Issue: Protecting the Rights of the Rohingya in Myanmar

Forum: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Position: President Chair

Name: Tan Halacoglu

Introduction

The conflicts between Rohingya and the Burmese government have been arising in the recent years. Rohingya, who are an ethnic group of Muslims living in Western Myanmar, have been facing brutal actions of discrimination, persecution and maltreatment by the Burmese citizens and government. The government of Myanmar doesn’t recognize Rohingya, and therefore denies them from the right of citizenship, inaugurating them as stateless and undocumented individuals.

The government has been restricting Rohingya’s basic rights such as working, travelling, practicing religion and accessing health care facilities as well as performing violent activities such as torture, rape and homicide against them. These restrictions and actions resulted in thousands of Rohingya seeking asylum in the surrounding countries such as Bangladesh, Malaysia and Indonesia. However, the ones who are left in Myanmar are still facing harsh conditions and inhumane treatments.

Definition of Key Terms Rohingya

Rohingya are an ethnic group, who have been living in the Southeast Asian country Myanmar (Burma) for centuries. Most of the Rohingya are Muslim, which makes them a minority in the majority Buddhist Myanmar. Rohingya are clearly distinguishable from other ethnic groups, due to the language they speak, Ruaingga, which is clearly distinct from Burmese: the official language of Myanmar. Nearly all of Rohingya live in Rakhine, one of the poorest states of the country. Many historians suggest that Rohingya have been living in the area since the 12th

century, long before Myanmar was formed.

Rakhine

Rakhine is a state located on the Western coast of Myanmar. The area is home to approximately 1.1 million Rohingya. The area lacks infrastructure and most of the people live below the poverty line. Rohingya can’t legally leave the area without providing a special permit from the government. Map of Myanmar

Ethnic Group

An ethnic group is a group of people who share cultural, physical and historical similarities. Myanmar is an extremely ethnically diverse nation with 135 ethnic groups recognized by the government. Rohingya is not one of them.

Statelessness

A stateless person is not recognized by any nation as a citizen. Most of these people are in refugee status or in Rohingya’s case, denied from giving citizenships.

Refugee

A refugee is a displaced person who has been forced to flee his/her country due to persecution, war or violence and granted to stay in a nation’s borders. Rohingya Refugee Crisis in 2015, resulted in thousands of Rohingya fleeing from Myanmar and obtaining refugee status.

Asylum-Seeker

An asylum seeker is a person who flees his/her nation due to maltreatment, and requests protection, peace and safety in another nation’s borders. It shouldn’t be confused with the term “refugee” as refugees are individuals who have been granted to stay in the nation for a period of time by the government, while asylum seekers have no guarantee that their request will be granted.

Colonialism

Colonialism is a socioeconomic ideology which supports the domination of colonies by powerful nations, in order to gain political, economical, authorial and financial advantages. Colonialism was followed by many European nations during the Industrial Revolution, and resulted in many consequences throughout the world, including the mass labor migration between India, Bangladesh and Burma.

Mujahideen

Plural form of the word “Mujahid”, Mujahideen are religious groups who are highly akin to Islam and to the Islamic god “Allah”. Their goal is to support and defend Islam from any possible threats. They adopt Jihad as their ideology, meaning that they would do anything to uphold justice and peace and honor Allah. They have played an active role in Burma during the 1960s to 1980s, before they were abolished by the Burmese army.

Arakan

Arakan, currently known as the Rakhine state of Myanmar, is a historical area which homed multiple kingdoms throughout history. Historical evidence shows that the region was populated since the 3000s BC. After it was colonized by the British Empire in 1886 it became a province of British India and the Muslim population almost tripled due to mass labor migration from India and Bangladesh.

General Overview 

In order to tackle the issue more effectively, a detailed analysis of past events must be conducted. As previously stated, Rohingya Muslims have been in Rakhine since the 1100s. In 19th century however, the capitalist policies that British Empire followed raised future conflicts in the region. When British Empire invaded the region in 1824, there was a significant amount of migration happening because of the demand for laborers, which were used to work in plantations. Many of the laborers were Muslims from India and Bangladesh. Since Myanmar was a part of India at the time, the migration process was documented and considered as an internal movement. The migration of laborers was frowned upon by Rohingya Muslims and have flamed conflicts in the region.

