Extremism Rises Among Myanmar Buddhists

Source nytimes, 20 June

Adam Dean for The New York Times

Buddhist monasteries associated with the fundamentalist movement, which calls itself 969, have opened community centers and a Sunday school program for children nationwide

TAUNGGYI, Myanmar — After a ritual prayer atoning for past sins, Ashin Wirathu, a Buddhist monk with a rock-star following in Myanmar, sat before an overflowing crowd of thousands of devotees and launched into a rant against what he called "the enemy" — the country's Muslim minority.

"You can be full of kindness and love, but you cannot sleep next to a mad dog," Ashin Wirathu said, referring to Muslims.
"I call them troublemakers, because they are troublemakers," Ashin Wirathu told a reporter after his two-hour sermon. "I am proud to be called a radical Buddhist."
The world has grown accustomed to a gentle image of Buddhism defined by the self-effacing words of the Dalai Lama, the global popularity of Buddhist-inspired meditation and postcard-perfect scenes from Southeast Asia and beyond of crimson-robed, barefoot monks receiving alms from villagers at dawn.

But over the past year, images of rampaging Burmese Buddhists carrying swords and the vituperative sermons of monks like Ashin Wirathu have underlined the rise of extreme Buddhism in Myanmar — and revealed a darker side of the country's greater freedoms after decades of military rule. Buddhist lynch mobs have killed more than 200 Muslims and forced more than 150,000 people, mostly Muslims, from their homes.
Ashin Wirathu denies any role in the riots. But his critics say that at the very least his anti-Muslim preaching is helping to inspire the violence.

What began last year on the fringes of Burmese society has grown into a nationwide movement whose agenda now includes boycotts of Muslim-made goods. Its message is spreading through regular sermons across the country that draw thousands of people and through widely distributed DVDs of those talks. Buddhist monasteries associated with the movement are also opening community centers and a Sunday school program for 60,000 Buddhist children nationwide.
The hate-filled speeches and violence have endangered Myanmar's path to democracy, raising questions about the government's ability to keep the country's towns and cities safe and its willingness to crack down or prosecute Buddhists in a Buddhist-majority country. The killings have also reverberated in Muslim countries across the region, tarnishing what was almost universally seen abroad as a remarkable and rare peaceful transition from military rule to democracy. In May, the Indonesian authorities foiled what they said was a plot to bomb the Myanmar Embassy in Jakarta in retaliation for the assaults on Muslims.

Ashin Wirathu, the spiritual leader of the radical movement, skates a thin line between free speech and incitement, taking advantage of loosened restrictions on expression during a fragile time of transition. He was himself jailed for eight years by the now-defunct military junta for inciting hatred. Last year, as part of a release of hundreds of political prisoners, he was freed.
In his recent sermon, he described the reported massacre of schoolchildren and other Muslim inhabitants in the central city of Meiktila in March, documented by a human rights group, as a show of strength.
"If we are weak," he said, "our land will become Muslim."

Buddhism would seem to have a secure place in Myanmar. Nine in 10 people are Buddhist, as are nearly all the top leaders in the business world, the government, the military and the police. Estimates of the Muslim minority range from 4 percent to 8 percent of Myanmar's roughly 55 million people while the rest are mostly Christian or Hindu.

But Ashin Wirathu, who describes himself as a nationalist, says Buddhism is under siege by Muslims who are having more children than Buddhists and buying up Buddhist-owned land. In part, he is tapping into historical grievances that date from British colonial days when Indians, many of them Muslims, were brought into the country as civil servants and soldiers.

The muscular and nationalist messages he has spread have alarmed Buddhists in other countries.
The Dalai Lama, after the riots in March, said killing in the name of religion was "unthinkable" and urged Myanmar's Buddhists to contemplate the face of the Buddha for guidance.

Phra Paisal Visalo, a Buddhist scholar and prominent monk in neighboring Thailand, says the notion of “us and them” promoted by Myanmar’s radical monks is anathema to Buddhism. But he lamented that his criticism and that of other leading Buddhists outside the country have had “very little impact.”

“Myanmar monks are quite isolated and have a thin relationship with Buddhists in other parts of the world,” Phra Paisal said. One exception is Sri Lanka, another country historically bedeviled by ethnic strife. Burmese monks have been inspired by the assertive political role played by monks from Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese majority.

As Myanmar has grown more polarized, there have been nascent signs of a backlash against the anti-Muslim preaching.

Among the most disappointed with the outbreaks of violence and hateful rhetoric are some of the leaders of the 2007 Saffron Revolution, a peaceful uprising led by Buddhist monks against military rule.

 

“We were not expecting this violence when we chanted for peace and reconciliation in 2007,” said the abbot of Pauk Jadi monastery, Ashin Nyana Nika, 55, who attended a meeting earlier this month sponsored by Muslim groups to discuss the issue. (Ashin is the honorific for Burmese monks.) Ashin Sanda Wara, the head of a monastic school in Yangon, says the monks in the country are divided nearly equally between moderates and extremists.

He considers himself in the moderate camp. But as a measure of the deeply ingrained suspicions toward Muslims in the society, he said he was “afraid of Muslims because their population is increasing so rapidly.”

 

Ashin Wirathu has tapped into that anxiety, which some describe as the “demographic pressures” coming from neighboring Bangladesh. There is wide disdain in Myanmar for a group of about one million stateless Muslims, who call themselves Rohingya, some of whom migrated from Bangladesh. Clashes between the Rohingya and Buddhists last year in western Myanmar roiled the Buddhist community and appear to have played a role in later outbreaks of violence throughout the country. Ashin Wirathu said they served as his inspiration to spread his teachings.

 

The theme song to Ashin Wirathu’s movement speaks of people who “live in our land, drink our water, and are ungrateful to us.”

“We will build a fence with our bones if necessary,” runs the song’s refrain. Muslims are not explicitly mentioned in the song but Ashin Wirathu said the lyrics refer to them. Pamphlets handed out at his sermon demonizing Muslims said that “Myanmar is currently facing a most dangerous and fearful poison that is severe enough to eradicate all civilization.”

 

Many in Myanmar speculate, without offering proof, that Ashin Wirathu is allied with hard-line Buddhist elements in the country who want to harness the nationalism of his movement to rally support ahead of elections in 2015. Ashin Wirathu denies any such links.

But the government has done little to rein him in. During Ashin Wirathu’s visit here in Taunggyi, traffic policemen cleared intersections for his motorcade.

 

Once inside the monastery, as part of a highly choreographed visit, his followers led a procession through crowds of followers who prostrated themselves as he passed.

Ashin Wirathu’s movement calls itself 969, three digits that monks say symbolize the virtues of the Buddha, Buddhist practices and the Buddhist community.

 

Stickers with the movement’s logo are now ubiquitous nationwide on cars, motorcycles and shops. The movement has also begun a signature campaign calling for a ban on interfaith marriages, and pamphlets are distributed at sermons listing Muslim brands and shops to be avoided.

In Mawlamyine, a multicultural city southeast of Yangon, a monastery linked to the 969 movement has established the courses of Buddhist instruction for children, which it calls “Sunday dhamma schools.” Leaders of the monasteries there seek to portray their campaign as a sort of Buddhist revivalist movement.

 

“The main thing is that our religion and our nationality don’t disappear,” said Ashin Zadila, a senior monk at the Myazedi Nanoo monastery outside the city.

 

Yet despite efforts at describing the movement as nonthreatening, many Muslims are worried.

Two hours before Ashin Wirathu rolled into Taunggyi in a motorcade that included 60 honking motorcycles, Tun Tun Naing, a Muslim vendor in the city’s central market, spoke of the visit in a whisper.

