Rohingya is a term derived from Rohang, the
ancient name of Arakan – the most Westerly Division of Lower Burma,
lying between the Arakan Yoma Range and the Bay of Bengal. The Muslims
of Arakan, amounting to approximately 3.5 million, are ethnically called
Rohingya or Rohingyas. Arakan, with an area of 20,000 square miles, was
an independent kingdom ruled by Muslims, Hindus, and Rakhine Buddhists
until Burman King Bodaw-hpaya occupied it in 1784.
Historical researches show that the
Rohingyas trace their ancestry to Arabs, Moors, Pathans, Moghuls,
Central Asians, Bengalis and some Indo-Mongoloid people. Since
pre-Islamic days while it was a Hindu land, Arab seafarers used to visit
Arakan on their onward journey to the Far-East and China. Within 50
years after the advent of Islam in Mecca, the Arab traders introduced
Islam to its inhabitants. Since then, Islam was fast spreading in the
region and remained rooted in the territory of Arakan. There had been
large-scale conversion of the Hindus, Buddhists, animists to Islam who
constitute part and parcel of the Rohingya Muslim community today.
Hence, early Muslim settlements in Arakan dated back to 7th century
A.D.; they left their traces in Sandihkan Mosque at Mrohaung, in the
Buddermokan at Akyab, Sandoway-Shrines of Badr al-Din Awliya and Hanifar
Tonqie (Shrine) and Khairapari Tonqie on the peaks of Mayu range in
northern Maungdaw District.
. The other major ethnic race, the Buddhists of Arakan, is known as Magh or Rakhine; they arrived in Arakan from Magadah, in North and North-eastern India, after escaping persecution of Hindu revivalism in 8th century A.D. After Bengal became Muslim in 1203 A.D., Islamic influence grew in Arakan to the extent of establishing a Muslim rule in 1430 A.D. with the help of Bengal. The Muslim’s rule in Arakan lasted for almost 350 years – with the exception of some years of intermittent Buddhist rule – until the Burman King Bodaw-hpaya, with the collaboration of some disgruntled Rakhine Buddhist leaders, occupied it ending the Muslim’s rule and influence once for all.
The King Bodaw-hpaya whimsically ruled it for 40 years – letting-loose a reign of terror – in which the Rohingya Muslims irreparably suffered in everything, materially and culturally. Islamic shrines were razed to the ground; thousands of Rohingya were brutally killed while hundreds of thousands others fled to the then British colonial territory (now Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong). Cox’s Bazar takes its name from the British lieutenant, who
was sent to the area to organize and provide relief for the refugees. ‘One of the dissatisfied Rohingya groups, which fled to British’s controlled Chittagong led by Chin Bya, proceeded to conduct raids against the Burman King. In one incident, the King’s troops pursued the Rohingya insurgents into British territory. The incursions led to tension between the British colonial government and King Bodaw-hpaya over the King’s demands for the extradition of the Rohingya insurgents. Consequently, the British invaded the Burman colony –Arakan – and colonized it in 1824.’ Later, the whole Burma was occupied in 1885, and made it an administrative part of India. When Burma was separated from British-India in 1936, Arakan was made a part of Burma, however against the wishes of Arakanese people, thus finally becoming a province of independent Burma in 1948.
Human Rights Watch reported:” The Rohingya were once counted as a part of the Mrauk-U (Mrohaung) kingdom in Arakan which stood independent of both the Burman kingdoms in the Irrawaddy Delta and Central Burma as well as Bengal and the Moguls to the West. Muslim traders came to the area in the eighth century when the local dynasty was seated at Wesali, not far from contemporary Mrauk-U and some of the traders settled along the shores. More Muslim sailors made their way to the Arakan region during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries…In 1404, when Mrauk-U was invaded by the forces of the Burman kingdom at Ava, King Narameikhla sought help from Bengal and expelled the invaders after 26 years with help of a Muslim army”
Immediately after the separation, the nationalist Burmese who gained control of the local power – with an ulterior motive to exterminate Rohingyas, or to rid them out of Arakan – incited the Arakan Buddhists against the Muslims while depicting them as a threat to Buddhists and Buddhist cult/religion. In pursuance of this, Buddhists hatched a conspiracy during the Second World War when British army withdrew from Arakan in the face of sweeping Japanese Advance in 1942, leaving its security in the hands of nationalists. Taking advantage of the administrative vacuum, the Buddhists of Arakan in connivance with the Burma Independent Army (BIA) led by Bo Yan Aung, under the command of Bo Ne Win (later General Ne Win) orchestrated an anti-Muslim pogrom in which about 100,000 Muslims were massacred, about 50,000 others fled to East Bengal and 350 Rohingya settlements were devastated.
