the unabated suffering of muslims in myanmar

7/27/2019 The Unabated Suffering of Muslims in Myanmar

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The unabated suffering of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar

Written by Mehboob AlamMonday, 12 November 2012 10:33

Muslims in Myanmar are subjected to terrible persecution and a campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide but even the wests poster girl for democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi is

silent about their plight.

Myanmar is once again in the news, for the same reasons that had sprung it from obscurity intolimelight many times before: human rights violations. This time it is brutal violence inflicted onthe Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority suffering decades of persecution in Rakhine province.Myanmars name is so frequently mentioned with human rights abuses that its recent faade ofdemocracy stirs little hope for real change. Historically, Myanmar has never had long periods ofdemocracy since it gained independence from Britain in 1948.

Living up to its reputation of leaving behind problems in its former colonies, Britain drew upMyanmars (formerly Burma) boundaries in such a way that people of different ethnicities wereherded into a single state. In the absence of established institutions to mediate ethnic disputes,this uncomfortable situation was waiting to erupt. Secession and autonomy claims have markedthe states history since its inception. Shaky stability and suspicion toward the numerous otherethnicities nurtured the stranglehold of a closed and predominantly Bamar military junta. TheinSein, elected president last year, is a former general. True democracy still seems to be a farcry amidst the juntas unaccountability and cautious moves toward fostering relations with theinternational community. Brutal conflict in Rakhine in May and June that saw hundreds ofRohingya massacred and ejected from their homes and villages stands as proof that the junta isdetermined to frustrate efforts toward a peaceful transition.

The timing of the atrocities and Myanmars democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyis world tourcelebrating her new found freedom is almost comical. When quizzed about the recent spate ofviolence and her view on the Rohingya, she gave the strange reply that she did not know if theywere citizens of Myanmar. On other occasions, she evaded questions with generalities aboutunderstanding and notions of citizenship. It is the same San Suu Kyi that has been elevated to

poster woman status by the West and its adoring media for standing up to the junta.

Let us consider some of her memorable quotes that are touted by the west in support of herclaim to international stardom. The value systems of those with access to power and of thosefar removed from such access cannot be the same. The viewpoint of the privileged is unlike thatof the underprivileged, Suu Kyi said when she was under house arrest. She is also reported tohave said: It is often in the name of cultural integrity as well as social stability and nationalsecurity that democratic reforms based on human rights are resisted by authoritariangovernments. Another of her memorable quotes is: The struggle for democracy and human

rights in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our political,social and economic aspirations.

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Fine words indeed but the Rohingya are not part of the human family that she talks about sofondly or their struggle for life and dignity. Viewed against the background of her stance on theplight of Rohingya, she comes across as another opportunistic politician constantly protectingher own bacon. The Nobel laureate has resorted to diplomatic doublespeak and silence in order

not to upset the junta that is closely watching her every move an indication of her surrealfreedom. A little discrepancy immediately provokes criticism from the regime. San Suu Kyisrepeated usage of the word Burma instead of Myanmar has been met with official disapproval.Acknowledgement of the Rohingya would put her even more in the bad books of the fascistregime and those people that have been brainwashed into believing the Rohingya do notbelong.

The Rohingya are a people caught between two states debating their identity. On the onehand, Myanmar refuses to accept the history of the Rohingya as indigenous Muslims and labels

them Bengalis. On the other hand, Bangladesh refuses to accept the Rohingya as they havebeen part of Myanmar for centuries. Ethnic tensions between the Rakhine Magh and Rohingyahave existed since 1942 and perhaps well beyond. Adding fuel to the fire, the Burmese militaryis also complicit in inciting prejudice and violence against the Rohingya. It is a classicimplementation of the phrase the enemy of my enemy is my friend. It needs to be noted thatthe Rakhine Magh have claimed secession and autonomy in the past until resistance wasquelled by the Myanmar regime.

