Rohingya Genocide in Myanmar
Myanmar recently became infamous for her brutal and barbaric genocide on Rohingya Muslims. They began the atrocities on 25 August 2017. They killed innocent people including men, women and children. They burnt their houses. They shot them. The notoriously wicked army of Myanmar slaughtered them and burned them alive. The army raped Rohingya women and little girls. They shot people in no man’s land which is known as the buffer zone. The army kept landmines on the border. Many Rohingyas lost their lives and lost their body parts due to the explosion of the mines. They erected the barbed wire fence on the border and electrified it. Myanmar is not allowing the U.N.O representatives and the representatives of other international communities to go to Rakhine state for observation of the situation. So far approximately 500,000 thousand refugees fled to Bangladesh.
Before 25 August 2017, 400, 000 had already been living in Bangladesh. Now, there are nearly 900,000 Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh, old and new taken together. Bangladesh is a small country of 147,570 sq.km. We have more than 250 rivers. It is a riverine plain land. Much of Bangladesh is water. It is difficult for us to accommodate such a large number of refugees in our country. The rate of growth of our economy is moderate. It is around 6% in the recent years. The continuous influx of refugees to Bangladesh is a great hindrance to our economic growth. Bangladesh wants to send back the refugees to Myanmar as soon as the normal living situation is restored there.
Rohingyas are deprived of all human rights in their own country where they have been living for centuries. Their rights to study, work, travel, marry, buy land, practice religion, access health services etc, are restricted. They are forbidden to have more than two children. They have no right to travel without the Government’s permission. In 1982 the Myanmar Government passed a law officially denying citizenship to Rohingyas. In 2014 Rohingyas were excluded from the National census.
Rohingyas are homeless and stateless. They are suffering from identity crisis. United Nation’s Human Rights Chief, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein described this genocide as a “Textbook case of ethnic cleansing”. It is a savage idea in the modern world. Rohingyas are said to be the most persecuted minority in the world, unable to claim citizenship in Myanmar or in any other country. Persecution of Rohingyas by Myanmar army is nothing new. They are doing it phase by phase. In 1977, the Military Junta began operation Nagamine or Dragon King which aimed at screening the foreigners. More than two hundred thousand Rohingya refugees fled to Bangladesh.
In 1982, a new immigration law redefined people who migrated during the British rule. They called them illegal immigrants. This is strange. During the colonial period, The British took labourers from their colonies to other colonies for sugar cultivation, cultivation of other cash crops and for development of infrastructure. They took Indians to Fiji, Myanmar and the Caribbean countries. These people of Fiji and Caribbean countries are not regarded as illegal immigrants. They are citizens of those countries and enjoying all human rights and democratic rights. So, the labourers of Myanmar taken there by the British must be citizens of that country.
In 1991 more than 250,000 Rohingya refugees fled to Bangladesh. The Military Junta raped Rohingya women and there were religious persecutions.
In 2012, riots began between Rohingyas and Rakhine Buddhists. This riot killed more than 100 people. Most of them are Rohingyas. Besides, tens of thousands of people were driven into Bangladesh. Nearly 15,000 were forced to take shelter in the camps in Rakhine. It may be mentioned that Rakhines are Mogs. They are infamous Mog pirates. They came from Magadha of Bihar, India. Later there were intermarriages between the Mongolian race and the Mogs. The Rakhines look like the mixed ethnic group of the Indians and the Mongolians. This happened because of Mongolian invasion.
In 2016, many Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh because of the military crackdown in Myanmar. Rohingya villages were burned by the Burmese extremists. Some Rohingyas were shot while trying to cross the border. Others arrived in Bangladesh by boats. Many dead bodies floated to the river banks of Bangladesh.
The Rohingyas came not only to Bangladesh, but they went to India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. There are 40 thousand Rohingyas in India. Since the late 1970s, nearly one million Rohingyas fled from Myanmar due to widespread persecution.
I don’t want to say much about Aung San Suu Kyi. She is a doll of the Military Junta. She is a mouthpiece of the army. She has no moral standard, no personal values. She did not attend the meeting of the General Assembly of the U. N. O, showing lame excuses. Her speech on television was full of lies. She proved herself to be dishonest. She did not condemn or criticize the genocide. She denied the well-documented accusations, allegations and the pieces of evidence on the genocide. We do not respect her. Awarding Nobel prize to her is a disgrace to Nobel prize. This has undermined the value, dignity, honour and prestige of Nobel Prize.