At the eve of the independence of Burma in 1948, the Rohingyas were treacherously kept at bay from all negotiations and parleys for taking opposite course and co-operation with the British when the Burmese Independent Army led by General Aung San organized anti-British movement and brought in Japanese Imperial Army to drive the British out of Burma. Some analysts say that the British might have difficulty in re-advancing into Arakan without the Rohingyas. As a revenge against the Rohingyas, when the historic Union Treaty was signed at Panglong Conference, Shan State, between the Burman Leader General Aung San and leaders of the other nationalities on 12th February 1947, Rohingya representatives were tactfully debarred from the conference whereas the entire people of Arakan were secretly represented by the Rakhine Buddhist leaders – thus joining hands in their diabolical plan, the two co-religionist-Buddhist leaders elbowed out the Arakan Muslims from future political role in Burma.
Sensing the great danger awaiting for the Rohingya community in future, Rohingya leaders demanded autonomy of northern Arakan in the future political set-up. Also, they frantically made an appeal to the leader of the Pakistan independence movement Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah to exert his influence on Burmese leaders to recognize the due rights of the Muslims. Consequently, General Aung San assured that the rights of the Arakanese Muslims to be constitutionally guaranteed.
Immediately after the independence in 1948, contrary to Aung San’s assurance ethnic cleansing-armed operations against the Rohingyas were carried out, branding them as doubtful citizens, devastating hundreds of their villages, massacring thousands of them, and triggering a huge refugee exodus to then Pakistan. As the sufferings continued unabated, the Arakanese Muslims organized armed resistance movement against the excesses of the racist regime.
In 1950s, the whole rural area of northern Arakan fell under the Rohingya resistance movement. Failing to contain the insurrection and realizing the threat posed by the armed struggle, the regime in power swiftly changed its tactics and political tones, declared that Rohingya is an indigenous race of Burma like other nationalities. The recognition accorded to Rohingyas as an indigenous-ethnic race of Burma was declared by Ex-Prime Minister U Nu in a radio speech given at 8.00 p.m. on September 25, 1954, and at a public speech delivered in Maungdaw township in 1959. The excerpts are follows:
“The majority population of the northern part of Arakan division are Rohingya nationals and Muslims. Ethnic Rohingyas are as equals as other minorities like Shan, Chin, Karen, Kaya, Mon and Rakhine”
The Frontier Administration office, under the Prime Minister, issued a declaration on 20.11.1960 in recognizing the Rohingya as a race of Arakan. The excerpts of which are as follows:
“Meyu Frontier district bordering East Pakistan is a district with large population. People living in this area are Rohingyas who are Muslims, Rakhine, Mrammagri and Dinnat are hill tribes”
The first elected president of the Union of Burma; Sao Shwe Thaike described Rohingyas as follows:
“Muslims of Arakan certainly belong to one of the indigenous races of Burma…In fact, there is no pure indigenous race in Burma; if they do not belong to indigenous races of Burma, we also cannot be taken as indigenous races of Burma”
Furthermore, as an indigenous race, ethnic Rohingya language programme was broadcasted from Burma Broadcasting Services (BBS), Rangoon with effect from May 15, 1961 till 24 October 1965; the then Minister of Information and Broadcasting U Kyaw Ngein remarked that:
“As per government decision keeping in view of the national unity four more languages – Mon, Pao, Lahu and Rohingya broadcasted 10 minutes each for a language in the indigenous citizen programme”
Upon recognition of Rohingyas as an indigenous-ethnic race, their fundamental rights had been restored to certain extent. Every year, Rohingya representatives particularly Rohingya wrestlers were invited to 12 February Union Day celebration. The regime also promised to grant Rohingyas in northern Arakan a limited local autonomy under the newly established Mayu Frontier Administration (MFA). Thus the Rohingya armed resistance movement (Mujahideen) laid down their arms in response to the peace overtures.
Burma’ s first written constitution of 1947, defined a citizen to be
11. (i) Every person, both of whose parents belong or belonged to any of the indigenous races of Burma;
(ii) Every person born in any of territories included within the Union, at least one of whose grandparents belong or belonged to any of the indigenous races of Burma;
(iii) Every person born in any of territories included within the Union, of parents of both of whom are, or if they had been alive at the commencement of this Constitution, would have been, citizens of the Union;
(iv) Every person who was born in any of the territories which at the time his birth was included within His Britannic Majesty’s dominions and who has resided in any of the territories included within the Union for a period of not less than eight years in the ten years immediately preceding the date of the commencement of this Constitution or immediately preceding the 1st January 1942 and who intends to reside permanently therein and who signifies his election of citizenship of the Union in the manner and with time prescribed by law.
