Myanmar's army massacred Rohingyas, now it wants their help for survival

It is good time to open talks as the junta is weakening in wake of insurgency, says Thai PM

FE Team | Published: April 08, 2024 23:13:34

Seven years after massacring thousands of Rohingya, Myanmar's military has conscripted at least 100 men from Rakhine State to fight against the Arakan Army insurgent group, the BBC reports.
As the beleaguered junta faces what is possibly the biggest insurgency the country has seen, the military has conscripted a hundred men from the 150,000 Rohingya who are residing in the IDP camps, according to the report.
Mohammed, 31, one of the many men conscripted, told the BBC: "I was scared but I had to go. These are army orders. They threaten to harm your family if you refuse."
Mohammed and other Rohingya are still subjected to discriminatory limitations such as the refusal of citizenship and a ban on travelling outside of their communities in Myanmar.
Thousands of Muslim Rohingya have lived in squalid conditions in the IDP camps after the army forced them out of Rakhine State back in 2012.
In 2017, the army exercised the textbook definition of ethnic cleansing by killing hundreds of people, raping them and setting their homes on fire, the BBC said.
As many as 700,000 of the Rohingya fled to Bangladesh to seek refuge after the mass clearance operation by the military.
After losing ground to the Arakan Army, the military regime is desperate enough to enlist men from a persecuted minority, the BBC says.
According to Mohammed, the conscripted men were taken to Sittwe's 270th Light Infantry Battalion, where they were taught to shoot and reassemble guns.
After training for two weeks, Mohammed was called back to board a ship carrying 250 men towards Rathedung, where the Arakan Army had taken over three hill tops.
"I had no idea why I was fighting. When they told me to shoot at a Rakhine village, I would shoot," he added. However, the soldiers soon ran out of food as the insurgents attacked their supply shack.
Mohammed was sent back to Sittwe for medical treatment after sustaining injuries in both legs due to shrapnel.
"While I was in the middle of the battle, I was terrified the whole time. I kept thinking about my family," Mohammed told the BBC. "I never thought I would have to go to war like that. I just wanted to go home. When I got home from the hospital, I hugged my mother and cried. It felt like being born again from my mother's womb."
Another Rohingya man by the name of Hussain was also conscripted by Myanmar's military. According to his brother Mahmoud, Hussain was taken away in February for training. However, he went into hiding when he got called back to fight against the Arakan ethnic rebel group.
As many as seven men have confirmed the conscription of 100 men to fight the war against the Arakan Army to the BBC. The men say that they were promised wages, food and citizenship if they enlisted themselves.
However, Myanmar's army denies the allegations. General Zaw Min Tun, a junta spokesman, told the BBC, "We want to ensure their safety, so we have asked them to help with their own defence," he said.
The military has also retracted their promise of giving citizenship to conscripts, saying they 'misunderstood' the offer. Although the military has returned to the IDP camps to conscript new people as they continue to lose the war, Rohingya men have been refusing to sign up for the war.
"This conscription campaign is unlawful and more akin to forced labour," said Matthew Smith from the human rights group Fortify Rights.
"There's a brutal and perverse utility to what's happening. The military is conscripting the victims of the Rohingya genocide in an attempt to fend off a nationwide democratic revolution. This regime has no regard for human life. It's now layering these abuses on top of its long history of atrocities and impunity."
Meanwhile, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin told Reuters now is a good time to open talks with Myanmar as the military regime that seized power in a 2021 coup is weakening.
Myanmar is in the throes of an insurgency on multiple fronts, with allied anti-junta groups backed by a pro-democracy parallel government seizing control of several military posts and towns, including parts of a key town on the border with Thailand over the weekend.
The insurgency is the biggest challenge the Myanmar junta has faced since it mounted a coup against an elected government in 2021.
"The current regime is starting to lose some strength," Srettha said in an interview on the resort island of Samui on Sunday, adding, "but even if they are losing, they have the power, they have the weapons." "Maybe it's time to reach out and make a deal," he said.
Thailand has been pursuing multiple engagements with Myanmar since Srettha came to power last August, including delivering aid to Myanmar under a humanitarian initiative aimed at paving the way for talks between warring camps.
The Thai parliament also hosted a seminar last month on the political situation in Myanmar that included the appearance of opponents of the Myanmar's military, despite the junta's objection.
Srettha said Myanmar was very important for Thailand and he and other Thai officials have been talking to various stakeholders in Myanmar and international partners including China and the US.
"The country that stands to gain most if Myanmar becomes unified, peaceful and prosperous is Thailand," Srettha said.
The Thai Prime Minister said he is planning to talk internally to cabinet ministers, senior military and security officials on Tuesday to streamline government policies on Myanmar.
"I'm meeting with five or six people who are the key players and making sure that we are on the same page," he said.