“I’m really frightened,” he said, stopping in midsentence when customers entered his shop. “We tell the children not to go outside unless absolutely necessary.”

 

Wai Moe contributed reporting from Mandalay and Yangon, Myanmar, and Poypiti Amatatham from Bangkok

Failure to address discrimination could undermine reforms in Myanmar – UN official

Source UN,, 19 June

 

Source

An assessment team talks to displaced people in Pauktaw camp in rural Rakhine, Myanmar, where more than 20,000 Rohingya live. Photo: mildren/OCHA

19 June 2013 – The United Nations human rights chief today urged Myanmar's Government to tackle continuing discrimination against ethnic minorities, warning that failure to act could undermine the reform process in the country.

"Myanmar today can act as a source of inspiration by showing how governments can be transformed by a renewed commitment to human rights," said the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay.

"However, the ongoing human rights violations against the Rohingya community in Rakhine state and the spread of anti-Muslim sentiment across the State and beyond is threatening the reform process and requires focused attention from the Government."

Several waves of clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, the first of which occurred in June 2012, have affected hundreds of thousands of families in the country's western region. Some 140,000 people, mostly Rohingya, remain displaced in Rakhine and tens of thousands of others have fled by boat.

In March, anti-Muslim violence spread to Meiktila in Mandalay region, leaving 43 people dead and more than 1,500 buildings destroyed, according to Government figures. Last month in Lashio Township, Shan State, anti-Muslim violence displaced some 1,400 people and destroyed property, including a mosque and an Islamic boarding school.

"The President of Myanmar has made some important statements on the need to end discrimination and violence and foster mutual respect and tolerance between people of different faiths and ethnicities," Ms. Pillay said. "I believe that the political will is there, but encourage the Government to translate this will into concrete actions."

The High Commissioner said she hoped that discussions on Myanmar during the session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva earlier this month would further encourage the Government to combat discrimination.

In its latest session, the Council urged the Government to allow humanitarian assistance and aid to reach the people and communities affected, and called on authorities to end impunity for all violations of human rights.

Ms. Pillay noted that her Office (OHCHR) continues to receive reports of widespread and systematic human rights violations against Muslims in Rakhine, including arbitrary detention and torture by security forces, as well as extrajudicial killings and sexual violence.

"I am concerned that those involved in mob violence against Muslim communities in Meiktila, Lashio and elsewhere are not being held to account, which sends out a message that violence directed against Muslim communities in Myanmar is somehow acceptable or justified," Ms. Pillay said.

"The Government must urgently pursue legal and institutional reforms, including reforming local orders and national laws that discriminate along lines of ethnicity and religion."

Ms. Pillay also condemned a local order limiting the number of children Rohingya Muslims can have to two, as well as a citizenship law that discriminates against unlisted groups and has left some 800,000 Rohingya stateless.

"This is blatantly discriminatory," Ms. Pillay said. "This order should be rescinded immediately."

In addition, she urged for a full investigation into the shooting of three Rohingya women earlier this month. The women were killed as they took part in a peaceful demonstration in Rakhine, when police allegedly fired into a crowd of demonstrators in Pa Rein village, Mrauk-U Township.

"My Office is ready to support the Government's progressive reforms and to assist in addressing all forms of discrimination and other human rights challenges. I therefore hope to see quick progress in the establishment of an OHCHR Country Office in Myanmar with a full mandate," Ms. Pillay added.

Tun Abdullah Urges Myanmar Muslim Minorities To Give Priorty To Education

Tun Abdullah Urges Myanmar Muslim Minorities To Give Priorty To Education

Source Bernama, 19 June

 

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Bernama) -- Former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi urged the Muslim minority in Asean countries, including those in Myanmar, to give priority to education.

He said that the Muslim communities should seek to empower themselves with education and pursue knowledge which is relevant to their needs in the 21st century.

Abdullah said this in his keynote address at the International Forum on Plight of Muslims in Burma in the 21st century: An Initiative for Solution and the Way Forward, held at the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS), here, Wednesday.

He said that apart from education, the development of youths and economy of the Muslim communities were also important aspects to be considered in order to achieve a better future for the respective Muslim minority.

However, Abdullah, who is patron of IAIS Malaysia, stressed that in trying to achieve this, they should not sought to violence but instead adopt peaceful means and work in tandem with the non-Muslim communities.

He also pointed out that the more developed Muslim communities could also help the less developed ones in order to achieve this success and to secure their rights in society.

Speakers at the half-day forum, organised by IAIS Malaysia, included President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) Dr Chandra Muzaffar, while the moderator was Deputy CEO of IAIS Associate Professor Dr Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil.

Dr Chandra said that it was true that Myanmar has made some changes such as parliamentary elections, changes in economy and was now more open to foreign investment.

"But perhaps these changes will not bring about fundamental transformation in the Myanmar society," he said adding that Asean had a responsibility to try to bring about the change.

"We would like to see Asean governments adopt a more proactive approach to the question of the Rohingyas in Myanmar and of the other minorities," he added.

He said it was important for Asean to speak up and say "lets try to resolve this problem, you must resolve the root of the problem," which is the question of the citizenship and the question of the nature of the regime in Myanmar.

However, Dr Chandra emphasised that the issue must be resolved through non-violence and peaceful methods.

Asean (Association of Southeast Nations) comprise Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam..

-- BERNAMA

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South Thailand Villagers Protest Against Rohingya Refugee Camp Construction

Source Bernama, 9 June

 

BANGKOK, June 19 (Bernama) -- Villagers of a southern Thailand province are currently protesting against the planned construction of a temporary camp for Rohingya migrants in their neighbourhood, China's Xinhua news agency reported quoting police as saying.

An estimated 5,000 villagers of Cha-uad district in Nakorn Sri Thammarat province have signed up a petition in protest of the government's plan to build the camp for Rohingya refugees, who may have fled a sectorial strife inside Myanmar's Rakhine state by boat sailing toward Thai waters in the Andaman Sea.

The planned site for the camp to accommodate thousands of refugees is inside the compound of the 427th Border Patrol Company which lies in proximity of the local schools and villages, according to the Cha-uad protesters.

The local villagers feared that Rohingya migrants might carry epidemics and other diseases as well as jeopardise their safety and livelihood.

However, Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Prasopdee is scheduled to visit the area where the planned refugee camp is located and meet with the protesters on Friday in a bid to solve the problem.

The Muslim Rohingya "boat people", including children and elderly persons, had earlier landed on shore in southern Thailand, exhausted and underfed, sickly and desperately looking for a third country to settle down. Thai authorities provided the migrants with food and temporary shelter before finally sending them off to the sea.

While some of the Rohingyas were taken care of by Thai authorities and southern villagers purely on humanitarian basis, others were reported to have been robbed, assaulted and killed by suspected human traffickers.

-- BERNAMA

SPECIAL REPORT: A Buddhist Minister’s Experience of the Myanmar Muslims Genocide Awareness Convention

Source patheos, 17 June

 

At the Myanmar Muslims Genocide Awareness Convention at the Veterans Memorial Complex Auditorium, Culver City, CA, on June 9th, 2013. Photo by the author.

Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of attending the Myanmar Muslims Genocide Awareness Convention in Culver City, CA. I went because I felt it was important to put my presence where my mouth was: as I've indicated here at this blog, the situation in Burma has been incredibly distressing to me, and rather than simply talk about it, I want to be more involved in helping in any small way that I can to get it resolved.