Under the immediately foregoing legislation, Rohingyas are not only citizen but also an indigenous race of Burma. Dr. Aye Maung, one of the author of the 1947 constitution said, “a group of people who entered Burma before 1825 and settled in a defined territory are also indigenous race of Burma; this clause was especially written for Rohingya people” U Soe Shwe Thaike, the President of the Union of Burma said, while he was in the highest office that, “Rohingya is an indigenous race as he himself, and there is no difference between Rohingya and Shan in the case of nationality.” Subsequently, a new Citizenship Act was promulgated in 1948, which restricted Section (iv) to any person “from ancestors who for two generations at least have all made any of the territories included within the Union their permanent home and whose parents and himself were born in any such territories.”
However, the condition of the Rohingyas started to get worse when the infamous General Ne Win, the then chief of Armed forces, took over the power from the democratically elected government of Prime Minister (U Nu) on March 2, 1962. Subsequently, the military regime revoked rights and privileges of Rohingyas that were restored by the previous government; Rohingyas’ socio-cultural and political organizations were forcibly de-registered and abolished.
Following the 1962 coup, the military undertook a series of measures designed to force the Rohingyas to leave the country while withdrawing recognition of them as citizens of Burma, restricting their movement and launching military and immigration joint operations. In 1974, a new constitution was introduced to enshrine the so-called Burmese Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) – one-party state – that in fact, effectively existed since the coup d’e’tat.
The 1974 constitution had put the Rohingyas in a state of more vulnerability in Arakan State, for the regime granted Statehood of Arakan to its co-religionists, Buddhists of Arakan, in the name of “Rakhine State” in utter disregards of the existence of Rohingya Muslims in the state since time immemorial. Subsequently, the military regime promulgated Emergency Immigration Act, with an evil intention to drive Rohingyas out of the country. Soon after the promulgation of the new law, the military and immigration launched a joint operation what they called operation Nagamin (Dragon King) against the Rohingyas in 1977, resulting in several deaths, destruction of their settlements, mosques, economic bases and forcing a mass refugee exodus of nearly 300,000 in 1978.
‘Shortly after the last refugees were forcibly repatriated to Burma in 1980, the BSPP drafted a new Citizenship law, which was promulgated in 1982. Both the timing and contents of the 1982 law indicate that it was deliberately targeted at the Rohingyas, while also discriminating against other Asian immigrants who had entered the country during the British colonial period.
According to this new Citizenship law, “full citizenship is limited to “nationals such as the Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Chin, Burman, Mon, Rakhine or Shan and ethnic groups as have settled in any of the territories included within Burma as their permanent home from a period prior to 1823 A.D” . (i.e., prior to one year the colonized Arakan State). Thus, those persons who had qualified as citizens under the 1948 law, would no longer qualified for citizenship under this new law, however their ancestors came to Burma two generations prior to 1948. In this way, the military regime unilaterally declared the Rohingyas as non-nationals of Burma, contradicting historical realities. In pursuit this, while confiscating old National Identification Documents from those Rohingyas who were previously issued, no new National Identification Documents (ID) have been issued to them.
“The stipulations of the Burma Citizenship law effectively to the Rohingyas the possibility of acquiring a nationality; despite being able to trace Rohingya history to the eighth century, Burmese law does not recognize the ethnic minority as one of the national races”
In short, following the military coup in 1962 and enactment of the new Citizenship Law in 1982, Rohingya Muslims have been undergone the worse kind of Human Rights violations under the successive military regime, the worst being the present junta. Persecution, oppression, social degradation, and expulsion of Rohingyas have been aggressively intensified and aggravated while other forms of Human Rights violations such as arbitrary arrests, torture, custodial and extra-judicial killings, long detention without trial, rape and dishonor of women-folk, forcible contraception, prevention of marriage by creating obstacles, ban on wearing veil, slave labor, porterage and human shields, restriction of movement even one village to another, destruction of mosques and cemeteries, harassment of religious teachers, inflammatory remarks on Islam and ban religious activities against them – Rohingyas – continue unabated.
Confiscation of Rohingyas’ farmland, including Wakaf property and building of new Buddhist settlements and pagodas on the land are carried out occasionally; the Muslims are forced not only for the construction materials but also for forced labours for the purpose. The confiscated lands are distributed to the Buddhist-settlers who were invited from inside and outside of Arakan, including from Bangladesh. The Rohingyas are also forced to contribute agricultural tools, cattle, building materials, forced labor and fund to the new Buddhist settlers. The religiously motivated design of the regime is to gradually starves the Rohingyas out of Arakan, or to cross border into Bangladesh.
And finally, in spite of stark historical realities, the present junta openly and unilaterally branded the Rohingyas as stateless and foreigners as follow:
“Lt. Gen. Mya Thinn (the minister for home affairs) recalled that the Muslim populations of Rakhine State were not recognized as citizen of Myanmar under the existing naturalization regulations and they were not even registered as so-called foreign residents. Consequently, the minister added, ther status situation did not permit them to travel in the country… They are also not allowed to serve in the State positions and are barred from attending higher educational institutions.”