The Rohingya account for approximately 4% of Myanmars population although exact numbers

cannot be cited owing to the regimes refusal to allow independent observers and negligence ofthe Rohingya. Myanmar is a living purgatory for the Rohingya. They are not allowed to travel toother towns without a permit which is rarely approved. Arbitrary arrests are not as arbitrary asthey seem. They are calculated and aimed at silencing those who voice opposition to or areseen as a threat to the sadistic Burmese system. Color, ethnicity and Islam are seen as adanger to the Myanmar regime. Forced labor, extortion, eviction, limited access to highereducation and even restrictions on marriage are imposed on the Rohingya. They are notallowed to join the armed forces and most are deliberately victimized by a vicious cycle ofpoverty through systematic oppression. The UN estimates that approximately 800,000Rohingya live in Myanmar and about 300,000 as refugees in Bangladesh. There are also scores

of refugees in Thailand and Malaysia as well as many scattered around the world that haveassimilated into other societies or are in stateless limbo.

Prejudice against the Rohingya is based on how Burmese one looks and, ones religion.Having different facial features than what is considered Burmese and practicing a religionother than Buddhism brands one as foreigner. An infamous example of racial hatred was a2009 letter sent by a Burmese diplomat in Hong Kong, Ye Myint Aung, to other diplomaticmissions and newspapers describing the Rohingya as ugly as ogres and thus, not Myanmarpeople. Such pretexts are used by successive Myanmar regimes to disqualify the Rohingya.

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According to the Burmese Rohingya Organization (UK), about 650 Rohingyas have beenmassacred in the recent Rakhine conflict with 1,200 missing and more than 80,000 displaced. Incontrast, the Myanmar regime has reported only 80 fatalities. Amnesty International has statedthat the Rohingya are being targeted by the government and the Rakhine Magh. Sittwe, the

capital of Rakhine state, has been worst affected with a number of houses and masjids razed tothe ground. Other places affected by sectarian strife are Buthidaung and Maungdaw townshipslocated in Maungdaw district of Rakhine. Looting of Rohingya-owned businesses andconfiscation of properties has also been reported.

Information about casualties and the extent of damage are sketchy as media coverage isrestricted to state-run news outlets with their own extreme bias. The Rohingya face animpending annihilation as international aid is prohibited from reaching the affected areas. TheUN recently recently said that aid workers in Rakhine had been arrested; some have even been

charged. Bias in the Myanmar media is obvious: people interviewed and shown in the newswere Rakhine Magh. Also, curfew is selectively enforced by the government; it does not applyon the Rakhine Magh (Buddhists). Absurdly, a video clip broadcast by most mainstream mediaoutlets showed children and adults alike walking alongside the Myanmar military forcesdeployed in Rakhine and even at times cheering.

A theory that is doing the rounds posits that the Rakhine Magh are influenced by a Zionist-likeagenda of purifying Rakhine of other ethnicities. The Rakhine Nationalities Development Party(RNDP) recently released a statement calling for segregation between the Rohingya and

Rakhine Magh in every locality. In a bizarre attempt, it asked the international community andthe UN to move the 800,000 Rohingya population to other states. This supposed solution wasalso echoed by President Thein Sein to the UNHCR which seems to have gained followers inthe region, even among pro-democracy activists. Thein Seins denial of the Rohingya as part ofMyanmar and apathy reflects the juntas obsession with ethnic profiling along with xenophobia.Oddly, the Rohingya were considered citizens before the 1982 law came into effect by theformer military dictator Ne Win. It recognizes 135 national races in Myanmar but does notinclude the Rohingya. The law has come under scrutiny by international observers like AmnestyInternational and with democracy gradually unfolding in Myanmar, there are expectations thatthe law might be changed.

An over-populated Bangladesh has refused to take any more Rohingya as refugees.Astonishingly, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Hasina Wajed even claimed the Myanmar regimewas providing a congenial atmosphere for the Rohingya. Increased trade prospects withresource-rich Myanmar after US easing of sanctions have cast a spell of silence on neighboringstates. Only leaders like Imam Khamenei of Iran and organizations such as the Organization ofIslamic Cooperation (OIC) have condemned the Myanmar regime for its atrocities against theRohingya. The regime however continues to deny that excessive force was used by the militaryand downplays the role of ethnic and religious bias in the conflict.

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With the crisis continuing, it remains to be seen whether Aung San Suu Kyi will decide to breakher silence on the issue. If she wants to retain her status as a freedom fighter and become aMandela-like figure against apartheid, she needs to stand up for equality and acceptance of theRohingya. Who else can the Rohingya turn to than the person who had been imprisoned by the

same regime for decades?

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the unabated suffering of muslims in myanmar

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