Would Rohingya be willing to return to Myanmar?
Feb 11, 2021 · What Myanmar's Coup Means For The Rohingya "The coup is obviously good for no one," says a human rights activist. "But for the Rohingya, the risk is heightened. This is the military regime ...
Who are the Rohingya and why do they matter?
Oct 16, 2018 · An estimated 6,700 Rohingya were slaughtered by the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw, in a single month, despite repeated international condemnation. While the plight …
Why is the Tatmadaw targeting the Rohingya?
Mar 21, 2022 · The government of Myanmar has already endured a barrage of sanctions from the United States and other countries over the treatment of the Rohingya, as well as for the military …
What is the Biden administration doing about Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis?
Mar 05, 2016 · Rakhine history expert Jacques P. Leider may have put it best in his analysis Rohingya: The Name, The Movement, The Quest for Identity. “By narrowing the debate on the …
How many Rohingya were killed in Myanmar?
For the past two years, the world has periodically tuned in to the horror facing the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group in Myanmar. An estimated 6,700 Rohingya were slaughtered by the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw, in a single month, despite repeated international condemnation. While the plight of the Rohingya has garnered the bulk ...
Why are the Rohingya so vulnerable?
The reason that the Rohingya in particular were targeted is therefore clear . They are the most vulnerable ethnic minority group in Myanmar. The Tatmadaw cannot initiate a large scale ethnic conflict against either the Kokang or the Kachin for fear of angering the Chinese government. The Rakhine state does not share a border with China, and while it does border Bangladesh, this neighbor poses far less of a geopolitical threat than China does. In fact, the Rohingya are often falsely accused of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, and this could be another source of rallying nationalistic support for the Tatmadaw. The Rohingya have one final characteristic that makes them particularly vulnerable: they are predominantly Muslim. The Kachin are largely Christian, and the large scale slaughter of Christians would almost certainly produce a more forceful reaction from the Western world. Unfortunately, since the Rohingya are mostly Muslim, the predominantly Christian superpowers of the West have done little to stop the genocide in the Rakhine state.
What is the Kachin army?
The Kachin are perhaps the most well-organized ethnic minority opposition to the Myanmar central government. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) boasts 10,000 men, and the Kachin state, based in northern Myanmar, is rich in resources such as gold, amber, and jade, which the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) exports to countries like China. The combined military and economic strength of the KIO make conflicts with the KIO costlier for the Myanmar government. While the Myanmar government would like to take control of the Kachin mines, which it was able to do to a limited degree in 2017, the conflict with the KIO has not approached the slaughter conducted against the Rohingya.
Why can't Suu Kyi oppose Tatmadaw?
Suu Kyi cannot actively oppose the Tatmadaw’s actions because doing so would risk domestic support and threaten the young Myanmar democracy. However, by condoning the military’s actions, Suu Kyi has been condemned by the international community and lost much of her international soft power.
Why is China fighting the Kokang?
The Kokang and the Kachin regions are situated along the Myanmar-Chinese border, so a conflict in either region directly threatens Chinese border security. In the past, bombs from Myanmar’s conflicts have landed inside Chinese territory and even killed Chinese citizens. There is also the persistent worry of a refugee crisis that would send thousands or even millions of refugees flowing into China. Unlike the Kachin and the Kokang however, the Rakhine state, controlled by the Rohingya, is in western Myanmar. Mass violence directed towards the Rohingya therefore has little bearing on Chinese border security. Combined with the fact that China has little economic or political interest in protecting the Rohingya people, it is relatively unsurprising that China’s support for the Rohingya has been lacking.
Why did the Tatmadaw need to instigate a large scale ethnic conflict?
However, the Tatmadaw needs to instigate a large scale ethnic conflict to help the military preserve power despite their precarious political situation. It is not a coincidence that the rise in ethnic violence took place as Myanmar’s government transitioned from military control to a democracy.
Why does China support the Kokang?
The reason for China’s support of the Kachin and the Kokang is relatively simple—doing so serves the Chinese government’s political interests. The Kokang are very close ethnically to Han Chinese, and the Chinese government, recently fomenting nationalism at home, can enhance domestic popularity by supporting the Kokang.