By all legal and international standards, however, the Rohingyas are national as well as an indigenous ethnic group of the Union of Burma, as they have their history, glorious past and had their Sultanate in Arakan. They had been recognized as such by the previous elected governments with their members in Parliament and Cabinet, having a programme as an indigenous people in the official Burma Broadcasting Service (BSS) and participation in official Union Day celebration of Burma’s racial groups in the Burmese capital every year.
More recently, Rohingyas were allowed to form and register political parties in 1989, under the present junta led by former senior general Saw Maung. Two Rohingya political parties – Student and Youth League for Mayu Development (SYLMD) and National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPH) – were registered in accordance with the Burma Election law of 1989.
Apart from several individual Rohingyas, the two Rohingya political parties participated in the 1990 general election; the NDPHR won four Parliamentary seats. Under the 1989 Election Law, associate citizens and naturalized citizens are permitted to vote, but are not allowed to stand for election. Foreign residents are not allowed to vote or to take part in election. Rohingyas were not only allowed to vote but also permitted to take part in the election. On August 31, 1991, the NDPHR was even allowed to produce booklet in Burmese called “Arakan State and the Rohingya people: a Short History.” On August 19, 1991, however, the Burma junta forcibly dissolved NDPHR and RYLMD. Following the de-registration of Rohingya political parties, of four NDPHR elected members of parliaments U Ebrahim and U Fazal Ahmed were arrested in June 1992, on fabricated charges.
On 17th March 2005, U Kyaw Min @ Mr. Shamsul Anuwarul Haque, another Rohingya MP was arrested due to his involvement in CRPP – representing People’s Parliament – led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Later his wife, two grown up daughters and a son were detained on 5th May 2005 on concocted charges and they were sentenced to 17 years of imprisonment while U Kyaw Min was sent to notorious-In-Sein jail for 47 year-imprisonment.
It is a crystal clear that the denial of Rohingyas as citizens as well as an indigenous race of Burma is religiously and politically motivated: because what Rohingyas believe, they do not believe, and what they believe the Rohingyas do not believe; Rohingya community is an ethnic religious minority; the denial is not based on internationally accepted legal ground, but on religious reason alone. Histories of Burma’s constitutional citizenship enactments as well as amendments reveal the Burmese successive rigime’s diabolical plan to rid Rohingyas of Arakan; all citizenship enactments and amendments were/are meant only against the Muslims and not against the Buddhists, even if the Buddhists arrived in Arakan, yesterday; all military and immigration joint operations were/ are also aimed at Muslims alone, and not against Buddhists though there is an ever-ending inflow of Buddhists from Bangladesh into Arakan State.
In reality, the Rohingyas have been driven by the successive Burmese regime out of Arakan only because they belong to different religious minority in Burma; branding and labeling the Rohingyas as foreigners and British-era illegal immigrants are in fact religiously motivated. There have been an evil design for the systematic elimination of an ethnic Muslim community from their ancestral homeland by political and religious persecution, racial discrimination, economic strangulation and other forms of massive Human Rights violations, including a flagrant denial of fundamental liberties, among others, to continue living in their own country. As of today, about 1.5 million Rohingya Muslims were/have been expelled from Arakan, or forced to leave it. Thus, it is an ethnic cleansing through Nazi-like campaign of terror, genocide and expulsion and etc. with an ultimate intention of making Arakan into a purely Buddhist region.
Amnesty International reported, “the Rohingya Muslims are targeted for repression by Burmese security forces simply because they belong to particular religious minority.” Medecines San Frontiers (MSF) reported, “It listed Rohingyas as one of ten world populations in danger.” In fact, the Rohingya Muslims today are extremely at the critical stage and on the brink of annihilation.
And therefore, a permanent solution ought to be ironed out with the concerted efforts of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) as well as peace-loving peoples of the world. The root cause of the Rohingyas’ problem is the flagrant denial of their fundamental liberty, for they profess Islam; all efforts must be directed towards resolving the root cause. The government of Bangladesh committed for a permanent solution of the Rohingyas (refugees) at the time of refugee exodus in 1992, however, it unfortunately stood back later from this stance, letting the Rohingyas in limbo, because of the national interest.
Furthermore, the plight of the Rohingyas is a deep-rooted and long standing issue, and as such it warrants a crucial effort of the international community particularly the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), and Islamic NGOs, peace-loving peoples for a viable solution. The former UN secretary-General H.E Dr. Butros Butros Ghali, in reference to the Rohingya refugee exodus in 1991/92, said, “ UN would endeavour to achieve a political solution to the crisis not merely for the time being but for future as well.” Other world leaders also made similar statements to this effect. Unfortunately, the issue of the Rohingyas has gone by default again and again.
