpo, Lisu, Achang, D'ang and so on. These ethnic minorities also maintain cooperative relations with Myanmar's ethnic groups sharing common borders. They celebrate annual festival namely the 'Dehong International Water-Splashing Festival' that also strengthens cultural ties and people-to-people contacts. The Chinese government has, thereby, undertaken numerous measures to uphold peaceful relations among ethnic groups along the China-Myanmar borders largely facilitating cross-border cultural diversities in the region.
The ethnic groups of Yunnan Province are also conscious about environmental protection. They usually put into practice indigenous knowledge for the preservation of water and forest resources, especially along the Red River basin through significant activities in the development of tourism sector as well as to the protection of biodiversity.
MYANMAR: In stark contrast, Myanmar is one of the vulnerable countries to ethnic conflicts with 135 ethnic groups including Kachin, Shan, Chin, Mon, Karen, and Rohingya. Tension of ethnic armed conflict escalates in the country due to incessant antagonistic postures between the central government and a variety of insurgent groups which creates further impediments to the peaceful coexistence among ethnic minorities in the country. The failure of peaceful negotiation between government and ethnic groups has given rise to various ethnic conflicts in Myanmar.
Besides, Myanmar regime's brutal policies to the Rohingyas, the Muslim ethnic group from the northern Rakhine state of western Myanmar, have made the Rohingya Muslim minority one of the most marginalised ethnic groups in Asia. Rohingyas ruthless are not only denied of citizenship rights but are also subjected to Myanmar's vicious operations, such as -- Combined Immigration and Army Operation in 1955, Operation Nagamin or Dragon King Operation from 1978-1979, Operation Pyi Thaya (Clean and Beautiful Nation from 1991-1992), joint extermination campaign in 2012 and so on. In fact, the country is reluctant to accept the Rohingyas as their citizens.
INDIA: India is also susceptible to ethnic conflicts mostly in its North Eastern region. The North East India sharing international borders with Myanmar, China, Tibet, Bhutan, and Bangladesh, is home to a large number of ethnic groups with diverse racial stocks, different languages and varied socio-cultural traditions. The issue of concern, in this regard, is the growing nexus between trans-border ethnic groups and secessionists as well as insurgency-related violence in this region. The porous borders between North East India and Myanmar can also be found to stoke up the unrest and conflict. India's provinces of Manipur, Nagaland, and Mizoram sharing common borders with Myanmar are susceptible to ethnic insurgency. For example, the Naga ethnic groups both from North East India and Myanmar have close ties to each other because the Kachin state of Myanmar is ethnically closer to their neighbours in the South, the Nagas.
BANGLADESH: There are also ethnic problems in Bangladesh. The country has 27 different indigenous or tribal ethnic groups accounting for 1.13 per cent of population mostly located in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Though the government of Bangladesh implemented the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord (HCT Peace Accord) in 1997 after a long armed insurgency of the indigenous CHT peoples, some core provisions of the Peace Accord still await to be implemented for the protection of human rights of the tribal people. As a result, the tribal people in the CHT are still deprived of their basic human rights. The continuous influx of Bengalis into the hilly areas, the deprivation of land rights, and the influence of the security forces still remain big challenges to the Peace Accord. All these contentious issues give rise to tensions affecting ethnic groups in Bangladesh.
From the aforementioned analyses, it can be said that Myanmar, India, and Bangladesh are confronted with crises related to ethnic minorities. Lack of proper attention of the governments, unemployment, poverty, backwardness, lack of economic growth and challenges to the rights of the ethnic groups in these countries trigger the prospect of ethnic unrest and violence.
However, the Yunnan model with respect to ethnic minorities can best be epitomised as a learning experience for these countries not only for ensuring the rights of minority groups but also for resolving the long-standing ethnic problems in the BCIM sub-region.
The writer is Visiting Research Fellow, Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences (YASS), Kunming, China.
sultanayesmindu@yahoo.com
The status of ethnic minorities in BCIM
Sultana Yesmin | Published: August 26, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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