During the Second World War, British promised Rohingya to establish an autonomous Muslim state in the region, in exchange for support, however this promise was never kept. Rohingya supported the British Empire in the Second World War, while the rest of Burma supported the Japanese. This resulted in rivalry between Rohingya and Burma. When Burma declared it’s independence in 1948 and Rohingya became a part of the nation, the government had no intentions to forget what happened in the war.

The government had a negative approach to the region because of the mass migration that took place and the conflicts formed during the war. They refused to believe that Rohingya was long present in the region, and strongly stated that all of them migrated from India and Bangladesh during the 19th century. Correspondingly, a misconception that all Rohingya were actually Indian or Bengali was spread in the country. Rohingya were declared as foreigners and denied citizenships. As a response to the government’s mistreatment, Rohingya formed rebellious movement groups, which demanded citizenships and equal rights. These groups were called Mujahid groups. Mujahideen were provided weapons by Pakistan, who has been warning the government of Myanmar about the mistreatment of Rohingya Muslims for a while. However, Myanmar’s Prime Minister at the time, U Nu, negotiated with Pakistan and urged them to stop providing weaponry for Mujahideen. Without the support of Pakistan and with the detention of the leader of the group, the Burmese army abolished Mujahideen groups and declared Rohingya as a threat to the nation’s sovereignty and well-being. As a result, the Burmese government and citizens started seeing Rohingya as terrorists and rebels.

After these dreadful events, Rohingya started being raped, tortured and killed by the Burmese army. Many of them were forced into doing hard labor, physical assaults and false detentions were frequent occurrences. However, it wasn’t until 1977 when Rohingya were officially declared as illegal foreigners. With the empowerment of Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP), a major national effort for registering citizens and screening their background to check if there are Rohingya connections, was put through. 200,000 Rohingya Muslims fled the country and sought asylum in Bangladesh during the time. Bangladeshi government accepted Rohingya Muslims, but due to an overwhelming amount of refugees, it requested aid from U.N. and other NGO’s such as the International Red Cross. This was also the first time when the conflicts between Rohingya Muslims and Myanmar was brought into international platforms. Many nations and NGO’s, especially Bangladesh and United Nations, condemned Myanmar and it’s army for performing inhuman actions against Rohingya Muslims. UN urged Burma to consider more open policies regarding Rohingya Muslims and asked for their repatriation. Since Bangladesh wanted to send all the refugees back to Myanmar as soon as possible, it favored the U.N. and further urged the government of Burma. The Burmese government eventually agreed with the U.N. and most Rohingya refugees returned back to the nation.

Although Rohingya went back home in search of peace and safety, it didn’t take long

for the Burmese army to start persecuting Rohingya Muslims once again. The army continued their brutal actions. Rohingya Muslims were now regularly escaping from Myanmar in refugee status. However, another mass outflow from Myanmar to Bangladesh took place in the early 1990s. More than 250,000 Rohingya refugees fled Myanmar with the assistance of Bangladesh and UNHCR. With a gradually increasing amount of refugees in the country, Bangladesh announced that it would not accept any more Rohingya refugees and the ones who are present had to go back. Bangladesh tried to send all refugees as quickly as possible, just like in the 70s. As some of them actually returned back, most of them refused to do so and when Bangladesh started expelling those who refused to leave, problems raised in refugee camps. Rohingya refugees took control over of refugee camps situated at the borders. No NGO’s, including U.N., was allowed to enter the camps for a year due to the increasing amount of violence. However, order was eventually restored by the Bangladeshi government after the Burmese government declared that it would no longer accept returning refugees as of August 15, 1997.