Once again, it is further stressed that violations of Human Rights can not be regarded or pleaded as an internal affairs of a country as the plight of the Rohingya is having dimension of international perspective as well as an Islamic and diplomatic issue that must be of greater concern to the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), as it is regarded the spokesperson of all Muslims, including the Muslim minority in non-Muslims countries. And we appeal the United Nations Organizations, Organization of Islamic Conference, European Union and ASEAN to resolve the root cause of the Rohingyas’ plight while urging Bangladesh, as a neighboring country, being affected as well as interested party to the problem, to play a “key role” for a lasting solution.
Thank you.
Historical Bureau,
Rohingya Information Center (RIC-Arakan),
Muslim Minority Affairs-Global Peace Mission,
. The other major ethnic race, the Buddhists of Arakan, is known as Magh or Rakhine; they arrived in Arakan from Magadah, in North and North-eastern India, after escaping persecution of Hindu revivalism in 8th century A.D. After Bengal became Muslim in 1203 A.D., Islamic influence grew in Arakan to the extent of establishing a Muslim rule in 1430 A.D. with the help of Bengal. The Muslim’s rule in Arakan lasted for almost 350 years – with the exception of some years of intermittent Buddhist rule – until the Burman King Bodaw-hpaya, with the collaboration of some disgruntled Rakhine Buddhist leaders, occupied it ending the Muslim’s rule and influence once for all.
The King Bodaw-hpaya whimsically ruled it for 40 years – letting-loose a reign of terror – in which the Rohingya Muslims irreparably suffered in everything, materially and culturally. Islamic shrines were razed to the ground; thousands of Rohingya were brutally killed while hundreds of thousands others fled to the then British colonial territory (now Cox’s Bazar, Chittagong). Cox’s Bazar takes its name from the British lieutenant, who
was sent to the area to organize and provide relief for the refugees. ‘One of the dissatisfied Rohingya groups, which fled to British’s controlled Chittagong led by Chin Bya, proceeded to conduct raids against the Burman King. In one incident, the King’s troops pursued the Rohingya insurgents into British territory. The incursions led to tension between the British colonial government and King Bodaw-hpaya over the King’s demands for the extradition of the Rohingya insurgents. Consequently, the British invaded the Burman colony –Arakan – and colonized it in 1824.’ Later, the whole Burma was occupied in 1885, and made it an administrative part of India. When Burma was separated from British-India in 1936, Arakan was made a part of Burma, however against the wishes of Arakanese people, thus finally becoming a province of independent Burma in 1948.
Human Rights Watch reported:” The Rohingya were once counted as a part of the Mrauk-U (Mrohaung) kingdom in Arakan which stood independent of both the Burman kingdoms in the Irrawaddy Delta and Central Burma as well as Bengal and the Moguls to the West. Muslim traders came to the area in the eighth century when the local dynasty was seated at Wesali, not far from contemporary Mrauk-U and some of the traders settled along the shores. More Muslim sailors made their way to the Arakan region during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries…In 1404, when Mrauk-U was invaded by the forces of the Burman kingdom at Ava, King Narameikhla sought help from Bengal and expelled the invaders after 26 years with help of a Muslim army”
Immediately after the separation, the nationalist Burmese who gained control of the local power – with an ulterior motive to exterminate Rohingyas, or to rid them out of Arakan – incited the Arakan Buddhists against the Muslims while depicting them as a threat to Buddhists and Buddhist cult/religion. In pursuance of this, Buddhists hatched a conspiracy during the Second World War when British army withdrew from Arakan in the face of sweeping Japanese Advance in 1942, leaving its security in the hands of nationalists. Taking advantage of the administrative vacuum, the Buddhists of Arakan in connivance with the Burma Independent Army (BIA) led by Bo Yan Aung, under the command of Bo Ne Win (later General Ne Win) orchestrated an anti-Muslim pogrom in which about 100,000 Muslims were massacred, about 50,000 others fled to East Bengal and 350 Rohingya settlements were devastated.
At the eve of the independence of Burma in 1948, the Rohingyas were treacherously kept at bay from all negotiations and parleys for taking opposite course and co-operation with the British when the Burmese Independent Army led by General Aung San organized anti-British movement and brought in Japanese Imperial Army to drive the British out of Burma. Some analysts say that the British might have difficulty in re-advancing into Arakan without the Rohingyas. As a revenge against the Rohingyas, when the historic Union Treaty was signed at Panglong Conference, Shan State, between the Burman Leader General Aung San and leaders of the other nationalities on 12th February 1947, Rohingya representatives were tactfully debarred from the conference whereas the entire people of Arakan were secretly represented by the Rakhine Buddhist leaders – thus joining hands in their diabolical plan, the two co-religionist-Buddhist leaders elbowed out the Arakan Muslims from future political role in Burma.