It is true that she has no power. The designation of State Counsellor is just a signboard. The Military Junta allowed her to possess this title to pacify Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Myanmar. The people of Myanmar do not like the Military Junta. They want Myanmar to be a democratic state in the true sense of the term. They want a change for the better. Aung San Suu Kyi kept silent for a long time and delivered a dishonest and immoral speech to maintain her position as State Counsellor. Instead, she could be a morally inspired good person. She could respect humanity. She could possess human qualities. She could love humans. She could be revered all over the world. Now she is condemned unconditionally and internationally.
The Secretary-General, U. N. O, said, “Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi has a last chance to halt an army offensive that has forced hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingyas to flee abroad”. He told the BBC that unless she acted now the tragedy would be absolutely horrible. He added, “ if she does not reverse the situation now then the tragedy would be absolutely horrible and unfortunately then I don't see how this can be reversed in the future.” He also said, “ It is clear that Myanmar’s military still has the “upper hand” in the country putting pressure “to do what is being done on the ground” in Rakhine. This shows that the whole world knows about Aung San Suu Kyi’s real position in the Government.
There are worldwide condemnations of the atrocities of the Military Junta in Myanmar. The foreign minister of Indonesia flew to Myanmar for an emergency talk with Aung San Suu Kyi.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that violence against the Muslim Rohingyas amounted to genocide.
British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson warned Aung San Suu Kyi that the oppression of the minority was “besmirching” her country’s reputation.
Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani Nobel laureate, said, “Every time I see the news, my heart breaks at the suffering of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar”. She added, “Over the last several years I have repeatedly condemned this tragic and shameful treatment, I am still waiting for my fellow Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to do the same”.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman also questioned Aung San Suu Kyi’s silence. She said, “ Very frankly, I am dissatisfied with Aung San Suu Kyi,” she said it to AFP News Agency.
Maldives said that they would not make any trade activities and relations with Myanmar until the Government took measures to prevent the atrocities being committed against Rohingya Muslims.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met Aung San Suu Kyi as well as Myanmar’s army chief General Min Aung Hlaing to pressure the Government to do more to alleviate the crisis.
Pakistan told to take effective measures to prevent the recurrence of such violence.
Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif added in a tweet: “Global silence on continuing violence against Rohingya Muslims. International action crucial to prevent further ethnic cleansing-UN must rally.”
Thousands gathered in Russia’s Chechnya region for an officially staged rally over the plight of the Rohingya refugees.
Russia, China and India sided with Myanmar. We were not surprised by Russia and China’s positions. During our liberation movement, China supported Pakistani atrocities and persecution on us. We were shocked by Narendra Modi’s role. He worked against Bangladesh and against the persecuted Rohingya refugees. It is not a good idea for a good person. He should remember that Myanmar is China’s baby. If there is a war between India and China, Myanmar will not support India. They will definitely support their big brother, China. If Congress was in power things might be different. There is news that India is selling arms to Myanmar. This is an insult to humanity. It is strange that BJP could possess power in India. In Bangladesh, no religious party will run the Government. They may have one or two seats in the Parliament, but Bangladeshi people will never accept a religious party to have majority seats in the Parliament. Narendra Modi is a communal man. Many people say that he is responsible for Gujrat riot for which 6000 Muslims were killed.
Myanmar says that Rohingyas are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. I believe that they are not illegal immigrants from Bangladesh because people migrate to those countries which are richer than their own countries. Myanmar is not richer than Bangladesh. Their nominal GDP in 2016 was only 66,324 million US Dollars. In the same time, Bangladesh’s nominal GDP was 227,901 million US Dollars (Reference: Wikipedia).
The Bangladeshis go to India because their GDP is much larger than that of Bangladesh. Their economy is much wider than our economy. The Bangladeshis go there for better income and opportunities. There exists no such reason for the Bangladeshis to go to Myanmar.