What happens if the Rohingya lose legitimacy?
If she loses legitimacy with them, not only will future negotiations on the Rohingya be closed off to her and the NLD, but the peace process itself will come under fire for her seeming partisanship, and with it , the entire process of building Myanmar’s democracy.
When did Rohingya get stranded?
In May 2015, stranded Rohingya off the coast of Thailand elicited humanitarian outrage from the international community. Ever since, foreign commentators have called for an end to what appears to be government inaction or lack of accountability for extreme human rights abuses in Rakhine state.
What happened after the boat crisis?
Just after the May 2015 boat crisis, there were large protests in Sittwe – largely ignored by the rest of the world – by Rakhine Buddhists protesting misrepresentation of the situation in Sittwe, with protestors carrying signs like “No UN, No INGOs [international non-governmental organizations].” Protests like this ( of which there have been many) are aimed at the international community, from media to INGOs, and often lead to increased violence in their aftermath. This makes it more difficult for these INGOs, as well as local NGOs, to deliver humanitarian aid to those in Rakhine state.
What is at stake in Rohingya?
At stake are issues of legitimacy. The international community’s use of the term ‘Rohingya’ validates the narrative of essentializing a Muslim identity in Rakhine state. In the most conservative terms, we can say that scholars of Rohingya history have not understood this to conclusively be the case. Yet, the lack of nuance with which the international community has approached very important issues of legitimacy has contributed to a sense that Rakhine Buddhists are misunderstood, and besieged. On the other side of the political tension in Rakhine state, as shown by Schissler, Walton and Phyu Thi’s “listening project” in this series, are Rakhine Buddhists who are genuinely afraid of a (false) Muslim takeover.
Where are Rohingya confined?
Nicholas Kristoff’s recent article in The New York Times begins: “Soon the world will witness a remarkable sight: a beloved Nobel Peace Prize winner presiding over 21st-century concentration camps.” Tens of thousands of Rohingya have been forcibly confined in deplorable conditions in Sittwe, whilst there is evid ence that the ethnic cleansing perpetrated under the military government amounts to genocide. In May 2015, stranded Rohingya off the coast of Thailand elicited humanitarian outrage from the international community. Ever since, foreign commentators have called for an end to what appears to be government inaction or lack of accountability for extreme human rights abuses in Rakhine state.
Is Aung San Suu Kyi a neutral?
For a Buddhist, Burman-majority nation like Myanmar, it is difficult for Aung San Suu Kyi to portray herself as a neutral arbiter. Especially in Rakhine state, where most official positions are held by Rakhine Buddhists, it is important that she be seen as someone understanding to their plight – and therefore someone who can negotiate with them to potentially seek a humanitarian alternative to the concentration camps of Sittwe. As Aung San Suu Kyi says herself, “If you want to bring an end to long-standing conflict, you have to be prepared to compromise.”
Who is the leader of the opposition in Myanmar?
Its second liberation is brought about by Aung San Suu Kyi , the head of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and the daughter of Aung San, the man who is known for engineering Myanmar’s first liberation from the British.
What happened to the Rohingya?
And while the Rohingya have long been persecuted as a minority , the scale of recent violence is unprecedented. It ramped up on August 25 after a small faction of Rohingya militants called the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Army attacked police posts, killing 12 members of Myanmar’s security forces. In retribution, Myanmar’s military vowed ...
How many Rohingya refugees are there in India?
There are 40,000 Rohingya refugees settled in India, 16,000 of which have obtained official refugee documentation. The majority of Rohingya fleeing Myanmar have not made it past Bangladesh. Devastating floods in India and Bangladesh over this past summer have worsened conditions in refugee camps and led to a cholera outbreak, water shortages, ...
What percentage of parliament seats does the military have in Myanmar?
The military is guaranteed the right to appoint 25 percent of Myanmar's parliamentary seats, giving it veto power over constitutional amendments. As a result, Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD are barred from moving the military under civilian control.
What is the most persecuted minority in the world?
The Rohingya , a mostly Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar, have been called the "world's most persecuted minority," and recent events have added dramatically to their misery.