It is sad that little to none progress have been achieved throughout the years. The inhuman conditions which Rohingya live in has not changed, if not got worsened. There are still thousands of Rohingya refugees who are fleeing from Myanmar every year. It is estimated that 1 million refugees have fled since the 1970s. And according to most recent data provided by UN, almost 160,000 refugees fled Myanmar since 2012. The living conditions of refugees in camps are also severe and harsh. With most camps being in Bangladesh, who has been hosting refugees involuntarily, the aid provided by the Bangladeshi government is not even near enough to host thousands of refugees. Thankfully, many NGO’s and nations regularly provide financial aid and food supplies. The ongoing persecutions in the area resulted in the formation of new insurgency groups like Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). ARSA started performing violence attacks against Burmese officials in 2016 by attacking three police outposts in Rakhine. This has caused more conflicts between the Burmese government and Rohingya Muslims. The situation is turning into a “humanitarian catastrophe”, as Rohingya refugees describe the horrifying persecutions carried out by the Burmese army. Refugees have told Human Rights Watch that they were constantly facing brutal armed attacks, rapes, murders and physical abuse back in Myanmar. Amnesty International also stated that the government has been placing land mines around areas frequented by Rohingya refugees. While the whole world is aware of the ongoing crisis, the Burmese government and army are justifying their inhumane actions by stating that they are protecting their selves from “terrorist” organizations and their brutal actions, showing examples of attacks carried out by ARSA. Myanmar ignores the discussion of the topic by not attending various U.N. General Assembly sessions, which unfortunately shows that the brutal persecutions will not end any time soon.

Major Parties Involved 

Myanmar (Burma)

The government of Myanmar has always had a negative outlook on Rohinya Muslims. Burmese government first restricted the citizenship right of Rohingya, by stating that they weren’t Burmese in origin, and they all came from India and Bangladesh during the British Empire’s ruling. Rohingya were alienated from the Burmese citizens and were seen as

foreigners. But it wasn’t until Rohingya Muslims protested these restrictions when the government labeled all of them as “terrorists” and illegal foreigners. Since then, brutal acts of violence were performed by the Burmese government and army. These acts include the rape of women and children, forced labor, arbitrary detention and physical abuse. The severity of these acts only got worsened throughout the years. It is known that numerous villages have been burned and any aid access from NGO’s to Rohingya civilians were forbidden by the government. Although the government is strongly denying, many nations and organizations including U.N., declared these actions as a move for genocide with a purpose of depopulating the region in order to get the ownership of the lands. Burmese government has rejected these allegations by saying that they have no intentions of “ethnic cleansing” or genocide in Myanmar. They also deny the allegations about the persecution of Rohingya Muslims and only state that they are defending themselves against terrorist organizations. Unfortunately, Myanmar has been ignoring the discussion of the topic both nationally and internationally.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh is the first nation to accept Rohingya refugees, with almost 1 million refugees registering in camps since 1970s. Keeping in mind that at least 480,000 refugees fled to Bangladesh only in 2017, it is clear that there are thousands of unregistered refugees residing in refugee camps. The government strongly condemns Myanmar for their actions and refer to them as an act for genocide. Bangladesh proposed many ideas in the past, including the formation of UN-supervised safe zones in Rakhine, to control and eradicate the issue. Bangladesh warned the U.N. Security Council for Myanmar’s further intentions to depopulate the region by burning villages.

India

India has been actively accepting Rohingya refugees in the 20th century. However, in August 2017, government announced their deportation plans for Rohingya refugees. Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, described refugees in their country just like Myanmar would, calling them “illegal immigrants”. India reasoning for it’s deportation plans were possible terrorist attacks that may be carried out by Rohingya Muslims, with the help of Pakistan. India believes that Myanmar “territorial integrity” of Myanmar should be protected by keeping “terrorists” under control. India also favours the repatriation of refugees back to Myanmar and believes that terrorists should be punished.

Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)

Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), is an organization formed in 2016, seeking the rights of Rohingya in Rakhine. Because of the armed attacks they performed towards Burmese government officials, including several attacks to police stations throughout 2016 and 2017, they were declared as a national threat and a terrorist organization. However, ARSA has strongly stated that they are not a terrorist organization, that they just aim to support the fellow Rohingya Muslims and fight for their rights. The reputation of ARSA is doing more harm than good for Rohingya. Although ARSA has stated that their intentions are not to act against Burmese civilians, but only government officials who are persecuting Rohingya, Burmese government insists on describing them as a “radical Islamist terrorist