I've certainly tried to be involved, at least from my desk. My friend Joshua Eaton and I collaborated last year on an open letter from Buddhist teachers and scholars and others on Islamophobia that you can read at buddhistletteronislamophobia.wordpress.com. (Joshua authored the letter — though a few of us offered little tweaks and edits — and I put together the website and helped him get the word out and generate signatures.) Not long after I also added my name to "A Joint Buddhist-Muslim Statement on Inter–Communal Violence in Burma", authored by my friend Bill Aiken at SGI-USA. In addition, I took the time to write a substantial post about Engaged Buddhist icon Aung San Suu Kyi's silence and lack of action on this matter back in November, and you can read that post here.

Satellite imagery by Human Rights Watch that shows "widespread destruction of Rohingya homes, property."

As I explained in that post, for the uninitiated: the Rohingyas are the 800,000 or so Muslims who live in the western part of Burma. They have lived in the area of the Rakhine state for centuries, with much immigration and flight between Burma and Bangladesh — the result of ever-changing political fortunes and conquest. British colonialists encouraged their immigration from Bangladesh in the nineteenth century to boost their agricultural yield in the region. By 1939, the population of Rohingya Muslims (and tensions with local Rakhine Buddhists) had risen to such a degree that a commission of inquiry decided to close the border. Once World War II began, the British left the region, and terrible violence erupted between the two groups. Thousands died. More bloodshed ensued when the Japanese arrived: the Rohingyas were supporters of the Allies — some of them even served as spies for the British — who had promised to support them in their goal of a separate Muslim state. Tens of thousands are believed to have fled to Bangladesh at this point. Following the coup of 1962, more were forced to seek refuge in Bangladesh and Pakistan due to the junta's targeted attacks on the Rohingya community. In 1982, General Ne Win tightened a nationality law in the country and effectively (and illegally) rendered the Rohingyas a stateless people.

Today, the United Nations consider the Rohingyas "one of the most persecuted minorities in the world." Right now there is considerable unrest and devastating violence — dozens are dead, whole villages have been razed, and well over 100,000 have been displaced — in the Rakhine state as a result of what the Agence France-Presse identified as "the rape and murder of a Rakhine women and the revenge mob killing of 10 Muslims." By last fall, Human Rights Watch had issued a report noting that "recent events in Arakan State demonstrate… state-sponsored persecution and discrimination [of the Rohingyas]," including murder, rape, and mass arrest. Reuters released a shocking special investigative report not long after which led with what was essentially a confirmation of HRW's report: "The wave of attacks was organized, central-government military sources told Reuters. They were led by Rakhine nationalists tied to a powerful political party in the state, incited by Buddhist monks, and, some witnesses said, abetted at times by local security forces."

International news agencies and the Buddhist media have since been following the situation closely, and have reported on those in the Burmese sangha who are encouraging violence, as well as those trying to do something to help. It was all this news and information that brought me to the Myanmar Muslims Genocide Convention on June 9th.

Attendees at the Myanmar Muslims Genocide Awareness Convention. Photo by the author.

Attended by easily 250-300 people or more — the crowd grew steadily throughout — the audience at the convention was made of largely persons of South Asian heritage, quite a few of them readily identifiable as Muslim from their hijab, kufi, and other distinctive dress. Things got off to a very strong start with some simple, important points of clarification from host Devin Hennessy. In the context of the event, a "Myanmar Muslim," he stated, was "any Muslim living in the borders of the country, regardless of ethnicity." This is an important point considering that, even though the Rohingya Muslims of the Rakhine state are dominating news coverage right now, there are more than one-hundred ethnic groups in Burma, and many of them have Muslims in their ranks. Hennessy also laid the groundwork for later discussion about proper terminology in this situation by stating that it had "escalated to a genocidal level," and that the word "genocide" was being used specifically because what is happening is "within the criteria" for its use.

These introductory remarks were followed by a dua from a young boy in attendance, and a statement from Culver City Mayor Jeffrey Cooper. As the mayor took to the stage, I braced myself for the usual, rote politician's speech at these sorts of things, only to be very pleasantly surprised: he spoke movingly as both "a Jew and the husband of a Burmese Muslim woman" about how much the cause and the event "hit home" for him. The powerful launch of the event wrapped with the singing of two national anthems: the United States and Burma's.

Before speakers and others rose to speak, the Burmese American Muslims Association presented a video of their own making (with quite a lot of clips from this Al Jazeera English report) to set the stage for anyone unfamiliar with the situation in Burma. Two things in particular struck me in the video presentation, though neither were surprises exactly — just shocking to see explicitly: first, this clip from the BBC, which shows an attack on Muslim-owned gold shop, with police doing nothing and Buddhist monks joining in the violence. Second, the explication of how precisely what's happening in Burma now fits with scholar and Genocide Watch president Dr. Gregory H. Stanton's "8 Stages of Genocide" was arresting.
This segued nicely into Dr. Stanton himself, who presented prepared remarks for the conference via video. He noted that the plight of the Rohingya has been on Genocide Watch's radar for at least two years, and offered useful perspective on what it means to be a Rohingya right now: no ID cards (needed for education and travel), placement in displaced persons camps and forced labor for many, no government employment, limits on marriage/childbirth, coercive situations, and a host of other indignities. Dr. Stanton also highlighted the unique threats to Rohingya refugees and "boat people" fleeing Burma.

In addition, he noted that the attacks on Muslims in Burma had reached the level of genocidal massacre, saying that "the world must speak out." He chastised Aung San Suu Kyi, calling her much-discussed silence as a Nobel Peace Prize laureate "unacceptable." Dr. Stanton also outlined other things that he felt must happen now: (i) Burma's parliament must pass legislation to make the Rohingya citizens with full rights; (ii) displaced persons camps must be dissolved with UN and ASEAN assistance; (iii) authorities must cease all rights violations; and (iv) Bangladesh must stop turning away and pushing back refugees. This was the first of many times that the issue of Rohingya citizenship would come up in the proceedings.

The second instance came with the next speaker, who also spoke via video: Wai Hnin Pwint Thon, campaign officer for Burma Campaign UK. She began by lamenting that the international community still hadn't "gotten the balance right" in terms of praise for Burma's reforms and concrn/penalty over human rights violations. She pointed out that sanctions on Burma had been lifted despite stated benchmarks not being met; by her count, at least eight international laws and treaties are currently being violated by the Burmese government. As many others have pointed out, she reminded the audience that the Rohingya's exclusion from citizenship in particular represents a clear violation of Article XV of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. "Casual racism and intolerance exist and must be acknowledged and confronted," she said. "The Burmese have to decide what it means to be Burmese."

Rev. John Iwohara. Photo by the author.

At this point, after quite a bit of information had been presented, the organizers wisely changed up the pace and brought Rev. John Iwohara of the Venice Hongwanji Buddhist Temple to the stage. "It is difficult to receive a human form," he preached, explaining the Buddhist way of helping others, or, at the very least, "acting less inhumanely." "The pain and loss of losing a loved one is the same for everyone; you don't feel more or less if you're a Buddhist or a Muslim or a Christian or a…" he continued. He invoked the Dhammapada's fifth verse and King Ashoka's experience at the Kalinga War as resources for Buddhists thinking about their approach to this situation. "Let us take this opportunity to exchange anger for love, and violence for beauty. May every life help us find beauty and joy."

The Buddhist representation at the conference continued in a way with Gordon Welty from the U.S. Campaign for Burma, who named Soka Gakkai International president Daisaku Ikeda as "his mentor" during his remarks. A board member of the organization, he offered a helpful blow-by-blow of how things in Burma have escalated to the point of genocide. Like his predecessors, Welty stated that the removal of the 1982 citizenship law was the "first step" in fixing the problem. He also said authorities must "unambiguously" devote themselves to ending mob violence.
A rousing speech by Omar Jubran, executive member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-LA, was followed by a presentation of photographs by Matt Rains. Rains has done striking, groundbreaking work photographing Muslims in Burma, and jolted the audience as much with his words as his images. He claimed to have seen "boxes of DVDs from the national government" delivered to monasteries and video halls, which were then used to stir up anti-Muslim sentiment. "This has all been devised by the government," he said flatly.