Rohingyas have been living in Rakhine state for many centuries. Let us look back. Indians were the first people to live in Myanmar. They were Aryans or Indo Europeans. I believe that the Rohingyas have been living in Arakan for more than 4,683 years. Hindu dynasty began in 2066 B. C. Now it is 2017. So, I added 2066 with 2017. The Hindus lived in Arakan for more than 2066 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. After that period they have lived in Arakan for 2017 years. The Arakan Rohingya National Organization said, “ Rohingyas have been living in Arakan from time immemorial” I firmly believe that this is true. We can reveal the truth by conducting research and studies. It is easy in modern times. We have the facilities of DNA Tests. The Burmans and the Tibeto Burmans came to Myanmar much later. At that time all people of South East Asia were Hindus. People of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Bhutan, Nepal, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam etc. were Hindus. There is archaeological evidence of this information. Later, they became either Buddhists or Muslims. The same happened in Myanmar too. The Rohingyas were originally Aryans. They became Muslims at the later stages when Arabs, Turks, Moors, Persians, Afghans etc, Muslim people came to Myanmar in the 8th century and the 9th century.
Arakan was ruled by various legendary Indian Hindu dynasties before the 8the century. In 788 A.D a new dynasty known as the “Chandras” founded the city of vesali. Their territory extended as far north as Chittagong. Vesali was an easterly Hindu kingdom of Bengal. At this time the Government and the people were Aryan Indian Hindus. Burmese people settled in Myanmar in the 10the century. They came much later than the Indian Hindus and the Arabs.
Arabs came to Myanmar in the 8th century. So, the Arabs came to Myanmar before the Burmese people. They came as traders, travellers, administrators etc. Rohingyas claim that they are descendants of the Arabs, Moors, Turks, Persians, Mughals, Pathans and Bengalis. It is a mixed nation, a mixed ethnic group that is different from that of Indians and Bengalis.
They don't speak Bengali. They have a different language. Their language is full of Arabic words. I watch Rohingya news on Rohingya Visiontv. I do not understand it. It is not Bengali.
I understand that their ancestors were Hindu Indians before the 8th century. Later they accepted Islam as we became Muslims in Bangladesh. Our ancestors were Hindus. Hindu blood of Rohingyas was mixed up with the Arabs, Moors, Turks, Persians, Mughals, Pathans and Bengalis.
It seems that they are basically Aryans because they have Aryan facial features. They do not look like the people of the Mongolian race. They have Indian Hindu blood like the Bangladeshis. So, to some extent, they look like the Bengalis and the Indians, but their facial features are not exactly like the Bengalis and the Indians. Most of them have sharper facial features than the Bengalis. Our facial features indicate our racial history.
Arakan was an independent country under Bengal Sultanate until the 18th century. Bengal Sultanate was established by the conqueror Shamsuddin Ilias Shah in 1352. It ruled Bangladesh, West Bengal and Arakan region from 1352 to 1576. The word “Arakan” is an Arabic or Persian name having the same meaning in both the languages. The indigenous name of Arakan is Rohan. The writers who worked at the royal court they mentioned Arakan as the kingdom of Rohan or Rohingyas. The poet Shah Alawal mentioned Arakan as the kingdom of Rohan or Rohingyas. The kings of Arakan had Muslim titles. It is not clear to me why they took Muslim titles. It might be so that they became Muslims or they might do it for political reasons. At that time there had been cordial relations between Arakan and the Muslims. In the kingdom of Arakan, there were Muslim poets and writers in the royal courts. Some of them were Shah Alawal, Daulat Qazi, Magan Siddiqi etc. Muslims worked there as royal advisors, royal administrators, port authorities, Mayors, travellers, adventurers, pioneers, sailors, traders, military personnel, traditional medical men etc.
There is no end of this article because the atrocities of the infamous Myanmar army is still continuing. They are still burning Rohingya refugees alive. The raped women have become pregnant. There are already 40,000 pregnant women who arrived after 25 August 2017. Aid workers and the aids cannot cope with the immense gravity of the problem.The CNN says that after the atrocities of 25 August 2017 more than 30 thousand refugees have been trapped in the hilly terrain of Arakan without basic supplies of food, medicines and water. There is no end of the heartbreaking news. Annan Commission's report is not helping the helpless. It seems that the words will not do. There should be economic sanctions. If necessary the U.N.O should send armed forces to Myanmar. The U.S.A has sent forces to Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. Why is it not possible to send forces to Myanmar to protect the lives of innocent Rohingya refugees? There might be critical political implications of this hypothesis. The intellectuals may throw light on this.
Myanmar should be taken to International Court of Justice. Accountability should not get lost. If someone kills one person he is hanged, but the infamous army of Myanmar is killing thousands of innocent people. If they are hanged hundred times, that is not enough too.
(While writing this article I collected information from Wikipedia, Aljazeera news, Dr Mohammad Yunus’s book titled “A history of Arakan” and Youtube Videos)
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