Sensing the great danger awaiting for the Rohingya community in future, Rohingya leaders demanded autonomy of northern Arakan in the future political set-up. Also, they frantically made an appeal to the leader of the Pakistan independence movement Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah to exert his influence on Burmese leaders to recognize the due rights of the Muslims. Consequently, General Aung San assured that the rights of the Arakanese Muslims to be constitutionally guaranteed.
Immediately after the independence in 1948, contrary to Aung San’s assurance ethnic cleansing-armed operations against the Rohingyas were carried out, branding them as doubtful citizens, devastating hundreds of their villages, massacring thousands of them, and triggering a huge refugee exodus to then Pakistan. As the sufferings continued unabated, the Arakanese Muslims organized armed resistance movement against the excesses of the racist regime.
In 1950s, the whole rural area of northern Arakan fell under the Rohingya resistance movement. Failing to contain the insurrection and realizing the threat posed by the armed struggle, the regime in power swiftly changed its tactics and political tones, declared that Rohingya is an indigenous race of Burma like other nationalities. The recognition accorded to Rohingyas as an indigenous-ethnic race of Burma was declared by Ex-Prime Minister U Nu in a radio speech given at 8.00 p.m. on September 25, 1954, and at a public speech delivered in Maungdaw township in 1959. The excerpts are follows:
“The majority population of the northern part of Arakan division are Rohingya nationals and Muslims. Ethnic Rohingyas are as equals as other minorities like Shan, Chin, Karen, Kaya, Mon and Rakhine”
The Frontier Administration office, under the Prime Minister, issued a declaration on 20.11.1960 in recognizing the Rohingya as a race of Arakan. The excerpts of which are as follows:
“Meyu Frontier district bordering East Pakistan is a district with large population. People living in this area are Rohingyas who are Muslims, Rakhine, Mrammagri and Dinnat are hill tribes”
The first elected president of the Union of Burma; Sao Shwe Thaike described Rohingyas as follows:
“Muslims of Arakan certainly belong to one of the indigenous races of Burma…In fact, there is no pure indigenous race in Burma; if they do not belong to indigenous races of Burma, we also cannot be taken as indigenous races of Burma”
Furthermore, as an indigenous race, ethnic Rohingya language programme was broadcasted from Burma Broadcasting Services (BBS), Rangoon with effect from May 15, 1961 till 24 October 1965; the then Minister of Information and Broadcasting U Kyaw Ngein remarked that:
“As per government decision keeping in view of the national unity four more languages – Mon, Pao, Lahu and Rohingya broadcasted 10 minutes each for a language in the indigenous citizen programme”
Upon recognition of Rohingyas as an indigenous-ethnic race, their fundamental rights had been restored to certain extent. Every year, Rohingya representatives particularly Rohingya wrestlers were invited to 12 February Union Day celebration. The regime also promised to grant Rohingyas in northern Arakan a limited local autonomy under the newly established Mayu Frontier Administration (MFA). Thus the Rohingya armed resistance movement (Mujahideen) laid down their arms in response to the peace overtures.
Burma’ s first written constitution of 1947, defined a citizen to be
11. (i) Every person, both of whose parents belong or belonged to any of the indigenous races of Burma;
(ii) Every person born in any of territories included within the Union, at least one of whose grandparents belong or belonged to any of the indigenous races of Burma;
(iii) Every person born in any of territories included within the Union, of parents of both of whom are, or if they had been alive at the commencement of this Constitution, would have been, citizens of the Union;
(iv) Every person who was born in any of the territories which at the time his birth was included within His Britannic Majesty’s dominions and who has resided in any of the territories included within the Union for a period of not less than eight years in the ten years immediately preceding the date of the commencement of this Constitution or immediately preceding the 1st January 1942 and who intends to reside permanently therein and who signifies his election of citizenship of the Union in the manner and with time prescribed by law.
Under the immediately foregoing legislation, Rohingyas are not only citizen but also an indigenous race of Burma. Dr. Aye Maung, one of the author of the 1947 constitution said, “a group of people who entered Burma before 1825 and settled in a defined territory are also indigenous race of Burma; this clause was especially written for Rohingya people” U Soe Shwe Thaike, the President of the Union of Burma said, while he was in the highest office that, “Rohingya is an indigenous race as he himself, and there is no difference between Rohingya and Shan in the case of nationality.” Subsequently, a new Citizenship Act was promulgated in 1948, which restricted Section (iv) to any person “from ancestors who for two generations at least have all made any of the territories included within the Union their permanent home and whose parents and himself were born in any such territories.”
However, the condition of the Rohingyas started to get worse when the infamous General Ne Win, the then chief of Armed forces, took over the power from the democratically elected government of Prime Minister (U Nu) on March 2, 1962. Subsequently, the military regime revoked rights and privileges of Rohingyas that were restored by the previous government; Rohingyas’ socio-cultural and political organizations were forcibly de-registered and abolished.