Naama Haviv, a genocide expert with Jewish World Watch, spoke next about genocide in general. She joked about being the only speaker who didn't know anything about Burma, but added that genocide happens in places where leaders are "habituated" to it. The 1994 genocide in Rwanda, she reminded us, was actually the second (arguably third) such event in that country's history. With such a violent past in the form of the military junta's reign, she felt Burma was definitely a place that we should continue to watch closely.

Statements of support from House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce and Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Michael Downing were read by Hennessy before the mighty Dr. Maung Zarni rose to speak. Buddhist magazine readers will undoubtedly recognize Dr. Zarni, whose name has been coming up a lot lately: his piece "Buddhist Nationalism in Burma" was a feature in one of the most recent issues of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, and Alex Caring-Lobel interviewed him not long ago for Trike's Awake in the World blog. A Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics, Dr. Zarni received applause when he began his remarks by saying, "I offer my apologies as a Burmese — and a Buddhist at that." Saying he felt compelled to "speak truth at any cost," he castigated his fellow Burmese for "sleepwalking into a genocidal space," adding that "the Buddha himself was not a Burmese, so he would be treated as such an outsider [under current laws and conditions]." Joining the chorus of voices decrying the 1982 citizenship law, he noted that "this problem has come to the Rohingya," and not the other way around.

Dr. Zarni was followed by Dr. Wakkar Uddin (Director General of the All Rohingya Union), Dr. Nora E. Rowley (a humanitarian doctor who works with refugees in Burma), and Htay Lwin Oo (Myanmar Muslims Civil Rights Movement). Dr. Rowley's comments in particular made an impression. She referred to the country's leadership as the "Burman supremacist regime," took the international media to task for "lazily or complicitly" framing the situation as "Rakhine versus Rohingya," and pointed out what Human Rights Watch has observed about the national police force in the country.

A panel discussion and Q&A with Haviv, Dr. Zarni, Dr. Rowley, Dr. Uddin, and Lwin Oo followed. Among the questions addressed was, "Why haven't a majority of Buddhists — who are supposedly against violence — come out to strongly denounce the racist '969 Movement'? Are they silently supporting them?" Dr. Zarni spoke about the false, fear-based narrative of 969, and how it "criminalizes" Islam, and produces a largely complicit Burmese Buddhist population in the country. He then went "on the record" to say that the 969 Movement enjoys "the full backing of the Burmese state." He continued, "In this [current] scenario, the 969 Movement is going to thrive and help destroy the Muslim communities. Therefore, I think it is important for the Buddhist community to wake up to the danger of 969, which is self-destructing the Burmese society."

Dr. Maung Zarni. Photo by the author.

While the question, and Dr. Zarni's response, were helpful, the question that was more important to me personally was, "What can Buddhists, particularly Buddhists outside of Burma, do to help?" So I set out to ask a few of the conference organizers and participants this question.

"Burmese Buddhist is different from other forms of Buddhism," one of the conference's spokesmen, Yousef Iqbal, told me. "So they don't actually look at other Buddhists as ones who can inspire them. Unless you can find a Burmese Buddhist, in Burma's Theravada Buddhist tradition, to say, 'Killing people is wrong and you should not do it,' I'm not sure how much it will do." While he acknowledged the important contributions of Buddhists from other traditions, like Rev. Iwohara, he was clear about what was needed: "More participation from the Theravada, the Burmese Theravada Buddhists. They should be involved, especially those who have spiritual authority."

Iqbal's co-spokesman, Yusman Madha, was more optimistic about the wider Buddhist community. "It would definitely be helpful — definitely," he said in response to my question of whether or not a more pronounced, ecumenical Buddhist response to the situation would be useful. "The teachings of their faith are being flouted by these thugs, and they should now speak up. There are Buddhist monks in Burma speaking up, but they are in the minority."

Dr. Uddin agreed, and told me, "American Buddhist organization can do a lot to influence the [anti-Muslim] monks in Burma. We really believe that American Buddhist leaders can have a tremendous influence on this situation, and teach the heretical Buddhists in Burma that this is not the right path. We would like to open up more of a dialogue with the American Buddhist community, in fact. We've spoken to some monks here in America, and they've been receptive. The vast majority of Burmese Buddhists in America have a totally different vision [then their fellows within Burma]. We can work together — the Rohingya in diaspora and the American Buddhist community."

As we talked, Dr. Uddin added, "We look forward to making these connections with American Buddhists, but we don't have the means and know-how. We don't know who to approach, or how to approach them. We've asked ISNA, the Islamic Society of North America, to help us open up a dialogue. We need to get connected to Buddhist leaders and discuss this and develop strategies."
Before the conference, but even more so after, I was determined to help. After talking with Dr. Uddin about approach, I'd like to say, for whatever it's worth, that I'm happy to help in any way I can to make these connections and get this conversation started. If you're the leader of a Myanmar Muslim group and you'd like assistance making connections, please leave a comment. And if you're a Buddhist leader, please feel free to leave a comment alerting us to anything you might be willing to do or offer.

Dr. Uddin offers a good starting point for us as concerned Buddhists in America: just get Buddhist American leaders to the table with Rohingya in diaspora to talk. At the very least, let's all of us, as Buddhists in America, make sure this happens.
At one point during the conference, it was observed that the event bore the year 2013 in its title, implying that the Myanmar Muslim community is digging in for what portends to be a long struggle. If we as Buddhists in America truly aspire to love all beings the way a mother loves her only child, we need to get to that table with Rohingya leaders and see to it that this doesn't become a yearly event.
- See more at: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/dannyfisher/2013/06/special-report-a-buddhist-ministers-experience-of-the-myanmar-muslims-genocide-awareness-convention/#sthash.d1TByPFJ.dpuf

Double Standard: Burma Imprisons Two Muslim Women for Sparking Okkan Unrest

Source Irrawaddynews, 18 June

A young Muslim boy runs through the ashes of his village in Kyawe Poan Lay, Okkan township, which was razed by a Buddhist mob in May. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON— A Burmese court has imprisoned two Muslim women for sparking communal violence earlier this year in the town of Okkan, near Rangoon, in the latest conviction of minority Muslims while Buddhist suspects have yet to face trial.

The two women were blamed for sparking the violence in April after they were involved in an altercation with a Buddhist monk that angered local Buddhists, leading to anti-Muslim rioting in the city about 100 kilometers from Rangoon. One Muslim man was killed and nine were injured in the unrest, while 81 homes and a mosque were burned to the ground.

"The court gave them a sentence of two years each in prison and hard labor on June 5," an official from the court in Taik Kyi Township, where Okkan is located, told The Irrawaddy.

Burma has seen clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in several states this year, but so far only Muslims have been imprisoned. Muslims make up only about 5 percent of the country's 60 million or so population.

In Okkan, the violence erupted on April 31 after a Muslim woman bumped into a novice monk, spilling his food and breaking his alms bowl. The woman and the monk were detained by the police following the incident, and both were released about two hours later after the woman apologized.

But when they left the police station, another Muslim woman grabbed the young monk and shook him, accusing him of lying to the police. This prompted both Muslim women to be detained. A mostly Buddhist crowd gathered outside the police station and began destroying Muslim properties in neighborhood.

The two women were charged with offending religion in Buddhist-majority Burma. An article of the country's penal code prohibits people from engaging in "deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs."

As of last month, a total of 39 suspects were reportedly in police custody for their alleged roles in the rioting.