group”, putting them in the same category with major terrorist organizations such as ISIL and Al-Queda. ARSA may be described as the Mujahideen of this century.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), is an organization founded in 1969, aiming to unite the “Muslim World” and protect Muslims’ rights throughout the world. OIC should have been a leading organization to protect the rights of Rohingya, their “Muslim brothers”, not only they represent the Muslims-majority nations, but because they can lead the way and encourage other nations and NGO’s to take actions against the persecutions carried out by the Burmese government. However, their actions remained insufficient and ineffective. They strongly condemned Myanmar for their actions and brought the issue to United Nations. Although they have permanent delegations to the UN, they don’t have enough mechanism to implement resolutions. Therefore, they tried to pressure Myanmar via UN agencies such as UNHCR. However, these actions were ineffective. After all, OIC’s actions should have been leading the way, they are no different than any other nation’s. The two nations who stand out with the financial, humanitarian and emotional support they have provided are Malaysia and Turkey. Both of these countries showed their interest in permanent eradication of this issue, and has been working actively both in national and international platforms, to protect the rights of the Rohingya.

Timeline of Key Events 

When Event

1824-1948

The Muslim population in the are almost tripled because of the mass labor migration from India and Bangladesh, who were brought to Arakan by the British Empire in order to increase the volume of cultivation.

Burma declared it’s independence after the

Previous attempts to resolve the Issue

Countless organizations and countries have been working towards eliminating the issue. NGO’s such as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Amnesty International have been regularly providing financial and humanitarian aid. Most countries strongly condemned Myanmar for their brutal actions and took various actions. First of all, most of them, including United Kingdom and United States, encouraged U.N. Security Council to discuss the issue. Secondly, countries such as UAE, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Norway, Netherlands, Japan and Canada donated both humanitarian and financial aid to refugee camps, which lack healthful conditions and basic infrastructures.

Bangladesh performed multiple attempts in international platforms to find solutions and raise awareness for the issue. For instance, Nobel Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus, prepared a detailed proposal for the issue, which was discussed in U.N. GA session. Government officials of Bangladesh have been warning U.N. for Myanmar’s further intentions.

 

Possible Solutions Although many nations and NGO’s have been struggling to find solutions for the

issue, the government of Myanmar is continuing to deny the allegations and ignore the issue completely. As the involvement of Myanmar in the process of eradication of this issue is crucial, delegates may choose to implement sanctions to the nation. Since Myanmar’s economy mostly depends on international investments and other countries around the world, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Myanmar is an economically dependent country. Therefore, implementing economical sanctions such as reducing the volume of trade would put Myanmar in an economically tough place, which may prevent them from performing more attacks to villages. However, this would also effect thousands of Burmese citizens as well. Other types of sanctions may be political, authorial and developmental sanctions, which will hopefully encourage the government from further persecutions. The goal is not to leave Myanmar in the lurch, but to at least make them discuss openly about the issue, so further actions can be taken. Myanmar is backed up by powerful nations such as China, Russia and India, which makes it harder to compensate. Therefore, it is important to note that Myanmar is not alone in the issue. Further discussions should be conducted with only Myanmar, but with China, Russia, India and any other nation who believes that Myanmar’s actions towards Rohingya is acceptable.

Currently, over 1 million Rohingya Muslims are stateless, which makes it harder for them to continue their lives normally, and keeps them from obtaining basic human rights such as working and praying in peace and accessing health care facilities. Therefore, removing them from this ambiguous situation should be a priority. Also, preventing Myanmar from performing further attacks is also crucial. Bangladesh’s suggestion for the formation of UN-supervised safe zones within Rakhine, is a great way to establish this. The safe zones may be protected by U.N. until further actions are taken.

 

Appendix/Appendices 

When Event

1824-1948

The Muslim population in the are almost tripled because of the mass labor migration from India and Bangladesh, who were brought to Arakan by the British Empire in order to increase the volume of cultivation.

Burma declared it’s independence after the

https://www.oic-oci.org/upload/documents/acm_2017_rohingya_rep_en.pdf http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs21/Abrar-NM-Repatriation_of_Rohingya_refugees-

en.pdf http://www.unhcr.org/3ebf9bab0.pdf http://www.equalrightstrust.org/ertdocumentbank/Rohingya%20Briefing

%20Report.pdf https://idc-cdi.com/app/uploads/2017/01/Resolution-On-Rohingya-Minority.pdf http://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/

201306/20130620ATT68112/20130620ATT68112EN.pdf https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/

660530/CPIN_-_Burma_-_Rohingya.v1.1.Nov_2017.pdf http://statecrime.org/data/2015/10/ISCI-Rohingya-Report-PUBLISHED-

VERSION.pdf

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