Where are the Rohingya from?
Who are the Rohingya? The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority group from Myanmar's Rakhine state, just south of Bangladesh, who have at times numbered 1.1 million. Officially, Myanmar's government does not recognize the Rohingya as lawful citizens. The government claims they were brought to Rakhine from Bangladesh during ...
Who is responsible for the Rohingya burning?
Refugees blame the Myanmar military, while the Burmese military has claimed the Rohingya burned their own homes. The BBC's Jonathan Head was one of the few journalists allowed into the Rakhine state, but under strict government surveillance.
When did Myanmar change its name?
The country's ruling military junta changed the name of the state from Burma to Myanmar in 1989, but this change is not officially recognized by the U.S. and UK. (National Geographic refers to the country as Myanmar.) Use of the name Myanmar remains controversial among some, who say it infers support for military rule.
What is the little protection for Rohingya?
The little protection means that The Rohingya community faces human right abuses that amount to genocide, including massacres, segregation in IDP camps, prohibition of health services, restrictions on childbirth, and further mistreatment that affects their quality of life.
Why did the Rohingya Muslims protest in 1991?
Furthermore, the Rohingya suffered forced labour, arbitrary detention and physical assaults. which is why in 1991 and 1992, more than 250,000 attempted to refuge to Bangladesh. IMAGE: Rohingya Muslims protest to Suu Kyi (State Counsellor of Myanmar) to be treated like human beings.
How did the information reveal the thesis to be true?
The information revealed the thesis to be true through the detailed analysis of different human rights violations towards the Rohingya Muslims. These cases of human rights violations were used in the essay to back up the thesis and proved to be effective due to the amount of detail the authors went into with each case.
What is the key point in the definition of genocide?
The key point in the definition of genocide is that it must be done with the intent to destroy the group in part, and the atrocities committed by the government have displayed clearly their intentions to kill and do way with the Rohingya population.
How many ethnic groups are there in Myanmar?
The Burma Citizenship Law of 1982 shows us that the people of Buddhist-dominated Myanmar belong to eight indigenous races: the Bamar, Chin, Kachin, Kayin, Kayah, Mon, Rakhine and Shan, which are divided into 135 distinct ethnic groups. The Kokang, are ethnically Chinese but are categorized under the Shan.
What is section 354 of the Burmese constitution?
Section 354 of the Burmese constitution is all about civil rights and the liberties in the expression of religion within Myanmar.
Is Myanmar oppressing the Rohingya people?
Myanmar’s oppression of the Rohingya people is not consistent with the constitution as mentioned in Section 354, but since the constitution does not apply to the Rohingya people, it is a catalyst for the oppression the non-citizens experience from the government.
Who denounced the brutal security operation against the Rohingya in Rakhine state?
In an address to the UN human rights council in Geneva, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein denounced the “brutal security operation” against the Rohingya in Rakhine state, which he said was “clearly disproportionate” to insurgent attacks carried out last month.
How many Rohingya are there in Bangladesh?
He said the influx of refugees in the past month took the total number of Rohingya in Bangladesh to more than 700,000. “It is now a national problem.”.
Why was Aung San Suu Kyi condemned?
Aung San Suu Kyi has been condemned for her refusal to intervene in support of the Rohingya.
What did Annan recommend to the government?
Annan’s report, which also did not name the Rohingya at Aung San Suu Kyi’s request, recommended that the government begin lifting longstanding restrictions on the community’s ability to participate in politics, move freely and gain citizenship.
How many Rohingya died in Rakhine?
Ali told diplomats on Sunday that unofficial sources had put the Rohingya death toll from the latest unrest in Rakhine at about 3,000.
What forces have forced refugees into Bangladesh?
Militia groups, local security forces and the Burmese army responded with “clearance operations” that have forced refugees into Bangladesh and left tens of thousands more displaced inside the state.
Why did Arsa call for a humanitarian pause?
Arsa, which has been accused of carrying out attacks against Buddhist and Hindu civilians, called for a month-long “humanitarian pause” on Sunday to deal with the refugee crisis. The truce was dismissed by Myanmar authorities, which said they did not negotiate with “terrorists”.