Following the 1962 coup, the military undertook a series of measures designed to force the Rohingyas to leave the country while withdrawing recognition of them as citizens of Burma, restricting their movement and launching military and immigration joint operations. In 1974, a new constitution was introduced to enshrine the so-called Burmese Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) – one-party state – that in fact, effectively existed since the coup d’e’tat.
The 1974 constitution had put the Rohingyas in a state of more vulnerability in Arakan State, for the regime granted Statehood of Arakan to its co-religionists, Buddhists of Arakan, in the name of “Rakhine State” in utter disregards of the existence of Rohingya Muslims in the state since time immemorial. Subsequently, the military regime promulgated Emergency Immigration Act, with an evil intention to drive Rohingyas out of the country. Soon after the promulgation of the new law, the military and immigration launched a joint operation what they called operation Nagamin (Dragon King) against the Rohingyas in 1977, resulting in several deaths, destruction of their settlements, mosques, economic bases and forcing a mass refugee exodus of nearly 300,000 in 1978.
‘Shortly after the last refugees were forcibly repatriated to Burma in 1980, the BSPP drafted a new Citizenship law, which was promulgated in 1982. Both the timing and contents of the 1982 law indicate that it was deliberately targeted at the Rohingyas, while also discriminating against other Asian immigrants who had entered the country during the British colonial period.
According to this new Citizenship law, “full citizenship is limited to “nationals such as the Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Chin, Burman, Mon, Rakhine or Shan and ethnic groups as have settled in any of the territories included within Burma as their permanent home from a period prior to 1823 A.D” . (i.e., prior to one year the colonized Arakan State). Thus, those persons who had qualified as citizens under the 1948 law, would no longer qualified for citizenship under this new law, however their ancestors came to Burma two generations prior to 1948. In this way, the military regime unilaterally declared the Rohingyas as non-nationals of Burma, contradicting historical realities. In pursuit this, while confiscating old National Identification Documents from those Rohingyas who were previously issued, no new National Identification Documents (ID) have been issued to them.
“The stipulations of the Burma Citizenship law effectively to the Rohingyas the possibility of acquiring a nationality; despite being able to trace Rohingya history to the eighth century, Burmese law does not recognize the ethnic minority as one of the national races”
In short, following the military coup in 1962 and enactment of the new Citizenship Law in 1982, Rohingya Muslims have been undergone the worse kind of Human Rights violations under the successive military regime, the worst being the present junta. Persecution, oppression, social degradation, and expulsion of Rohingyas have been aggressively intensified and aggravated while other forms of Human Rights violations such as arbitrary arrests, torture, custodial and extra-judicial killings, long detention without trial, rape and dishonor of women-folk, forcible contraception, prevention of marriage by creating obstacles, ban on wearing veil, slave labor, porterage and human shields, restriction of movement even one village to another, destruction of mosques and cemeteries, harassment of religious teachers, inflammatory remarks on Islam and ban religious activities against them – Rohingyas – continue unabated.
Confiscation of Rohingyas’ farmland, including Wakaf property and building of new Buddhist settlements and pagodas on the land are carried out occasionally; the Muslims are forced not only for the construction materials but also for forced labours for the purpose. The confiscated lands are distributed to the Buddhist-settlers who were invited from inside and outside of Arakan, including from Bangladesh. The Rohingyas are also forced to contribute agricultural tools, cattle, building materials, forced labor and fund to the new Buddhist settlers. The religiously motivated design of the regime is to gradually starves the Rohingyas out of Arakan, or to cross border into Bangladesh.
And finally, in spite of stark historical realities, the present junta openly and unilaterally branded the Rohingyas as stateless and foreigners as follow:
“Lt. Gen. Mya Thinn (the minister for home affairs) recalled that the Muslim populations of Rakhine State were not recognized as citizen of Myanmar under the existing naturalization regulations and they were not even registered as so-called foreign residents. Consequently, the minister added, ther status situation did not permit them to travel in the country… They are also not allowed to serve in the State positions and are barred from attending higher educational institutions.”
By all legal and international standards, however, the Rohingyas are national as well as an indigenous ethnic group of the Union of Burma, as they have their history, glorious past and had their Sultanate in Arakan. They had been recognized as such by the previous elected governments with their members in Parliament and Cabinet, having a programme as an indigenous people in the official Burma Broadcasting Service (BSS) and participation in official Union Day celebration of Burma’s racial groups in the Burmese capital every year.
More recently, Rohingyas were allowed to form and register political parties in 1989, under the present junta led by former senior general Saw Maung. Two Rohingya political parties – Student and Youth League for Mayu Development (SYLMD) and National Democratic Party for Human Rights (NDPH) – were registered in accordance with the Burma Election law of 1989.