"We are summoning witnesses and still investigating the case," an officer at Okkan's police station told The Irrawaddy, adding that he did not have the authority to disclose the exact number of suspects still in detention.

Before the rioting in Okkan, inter-communal strife between Buddhists and Muslims broke out last year in west Burma's Arakan State. The violence spread this year to central Burma and east Burma—with clashes in the town of Meikhtila, then in Okkan, and mostly recently in Lashio. In total, more than 200 people have been killed and more than 150,000 people—mostly Muslims—have been displaced.

In the unrest this year, the government has convicted more than 10 Muslims but no Buddhists.

In east Burma's Lashio Township, a Muslim man was sentenced to 26 years in prison last week after an incident in late May which sparked an outbreak of anti-Muslim violence that left one person dead and displaced about 1,400 Muslim residents. He was convicted of attempted murder, voluntarily causing grievous harm and two drug-related charges.

In the central Burma town of Meikhtila, the Muslim owners of a gold shop and an employee were sentenced in April to more than a decade in prison after a dispute with a Buddhist customer in March sparked anti-Muslim riots that left at least 43 people dead and destroyed hundreds of homes. Last month, seven Muslim men were also imprisoned for the death of a Buddhist monk during that unrest.

In both cases, most of the remaining suspects under investigation are Buddhists. Seventy-four suspects in custody in Meikhtila have been charged with the destruction of property and murder, while 44 suspects in Lashio have been detained but not yet charged, according to regional authorities.

Kyaw Khin, chief secretary of the All Burma Muslim Federation, told The Irrawaddy that he had no comment on the convictions of those who were guilty.

"If they are guilty of the crime, they should be punished fairly—no bias against religion and race," he said.

"But as of now, all the people who have earned imprisonment are minority Muslims. So I have to ask, where are the majority [Buddhist] people who committed the crimes of looting, rampaging, arson and killing during the riots?"

Kyee Myint of the Myanmar Lawyers' Network called on the government to ensure equal treatment for suspects of all religions.

"At the moment, they are just playing a game of politics to please the Buddhist majority," he said.

"But don't worry: They are going to sentence Buddhists who were involved in the riots very soon."

Rushanara Ali MP calls on the UK Government to exert pressure on Burma to end discrimination against the Rohingya and find an urgent resolution to their citizenship status

Source rashanaraali, 17 June

 

Following her recent visit to Rakhine State with Refugees International, Rushanara Ali MP, Shadow Minister for International Development, spoke in a Westminster Hall debate to call for an end to the discrimination against the Rohingya community in Burma and an urgent resolution to their citizenship status.

The humanitarian situation

Since inter-communal violence broke out a year ago in Rakhine State, Rohingya Muslims have been forced into segregated settlements, completely unsuitable for displacement camps, and many have been cut off from lifesaving aid. Rushanara said that the humanitarian situation she witnessed was dire with tens of thousands of people living in makeshift camps lacking food, water, sanitation, adequate shelter and access to healthcare. She said:

"One camp I visited, in Pauk Taw township, was accessible only by means of a two-hour boat journey. Non-governmental organisations had to bring drinking water in on boats, and primary health care was provided just one morning a week. The shores adjacent to the camp were covered in faeces, and dead rats floated in the water just metres from children who were bathing to keep cool in the scorching heat."

"I heard stories of many people—particularly women—dying unnecessarily because of the lack of health care. That experience—observing hospitals turning people away in life-and-death situations because of their ethnicity and the fact that they are not recognised—echoed, to me, apartheid. I do not use that term lightly. Being forced into camps and not allowed out is the equivalent of being a prisoner in one's own country."

Citizenship rights and human rights violations

At the heart of this humanitarian crisis lies the question of citizenship. The Rohingya have been described by the United Nations as "one of the most persecuted minorities in the world." Rushanara condemned the discriminatory orders against the Rohingya, including a directive placing a two-child limit on Rohingya couples and restrictions on their movements, cutting them off from their livelihoods and rendering them reliant on aid. She said:

"When I visited camps, where malnutrition rates are dangerously near emergency levels and where people are forced to live in segregated areas cut off from their livelihoods and are struggling to survive, I did not expect citizenship and identity to top the list of issues that people wanted to talk about. However, every group of Rohingya men and women, including children, to whom I spoke told me that their priority was recognition of their Rohingya identity and the restoration of their Burmese citizenship rights, which were taken away from them in the 1980s."

"Many Rohingyas were keen to insist that ethnic Rohingya Muslims had been in Burma for centuries, yet the national and state Governments deny them their Burmese citizenship and their ethnic Rohingya identity, instead claiming that they are "Kala," a racist derogatory term, or Bengali migrants from Bangladesh. One woman lost her entire family—I met a group of women, many of whom had similar stories—and she told me, "If, after having lost everything, including my whole family, because we are Rohingya Muslims, the Government still don't recognise me as Rohingya in my own country, then I might as well be dead."

Following the lifting of EU sanctions she called on the Government to use what leverage remained to exert influence on the Burmese authorities to prevent human rights violations.

Rushanara also called on the UK Government to:

• Press the Burmese authorities to facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access to Rakhine State and other parts of Burma.
• Improve conditions for displaced people, particularly in flood prone areas, and address shelter needs as a matter of urgency.
• Exert pressure on the Burmese authorities to restore the Rohingya's Burmese citizenship status as a matter of urgency.
• Encourage the Burmese authorities to support a safe and voluntary return process for Rohingya with adequate protection.
• In light of Human Rights Watch's recent report 'All we can do is pray' which concluded that crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing were being committed towards Burma's Rohingya Muslims, she called on the UK Government to exert pressure on our international partners for an international inquiry into the events of June and October 2012 and March 2013.

A full transcript of the debate can be found here.

British Minister calls on international community to work together to tackle Burma’s forgotten crises

Source gov-uk, 18 June

UK humanitarian support is making a difference in Burma but more needs to be done by the international community

Development Minister Alan Duncan meets Aung San Suu Kyi. Picture: Tim Mitzman

Greater efforts must be made to help vulnerable people at risk from flooding and disease in Burma's Rakhine and Kachin States and support peace talks to resolve Burma's inter-communal conflicts, Development Minister Alan Duncan has said on a visit to Burma.

In Burma, Alan Duncan met senior ministers in the Burmese government, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, ethnic leaders and civil society groups to discuss how the UK can help to support peace talks to resolve Burma's inter-communal conflicts and help with the country's continued development.

During a visit to Rakhine, one year on from the start of violence that has seen 140,000 mostly Rohingya Muslims displaced from their homes, the minister saw how British support has already helped to combat the effects of monsoon rains by providing urgently-needed clean water, sanitation facilities and nutritional feeding for infants for more than 80,000 people.

Alan Duncan said:

The situation I have seen in Rakhine today is getting desperate. The monsoon rains have started with some families still living in tents, exposed to the elements and at serious risk of flooding and disease. The plight of those in Kachin is equally worrying. Humanitarian agencies in both Kachin and in Rakhine are doing what they can, but it is simply not enough and sustained access is critical.

UK humanitarian support is making a difference and we are actively looking at what more we can do, but now the international community must wake up to these forgotten crises and come together to find lifesaving support and a lasting solution.

The communities too must also work together towards a peaceful resolution. In particular, the Rohingya people must be allowed freedom of movement and freedom to work. No country can end aid dependency if some people are locked out of jobs and growth.

The Minister also raised the plight of the 80,000 people in Kachin who still cannot return home as a result of violent conflict. The UK is currently the largest bilateral humanitarian donor to Kachin State.

