ROHINGYA MUSLIM - WHAT'S HAPPENING ?

WHO ARE ROHINGYA ?

         The Rohingya are often described as "the world's most persecuted minority". They are an ethnic Muslim group who have lived centuries in the Buddhist Majority Myanmar. Nearly 1.1 Million Rohingya Muslim live in the Rakhine State of Myanmar, where they have co-existed uneasily alongside Buddhists for decades.

       The Rohingya speak Rohingya or Ruaingga, a dialect that is distinct to others spoken in Rakhine State and throughout Myanmar, they speak a language similar to the Bengali dialect of Chittagong in Bangladesh. Rohingya people say they are descendants of Muslims, perhaps Persian and Arab traders, who came to Myanmar generations ago. They are not considered one of the country's 135 official ethnic groups and have been denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982, which has effectively rendered them stateless. 

ETHNIC GROUPS IN MYANMAR

FROM WHERE ROHINGYA CAME ?
     During the British rule, there was a significant amount of migration of labourers to what is now known as Myanmar from today's India and Bangladesh. Because the British administered Myanmar as a province of India, such migration was considered internal, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). The migration of labourers was viewed negatively by the majority of the native population. After independence, the government viewed the migration that took place during British rule as "illegal, and it is on this basis that they refuse citizenship to the majority of Rohingya," HRW said in a 2000 report. This has led many Buddhists to consider the Rohingya as Bengali.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THEM ?
      Violence broke out in 2012, when Rohingya men were accused of raping and killing a Buddhist woman. Buddhist nationalists responded by burning Rohingya homes, killing more than 280 people and displacing tens of thousands. 

     Last October nine police officers were killed by armed men, believed by officials to be Muslims. Amid the ensuing violence, 87000 Rohingya Muslims fled to Bangladesh and government troops expanded their presence in Rakhine state. In November 2016, a UN official accused the government of carrying out "ethnic cleansing" of Rohingya Muslims. The Myanmar government has repeatedly denied accusations of “ethnic cleansing”.

VILLAGE BEING BURN IN RAKHINE STATE, MYANMAR

      Last month i.e. August 2017, Myanmar further increased the number of troops in Rakhine, after seven Buddhists were found hacked to death. The buildup of troops prompted warnings of a fresh wave of violence. Since the violence erupted, rights groups have documented fires burning in at least 10 areas of Myanmar's Rakhine State. Nearly 300,000 people have fled the violence, with thousands trapped in a no-man's land between the two countries, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).Residents and activists have described scenes of troops firing indiscriminately at unarmed Rohingya men, women and children. 

      The most recent violence is seen as a major escalation not only because of the scale, but also because of the involvement of a new Rohingya militant group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). It says the attacks on government forces were an act of self-defence. The government declared ARSA a terrorist organization following the attacks.

MYANMAR GOVERNMENT'S SAY

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader, has denied that ethnic cleansing  is taking place and dismissed international criticism of her handling of the crisis, accusing critics of fueling resentment between Budddhists and Muslims in the country. The government has accused international aid workers of helping terrorists, besiege a village in Rakhine state. When Aung San Suu Kyi rose to power there were hope that the Nobel prize winner would help heal the country’s entrenched ethnic divides. But she has been accused of silently standing by while violence is committed against the Rohingya. International pressure is growing on her to curb the military operations. 

Some argue that Aung San Suu Kyi fears an unpredictable military. Despite her position as state counsellor, the military has retained significant political power, with an allocated 25% of seats in parliament.

 HOW IS THE REGION IS RESPONDING ?

Protesters have at times gathered in cities in India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Bangladesh to condemn the killing and persecution of Rohingya. The UN, as well as several rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have consistently decried the treatment of the Rohingya by Myanmar and neighbouring countries. The Governments in Southeast Asia lack established legal frameworks to protect refugees’ rights, and the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have not coordinated a response to the deepening crisis. The members of the ASEAN has not raised any significant voice over the issue.