Apart from several individual Rohingyas, the two Rohingya political parties participated in the 1990 general election; the NDPHR won four Parliamentary seats. Under the 1989 Election Law, associate citizens and naturalized citizens are permitted to vote, but are not allowed to stand for election. Foreign residents are not allowed to vote or to take part in election. Rohingyas were not only allowed to vote but also permitted to take part in the election. On August 31, 1991, the NDPHR was even allowed to produce booklet in Burmese called “Arakan State and the Rohingya people: a Short History.” On August 19, 1991, however, the Burma junta forcibly dissolved NDPHR and RYLMD. Following the de-registration of Rohingya political parties, of four NDPHR elected members of parliaments U Ebrahim and U Fazal Ahmed were arrested in June 1992, on fabricated charges.
On 17th March 2005, U Kyaw Min @ Mr. Shamsul Anuwarul Haque, another Rohingya MP was arrested due to his involvement in CRPP – representing People’s Parliament – led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Later his wife, two grown up daughters and a son were detained on 5th May 2005 on concocted charges and they were sentenced to 17 years of imprisonment while U Kyaw Min was sent to notorious-In-Sein jail for 47 year-imprisonment.
It is a crystal clear that the denial of Rohingyas as citizens as well as an indigenous race of Burma is religiously and politically motivated: because what Rohingyas believe, they do not believe, and what they believe the Rohingyas do not believe; Rohingya community is an ethnic religious minority; the denial is not based on internationally accepted legal ground, but on religious reason alone. Histories of Burma’s constitutional citizenship enactments as well as amendments reveal the Burmese successive rigime’s diabolical plan to rid Rohingyas of Arakan; all citizenship enactments and amendments were/are meant only against the Muslims and not against the Buddhists, even if the Buddhists arrived in Arakan, yesterday; all military and immigration joint operations were/ are also aimed at Muslims alone, and not against Buddhists though there is an ever-ending inflow of Buddhists from Bangladesh into Arakan State.
In reality, the Rohingyas have been driven by the successive Burmese regime out of Arakan only because they belong to different religious minority in Burma; branding and labeling the Rohingyas as foreigners and British-era illegal immigrants are in fact religiously motivated. There have been an evil design for the systematic elimination of an ethnic Muslim community from their ancestral homeland by political and religious persecution, racial discrimination, economic strangulation and other forms of massive Human Rights violations, including a flagrant denial of fundamental liberties, among others, to continue living in their own country. As of today, about 1.5 million Rohingya Muslims were/have been expelled from Arakan, or forced to leave it. Thus, it is an ethnic cleansing through Nazi-like campaign of terror, genocide and expulsion and etc. with an ultimate intention of making Arakan into a purely Buddhist region.
Amnesty International reported, “the Rohingya Muslims are targeted for repression by Burmese security forces simply because they belong to particular religious minority.” Medecines San Frontiers (MSF) reported, “It listed Rohingyas as one of ten world populations in danger.” In fact, the Rohingya Muslims today are extremely at the critical stage and on the brink of annihilation.
And therefore, a permanent solution ought to be ironed out with the concerted efforts of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) as well as peace-loving peoples of the world. The root cause of the Rohingyas’ problem is the flagrant denial of their fundamental liberty, for they profess Islam; all efforts must be directed towards resolving the root cause. The government of Bangladesh committed for a permanent solution of the Rohingyas (refugees) at the time of refugee exodus in 1992, however, it unfortunately stood back later from this stance, letting the Rohingyas in limbo, because of the national interest.
Furthermore, the plight of the Rohingyas is a deep-rooted and long standing issue, and as such it warrants a crucial effort of the international community particularly the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), and Islamic NGOs, peace-loving peoples for a viable solution. The former UN secretary-General H.E Dr. Butros Butros Ghali, in reference to the Rohingya refugee exodus in 1991/92, said, “ UN would endeavour to achieve a political solution to the crisis not merely for the time being but for future as well.” Other world leaders also made similar statements to this effect. Unfortunately, the issue of the Rohingyas has gone by default again and again.
Once again, it is further stressed that violations of Human Rights can not be regarded or pleaded as an internal affairs of a country as the plight of the Rohingya is having dimension of international perspective as well as an Islamic and diplomatic issue that must be of greater concern to the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), as it is regarded the spokesperson of all Muslims, including the Muslim minority in non-Muslims countries. And we appeal the United Nations Organizations, Organization of Islamic Conference, European Union and ASEAN to resolve the root cause of the Rohingyas’ plight while urging Bangladesh, as a neighboring country, being affected as well as interested party to the problem, to play a “key role” for a lasting solution.
Thank you.
Historical Bureau,
Rohingya Information Center (RIC-Arakan),
Muslim Minority Affairs-Global Peace Mission,
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