Notes to editors

• British support to Rakhine now totals £6.4m. £4.4m announced in May 2013 is providing:
  • nearly 80,000 people with access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation facilities
  • malnourished children aged 0-59 months with treatment for acute malnutrition in rural camps
  • hygiene kits to nearly 40,000 people.
• British support in Rakhine is being delivered by a consortium led by Save the Children, along with Solidarites, Action Against Hunger (ACF) and the Consortium of Dutch NGOs
• The UN's current Rakhine response and preparedness plan needs US$80 million to meet the needs of 115,000 displaced people until the end of June. The plan was 83 per cent funded as of 13 June, with $14 million still urgently needed to implement camp management, water and sanitation, and other activities to help people survive the monsoon season.
• In December 2012, the UK announced an additional £1.5 million of humanitarian support for people displaced by the conflict in Kachin. This takes the total support provided to £3.5m with the UK the largest bilateral humanitarian donor to Kachin State.
• The UN's Kachin response is currently funded with US$ 13.9 million (27.4%) of the $50.9 million it needs to meet people's humanitarian needs.
• There has been recent progress towards an ending of hostilities between the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and the government. Political dialogue will be essential if the plight of those affected by generations of conflict is to be improved.
• Last week, the first UN international aid convoy for almost a year was able to deliver humanitarian assistance in non-government controlled areas in Kachin state. Regular and sustained access for more humanitarian aid is needed to all areas of the state.
• The UK is one of the largest bilateral donors to Burma, with a programme of over £180 million from 2011 – 2015. This is focussed on areas such as health, education and wealth creation, as well as humanitarian aid to those affected by conflict.

More education centres for refugee kids in Malaysia

Source nst, 18 June

ESSENTIAL: A non-governmental organisation is setting up three more Rohingya Education Centres in Kedah, Pahang and Johor in the next three years.

BUKIT MERTAJAM: THE Future Global Network Foundation (FGN) will be setting up three more Rohingya Education Centres (REC) in Kedah, Pahang and Johor in the next three years.

Its chairman Ahmad Azam Ab Rahman said the first of the three centres would be set up in Alor Star next year, followed by two more in Kuantan and Kluang in the next couple of years.

Ahmad said the REC will equip the Rohingya community seeking refuge in this country with basic education and knowledge for their survival.

FGN had opened two REC in Klang, Selangor, and Permatang Pauh here, operated by a non-governmental organisation, Wadah Percerdasan Umat Malaysia (Wadah).

"REC was initiated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which funds the programme and FGN, as the project manager, accommodates about 270 students aged from 6 to 14 years throughout the centres," he added.

Meanwhile, Penang REC headmaster Mohd Arif Abdul Latif said the centre, which began its operation in 2010, has a headmaster and six teachers.

He said the centre conducts Bahasa Melayu, English, Mathematics, Science, Moral Education and Arts classes for the students.

"Our teachers are highly qualified. Some of them have degrees in their respective subjects," he said.

Arif said the curriculum was based on the standard set by the Education Ministry and monitored by the Takmir Education Foundation.

"Our centre operates from 7.30am to 1.30pm from Monday to Friday, and after the classes, the children attend the Islamic religious classes at the madrasah nearby," Arif said.

The United Nations had reported that the Rohingya community, which hails from the Rakhine state of western Myanmar as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.

Many Rohingya have fled to ghettos and refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh and the Thai-Myanmar border following ethnic unrest over the past 35 years.

According to the UNHCR, as of May 31, there were least 30,000 Rohingya refugees seeking shelter in this country.

Ahmad Azam Ab Rahman (fifth from left) launches the Penang Rohingya Education Centre Sports Day at the Sony Sports Complex in Seberang Jaya.

Read more: More education centres for refugee kids - Johor - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/streets/johor/more-education-centres-for-refugee-kids-1.302335#ixzz2WiYO8VUP

Ban Buddhist-Muslim Marriage: Burma Monks

Source onislam, 14 June

RANGOON — Adding to religious tensions in Burma, about 200 senior Buddhist monks have presented a draft law seeking restrictions on marriages between Buddhist women and Muslim men, a move widely criticized by the country's Muslim minority.

"In terms of human rights, this type of restriction would be an abuse," Kyaw Khin, secretary of the All Myanmar Muslim Federation, told the Irrawaddy news site on Thursday, June 13.

Myint, a senior lawyer and member of the Myanmar Lawyers' Network, warned against passing a prohibitive religious rule into law, adding that the proposed law would violate basic human rights.

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He cited the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 16 which states that "Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family."

The draft law first came to light during a Thursday convention in Rangoon attended by about 200 senior Buddhist monks.

The meeting, held ahead a two-day conference, discussed a new draft law preventing interfaith marriage between Buddhist women and Muslim men.

According to the monks, highly revered in Burma, the law would resolve ongoing tensions between Buddhists and the country's Muslim minority.

"We hold this meeting with the intention of protecting our Buddhist race and our religion, and also to have peace and harmony in our community," said U Dhammapiya, a senior monk and a spokesman for the convention.

U Wirathu, an extremist nationalist monk who has led numerous vocal campaigns against Burmese Muslims, said he was delighted with the plans.

"I have dreamed of this law for a long time. It is important to have this law to protect our Buddhist women's freedom," he said during a press conference.

Wirathu leads the controversial 969 campaign that is being implemented all over Burma that encourages Buddhists not to do business with Muslims and only support fellow Buddhists' shops. Burma's Muslims -- largely of Indian, Chinese and Bangladeshi descent -- account for an estimated four percent of the roughly 60 million population.

Muslims entered Burma en masse for the first time as indentured laborers from the Indian subcontinent during British colonial rule, which ended in 1948.

But despite their long history, they have never fully been integrated into the country.

Violating Rights

Citing examples in Singapore and Malaysia, the monks said they would collect signatures to pressure Burma's Parliament to adopt the law.

"We found that there was peace and harmony in Singapore after they ratify this law in their country," U Dhammapiya told reporters.

"This is why we should not have a problem [passing a similar law] in our country."

The monks added that they would send letters to President Thein Sein, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all other lawmakers.

Yet, Muslims confirmed that the law would find little support in the parliaments, denouncing it as violating basic human rights.

"There would be a long way to go, if it is to be passed in Parliament," Myint, a senior lawyer and member of the Myanmar Lawyers' Network, said.

"I believe it won't happen."

Burma's government, he said, "should be careful not to pass a law just to protect one particular religion," he added at a monastery in Rangoon's Hmawbi Township.

The new law comes at a time of growing sectarian tensions between Burma's Buddhists and Muslims.

More than 200 people were killed last year in sectarian violence between Buddhist mobs and Bengali-ethnic Muslims, known as Rohingya in western Burma.

The violence has forced thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee their homes and stay in refugee camps.

Human rights groups have accused Burmese police and troops of disproportionate use of force and arrests of Rohingya Muslims.

Human Rights Watch has accused Burmese security forces of targeting Rohingya with killing, rape and arrest following last year's unrest.

 

Rudderless & Drowning in Tears: The Rohingyas of Myanmar

Source ipcs,

Within Myanmar there appears to be a decisive state policy designed in the interest of the government, military junta, Buddhist Rakhine, nationalist parties and other ethnical factions. With the 1978 'ethnic cleansing' propaganda targeted against the Rohingya community, Myanmar, has witnessed one of the most devastated large-scale sectarian strife's in history. Albeit, political pressure, Myanmar, till today, maintains its ideological fancy in its inhumane treatment exhibited towards the Rohingya. This national venture whilst supported by other Buddhist nations predominantly of Burman and Rakhine majority groups has left the Rohingya community a dismantled lot. However, it was only until 2009, when a worldwide coverage of the plight of the Rohingya vehemently spurred the international community in providing immediate reprieve to the issue. Within the larger framework of social dynamics in Myanmar, this brief focuses on the ethnic conflict affecting

What has been the internal perceptions of the Rohingya conflict within Myanmar? And what has been the response of the international community so far? Will the Rohingyas continue to remain as, what has been termed by the UN - one of the most persecuted minorities in the world?

