As the Rohingya face persecution, a solution is as far away as ever
The military
leadership wants the Rohingya, who do not qualify to become citizens, to be put in special camps where they will be supported by international organisations until countries come forward to accept them for
resettlement
Nehginpao Kipgen
The fate of Myanmars Rohingya minority has been in the spotlight for the many months, and it has caught the attention of governments and international institutions. There has been a constant quest for a solution but the problem is far from over.
Their suffering as stateless people is compounded by the differing approaches of major stakeholders: the Myanmar civilian government, the Myanmar military and the international community represented by the United Nations and the European Union.
The leadership of governing National League for Democracy (NLD) and particularly its de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi have put emphasis on the need to maintain the rule of law, implement developmental projects and to review the 1982 Citizenship Law, despite strong opposition from some Buddhist ultranationalist groups.
The NLD is pursuing a piecemeal approach of trying to gradually reduce the simmering tension in Rakhine state, where most of the Rohingya live. While the Rohingyas feel that they are targeted or discriminated against because of their identity and religion, the other Rakhines, who are Buddhists, feel that their very existence is threatened by the fast-growing Rohingya population.
Since there is a strong dislike of the use of the word Rohingya among the Rakhines and the vast majority of the Myanmar population across the country who use the term Bengali, the government takes a middle path by using a more neutral term, Muslims of Rakhine.The United Nations human rights office report on the treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar could not be more damning. The report includes first-hand accounts of the killing of babies, toddlers, children, women and elderly; opening fire at people fleeing; burning of entire villages; massive detention; massive and systematic rape and sexual violence; deliberate destruction of food and sources of food. The most horrific thing is that this is nothing new. The world has known of the plight of the Rohingya for many years, and much of the international community has chosen to turn its back. But some countries, especially those in the Muslim world, have spoken out.
The UAE, which has promised more humanitarian aid to the Rohingya, made its position clear even before the report was released. What is happening now is a slow genocide being carried out against the Rohingya Muslim minority by racist-motivated nationalism, Dr Maytha bint Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State, said at an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers from the members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation last month. Malaysia, which has accepted thousands of Rohinyga refugees and has sent humanitarian aid to them, says the crisis must end.
This is an issue of basic human rights; it is not about faith. Certainly, Myanmar is a majority Buddhist nation but it has many ethnic and religious minority groups. There are about 1.1 million Rohingya in Rakhine, yet the Myanmar government denies them citizenship despite the fact that they have called the country home for countless generations. Instead, it is attempting to force them into Bangladesh or other neighbouring countries.
Aung San Suu Kyi, who is the de facto leader of Myanmar, won the Nobel Peace Prize for her defence of democracy in the face of military oppression, and yet she has allowed her countrys war on the Rohingya to continue. It is time for the entire global community to apply whatever pressure it can to stop the killings and rapes, and demand that the Rohinyga are afforded their rights. The UN has the indisputable evidence, it must now follow through.
It has established a nine-member state advisory commission, led by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan and including other foreign experts and members of Myanmars Muslim and Buddhist communities.
The formation of the commission was significant as other previous initiatives taken by the Myanmar government under president Thein Sein did not yield a concrete result. The idea was that because of the continued pressure from the international community, the participation of foreign experts would help bring some new thinking and fresh ideas which could potentially pave the way for a solution to the protracted problem.
The NLD governments piecemeal approach met a severe blow when some Rohingya extremists attacked police outposts in Rakhine state in October last year which killed nine police officers. Despite its efforts, the NLD is criticised by the international community for doing too little too slow, especially in the aftermath of the incident. The NLD government has also been criticised for not expediting the citizenship verification process for Rohingya.
The Myanmar military has its own view and policy on the Rohingya issue: a fundamentally hardline approach. The military does not agree with the use of the term Muslims of Rakhine and its commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, wants people who identify themselves as Rohingya to be verified under the 1982 citizenship law.
According to that law, there are three categories of citizenship: citizen, associate citizen and naturalised citizen. Citizens are descendants of residents who lived in Burma before 1823 or were born to parents who were both citizens. Associate citizens are those who acquired citizenship through the 1948 Union Citizenship Act. Naturalised citizens are people who lived in Burma before January 4, 1948 and applied for citizenship after 1982. The military leadership wants the Rohingya, who do not qualify to become citizens, to be put in special camps where they will be supported by international organisations until countries come forward to accept them for resettlement.
The writer is assistant professor and executive director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at Jindal School of International Affairs
