Asia’s ‘boat people’

Away from the mainstream media, the tragic persecution of the forgotten Rohingyas  is unfolding in neighbouring Myanmar. The recent flare-up was of a scale that prompted the UNHCR (the UN's refugee agency) to intervene and censure the Myanmar Government, "to ensure the protection and dignity of all civilians on its territory in accordance with the rule of law and its international obligations". This purge is especially ironic as it takes place under the watch of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Su Kyi, as the 'First and incumbent State Counsellor' (a creative designation that overcomes her inability to be formally anointed as President, owing to a constitutional provision). Oddly, Suu Kyi's Nobel Peace Prize citation had mentioned "her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights". Today, the Muslim Indo-Aryan race of Rohingyas is facing systemic disenfranchisement in the latest democracy in the world, as indeed, violent backlash from the majority non-Muslim Rakhine people that has led to over 100 confirmed deaths and displacement of 30,000 Rohingyas.

The Rohingyas have been subjected to an identity crisis for centuries, as their disputed claims of nativity to the Rakhine State (a coastal strip that is contiguous to the Chittagong division of Bangladesh) in Myanmar, are buttressed with  documented records of Bengali labour imports during British rule and by the multiple exodus  warranted by the Bangladesh liberation war, into the bordering Rakhine State. Their Muslim identity, separatist movements (including a failed one to join Jinnah's Pakistan in 1947) and the popular perceptions of imminent demographic changes with their burgeoning population has always posited them with suspicion and discrimination. Theravada Buddhism and Myanmar nationalism have ensured that the fractured and diverse society of Myanmar is able to close ranks against the Rohingyas from the days of the Burmese junta to today's ostensibly, pacifist government of the National League for Democracy. The Bamar majority of Myanmar is openly in favour of denying the Rohingyas citizenship, with even Suu Kyi maintaining a populist and partisan stand of refuting any genocidal tendencies and stating that there is a general "climate of fear" caused by "a worldwide perception that global Muslim power is very great". (Courtesy of thestatesman.com)

Burma: 21,000 Rohingya Muslims flee to Bangladesh amid 'attempted genocide'

New figures show around 21,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Burma in recent weeks amid accusations of an attempted genocide.

The International Organisation for Migration said: "An estimated 21,000 Rohingya have arrived in Cox's Bazar between October 9 and December 2."

The government of Burma has criticised media reports of violence against the Rohingya, and lodged a formal protest against a UN official in Bangladesh who said the state was carrying out "ethnic cleansing".

At the weekend, the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak led a protest rally against what he called the "genocide" of the Rohingya minority, saying "enough is enough". (Courtesy of independent.co.uk)

Bangladesh trying to resolve Rohingya crisis

Terming Myanmar’s Rohingya issue as “sensitive”, Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali today told the parliament that Bangladesh is trying to resolve the growing Rohingya crisis using different international channels.

Replying to lawmakers’ queries, the foreign minister said the Rohingya issue is in a sensitive stage at present.

“We are trying to resolve the matter through different channels by engaging international organisations,” the minister said. (Courtesy of thedailystar.net)

EU urges Myanmar to address underlying causes in Rakhine state

The call came in the wake of the recent escalation of violence in the region along the Bangladesh border.

In a statement, a spokesperson of the 28-countries EU also welcomed the announcement by the Myanmar government of the establishment of a ‘Commission of Inquiry’ into the recent violence.

“It must be objective in its findings and that should help prevent similar events in the future, by ensuring accountability for all perpetrators of violence and hatred,” read the statement.

“It remains vital that the Government implements its initiatives by addressing the underlying causes of the situation in Rakhine State.”

In the violent attacks against Border Guard Police posts in northern Rakhine State on Oct 9 and the ensuing security operations both civilians and security personnel were killed, and thousands of people were displaced and lost their livelihoods. (Courtesy of bdnews24.com)

Aung San Suu Kyi laughs out loud at Rohingya genocide allegations while in Singapore

A Youtube video of Aung San Suu Kyi laughing out loud at allegations of genocide of the Rohingyas in Myanmar has gone viral with over 40,000 shares. Youtube user Haikal Mansor said that the incident happened during the Nobel Peace Laureate’s recent visit to Singapore, on 1 Dec 2016.

The video showed Suu Kyi addressing an audience and reading a letter which addressed her as ‘mother’. The letter writer said that he had been her fan from a very young age and asked her how the people of Burma should respond to ‘fabrications’ of genocide of the Rohingya people.

Suu Kyi laughed out loud in saying that accusations of genocide were just ‘fabrications’. She urged the Myanmarese to not only disbelief such ‘fabrications’, but also to counteract the allegations. (Courtesy of theindependent.sg)

Is genocide unfolding in Myanmar?

Four years ago, I was in Myanmar's Rakhine State soon after deadly violence erupted between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and stateless Rohingya Muslims. It was a horrendous scene. And it's happening again.

Back then, Buddhist civilians and state security forces unleashed coordinated attacks against Rohingya and other Muslims. I documented pre-dawn raids and cold-blooded massacres.

In a small village in Mrauk-U Township on October 23, 2012, 70 Rohingya were killed, including 28 children -- 13 under the age of 5. Children were hacked to death. Some were thrown into fires. (Courtesy of cnn.com)