I
The Boat People: Rudderless & Drowning in Tears

The Rohingyas identify themselves as the native settlers of Myanmar backed to the 7th century and disregard all literature that propagates them as illegal migrants. For them, they are the native settlers who are being persecuted due to their varying linguistic and cultural traits.

The Rohingya highlight their grievances by advocating the atrocities directed towards them. They re-emphasize that they have been clustered into forced labour with their lands confiscated by the Myanmarese Army. Their freedom of movement restricted; impermissible marriage within their community without prior official approval that is further accustomed with a heavy fee. With no access to higher education or employment opportunities, 20% of Rohingya are malnourished wherein their life enhancing options are extremely fatal. Due to their statelessness, most countries are reluctant to consider the Rohingyas as refugees and often label them as economic migrants. Moreover, they are quite frequently forcibly pushed back by the neighbouring states, being considered as socio-economic and security threats, as and when they navigate across seas seeking refuge in these countries.

For the Rohingya, the conflict is not a mere struggle to reduce the widened ethnic disparity gap, there is mounting evidence that suggests the government opposes the community due to the perceived threat of an economical-strain propaganda which has directed further revulsion towards the Rohingya populace. While the Rohingya fear the government of eventually propagating a human genocide against them, thus, wiping off their core existence in the near future. Therefore, they emphasize an urgency of international humanitarian intervention sought with an aim to promoting awareness among cross-transnational borders about their current ordeal. Although, the international media in 2012, played a crucial role in garnering attention to the grave plight of the Rohingya, it is generally skewed towards emphasizing the perceived unsympathetic role played by Bangladesh and Thailand in turning back genuine refugees, and criticizes the country's overall approach towards the accommodation of vulnerable individuals.

The Rohingya identify the conflict as a massive human rights violation. They believe the claims of the state government and other pre-dominant Buddhist factions are unsubstantial as they have birthrights in the state. Urging for justice at the earliest, the Rohingya seek support from regional organizations as well such as the OIC, ASEAN etc to help provide them with basic sustenance rights from within the state. They question the Muslim solidarity when it comes to issues and perpetual conflicting violence administered against other Middle Eastern states or even Non-Middle Eastern Muslim states. The Rohingya languish their Muslim counterparts of not providing significant heed to their plight considering them as followers of Islam as well. Juxtaposing such reasoning to their varying linguistic characteristic.

The Rohingya issue has historical foundations, but it has only received global attention in the recent years, whenever it has contributed towards destabilizing either existing or emerging power configurations in the region. The interest in the new influx of Rohingya into Bangladesh, a trend that continues to date, is connected to the broader politics of Burma's democratic 'opening'. The new refugees are fleeing bloody clashes between the Muslim Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists in Burma's remote but resource-rich Rakhine State. Their desperate escape from the present circumstances depicts their anxiety in the hope of a better future. Armed gangs from both communities have killed dozens, burned down several villages, and displaced tens of thousands of people.

The Rohingya plight has embarrassed the state and the international community who pin for a seamless transition of Myanmar to democracy through the reforms being pushed forward by Burmese president Thein Sein and supported by Aung San Suu Kyi. Inside Burma, Given these circumstances, it is little wonder that the international obligation to protect the Rohingya is often sidelined in favour of economic and geo-strategic considerations. A timely look to help us awaken to the reality of our stupor and apathy towards the Rohingya voices is essential. But unfortunately, the impetus for humanitarian action often comes more from the dictates of realpolitik than it does from the state itself.

II
Internal Perspectives: The State and Other Majority-Minority Groups

What has happened recently is just more of a symptom of a long history of discriminatory treatment toward the Rohingya. With the 1982 Citizenship Law, the then military ruler Ne Win stripped the Rohingya of their citizenship. The government, particularly the military junta, has handled this situation badly for decades, encouraging a perception that the Rohingya are stateless, and making little effort to integrate them or resolve this problem in a sustainable way.

Aside from being stateless, the Rohingya are subject to a rule, embedded in marriage licenses, that they are only permitted to have two children. They lack access to health care, food, and education and are subject to forced labour and travel restrictions. The religious dimension of the Rohingya problem is also particularly troubling, since the military junta over the past 20 years particularly emphasised Buddhism as the religion of the 'true' Burmese people.

The current government of President Thein Sein, which has been lauded for implementing political and economic reforms over the last year, has also come under criticism for continuing the junta's discriminatory policies towards the Rohingya. The Rohingya were given voting rights in Myanmar's landmark 2010 elections, with the promise of citizenship if they voted for the military regime's representatives. Citizenship, however, is still not restored. The plight of the Rohingya has yet to be made an integral part of any reconciliation program involving ethnic groups, which is a dismaying warning sign.

More disturbing is the fact that even some pro-democracy dissidents from Myanmar's ethnic Burman majority, refuse to acknowledge the Rohingya as compatriots. Pro-democracy organisations are of the view that the Rohingya are not a Burmese ethnic group, and that the root cause of the violence largely comes from across the border and foreign countries. Their nationalist stance further adds that countries that criticise Myanmar for its refusal to recognise the Rohingya should respect the country's sovereignty. They are not alone in this position.

Thein Sein has said that the violence in Rakhine, known as Arakan State in British colonial times, was fuelled by dissatisfaction harboured by different religious and ethnic groups and the desire for vengeance, warning that it could scuttle his reform agenda which is key to lifting of international sanctions. Thein Sein's reform plans include negotiations with armed ethnic groups fighting for autonomy. However, even the new democratic reforms have not altered the perception of the Rohingya with President Thein Sein suggesting in July 2012, in the wake of this violence, that he would not recognise the Rohingya or their rights and wished to turn over the entire ethnic group to the UNHCR. Buddhist monks, contrary to the teachings of the Buddha, staged anti-Rohingya marches in September to declare their support for the president's proposal.

In mid-June 2012, in the name of stopping such violence, the government declared a state of emergency. But it used its border security force to burn houses, kill men and evict the Rohingya from their villages. In July 2012, the Myanmar government did not include the Rohingya minority group - classified as stateless Bengali Muslims from Bangladesh since 1982 - on the government's list of more than 130 ethnic races and thence, the government stated that the Rohingya had no claim to Myanmar citizenship.

As state-sanctioned abuses against the Muslim community continued, Thein Sein urged neighbouring Bangladesh to take in the Rohingya. In the process, Thein Sein attempted to hand over the group to the UN refugee agency. Interestingly, later in October 2012, In an assurance to the international community, he refurbished his stance by stating his government will consider resolving contentious rights issues facing the Muslim Rohingya minority, including the possibility of providing them citizenship. Thein Sein also said the government was prepared to look into the resettlement of tens of thousands of Rohingyas displaced by months of deadly communal violence with Rakhine Buddhists in western Rakhine state during 2011-12. It has been the clearest indication yet that the government is moving to address the plight of the Rohingya. Curiously, the move came ahead of US President Barack Obama's historic visit to Burma, the first by a sitting American president.

Human rights activist, head of opposition and NLD leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has also been criticised for failing to speak out. Aung San Suu Kyi has taken a neutral stance, despite earlier pleas from the EU to take a stand on the issue. The parliament's Rule of Law Committee - chaired by Aung San Suu Kyi - and ethnic leaders to discuss steps to prevent new clashes between Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist Rakhines requested the government to clearly define its citizenship policies, maintain transparency in its efforts to secure the region, and to act in accordance with Myanmarese law, thus washing its own hands off the citizenship issue. Interesting to note here is, that although the Committee spoke about bringing the violence to an end, it made no specific mention of the Rohingya themselves. Rather, it seemed to pass the onus to do so largely on the government.

In conclusion, it seems the State under President Thein Sein has changed its stance over the issue although whether these measures will remain sustainable is yet to be seen. It cannot be undermined that the purpose of this change in perception has widely been viewed as a move to engage more with the outside world and build confidence on Myanmar's democratic reformation, rather than an ideological shift in the people's perception of the Rohingya. Aung San Suu Kyi's telling silence and diplomacy on the issue further problematizes the crisis.

III
External Interpretations: The UN, ASEAN, OIC, EU, Thailand, Bangladesh, and the US

The UN has faced many impediments in its efforts to provide relief and aid in the affected zones. Besides being sometimes denied access to these regions, they incur hostile attitudes towards them. The reality is that the Rohingya are a hated minority in the state, and therefore, any agency helping them is going to incur local hostilities.

Thein Sein's statement in July 2012, finding it impossible to accept the Rohingyas as their ethnic nationals was rejected by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Later, before President Obama's visit in November 2012, Thein Sein took a new stance on the issue, which has since allowed the UN and its agencies to largely gain access to the affected zones.

The suffering of the Rohingya in Myanmar's Rakhine state also led then ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan to make a statement and predicting that the Rohingyas could become radicalized and the entire region destabilized. The ASEAN fears that if the Rohingya become radicalised, the area risks becoming a zone of violence, which could damage cooperation in ASEAN and East Asia. The ASEAN has been focusing on providing humanitarian engagement to help defuse the humanitarian fallout from the Rohingya crisis. It has offered to work closely with the Myanmar government and the UN in the same way that this tripartite arrangement effectively provided relief to the victims of Cyclone Nargis in 2008. However, Myanmar has rejected the offer.

In August 2012, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned the Myanmar authorities for the "violence" against Rohingyas and the denial of the group's citizenship, and vowed to bring the issue to the United Nations General Assembly. It announced before the summit that it had received a green light from Myanmar to assist displaced Rohingya. It said Myanmar gave its agreement following talks in the capital Yangon between a delegation from the pan-Islamic body and President Thein Sein on the "deplorable humanitarian situation in Rakhine state." The delegation assured Thein Sein that Islamic humanitarian organisations were willing to provide aid to all residents of the strife-torn state. The Myanmar government, however, later reversed the decision following protests by Buddhist monks and laymen. The Myanmar government even blocked the OIC from opening an aid office to assist displaced Rohingya due to the violence in Arakan state.

Several protests took place in Iran in 2012, condemning the attacks and called on other Muslim states to take a "firm stance" against the violence. In Pakistan, too, protests against the anti-Muslim riots were lodged by various political parties and organisations, who called for the government, the UN, the OIC and other human rights organisations to take notice of the killings and hold Myanmar accountable. In Saudi Arabia, the Council of Ministers of Saudi Arabia also condemned the "ethnic cleansing campaign and brutal attacks against Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya citizens" and urged the international community to protect "Muslims in Myanmar". Further, King Abdullah ordered $50 million of aid sent to the Rohingya, in Saudi Arabia's capacity as a "guardian of global Muslim interests".

In 2009-10, Thailand's military was accused of towing hundreds of Rohingya out to sea in poorly equipped boats with scant food and water after they tried to flee Myanmar, a charge Thailand "categorically denied" back then. The accusations had surfaced after nearly 650 Rohingya were rescued off India and Indonesia, some saying they had been beaten by Thai soldiers. Hundreds of the boat people are still believed to be missing at sea. The case had raised the profile of the group's struggle at that time.

However, a change in policy was visible in the aftermath of the Rohingya-related violence in 2011-12. Thailand's ''help on'' policy was introduced to replace the ''pushbacks'' campaign, which had previously led to the deaths of hundreds of boatpeople. Under the ''help on'' policy, the Thai Navy and onshore paramilitary volunteers intercept the Rohingya boats in open waters to provide passengers with food, water, medical assistance, and mechanic help if required. But they will not allow the boats to land in Thailand. Additionally, in November 2012, Thailand also provided US$100,000 in humanitarian aid to the Myanmar government to assist victims of violence in Rakhine state, a paradigm shift from its previous stance on the issue.

According to an editorial in Open Democracy, there is a dichotomous portrayal of the Rohingya as both victim and problem by countries such as Bangladesh and Malaysia, which acknowledge that there is a problem but are engaged in a stalemate with regard to solutions. Each is unwilling to act first, for fear of attracting still more Rohingya. They call for a "holistic" or "regional" solution, which largely underscores the position that Myanmar must concede that the Rohingya are citizens of the country, and therefore, should welcome all Rohingya back, regardless of the fact that they may have been born and brought up in Bangladesh or Malaysia. Intriguingly, in Malasyia, the UNHCR is allowed to register the Rohingya but not to protect them as refugees.

There is a narrative of convenience, in the case of Bangladesh, where a small number (less than 30,000) of Rohingya are recognised as refugees, and a much larger group (over 300,000) who share the same characteristics are viewed as economic migrants. After deliberations between the two countries, the erstwhile junta-led Myanmar government took back most of the 1991 refugees leaving about 28,000 who still live in UN-run refugee camps on the Bangladesh side of the border. However, since 1992, Bangladesh has also refused asylum to them.

Already, such fears have aroused anti-Rohingya sentiment among some Bangladeshis, and initially Bangladesh's government tried to force the refugees back without assisting them. It increased border security in response to the riots. Numerous boat refugees, escaping from the riots into the bordering territories of Teknaf and Cox Bazaar in Bangladesh by crossing the Naf River in their rickety wooden trawlers, were turned aside by the Border Guard. About 1500 Rohingyas were returned from Bangladesh by their border guard forces despite pressure from the HRW and UNHRC. The Bangladesh government, citing high population pressure on the existing limited resources in an impoverished region, refused to take in these refugees and asylum seekers. It was only after some villagers risked arrest by sheltering refugees in their homes that the government began to offer humanitarian aid, before sending them back on their boats.

Other countries, particularly those that do not have to deal with large numbers of Rohingya arriving unannounced on their shores, acknowledge that the Rohingya are victimised by Myanmar; and also, that receiving countries fall short of their protection obligations. This narrative seemingly says the right things, but is not loud, forceful or timely. The West, including the EU, United Kingdom and the US, whilst remaining "deeply concerned" by the situation and calling for "all parties to exercise restraint, added that they would continue to watch developments closely. Myanmar has become a destination for capital investment now that the US, the EU, and Canada have accepted the government's narrative of democratic transition and have largely lifted the economic sanctions they began applying after 1988. It is crucial to highlight here that these measures did not prevent China, India, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and multinational oil companies from doing business with the Myanmarese. The US, EU, and the UK have welcomed Myanmar's first steps toward democratisation, but have also set down conditions for strengthening ties, including an end to ethnic violence. Increasingly, however, this has not impeded the countries from indulging in economic ties with the nation.

This juxtaposing narrative finds its roots in several factors. One is that the West does not want to be viewed or portrayed as meddling in the internal affairs of the country. A connected reason may be a reluctance to step in and share responsibility. Taking a strong stance on the issue would make it obligatory to take prompt actions under international human rights law and the doctrine of responsibility to protect (R2P). There is more rhetoric at play here, which shrouds the deeper realpolitik agenda behind these countries' foreign policy agendas vis-à-vis Myanmar. Geo-political and economic strategies with regards to China, which has dominated the Myanmarese economy for several decades now, are of primary concern to the West.

Myanmar is considered the last frontier market of a world. In a scenario of several economic crises, the desperate search for new resources, markets, and spheres of influence, Myanmar's "opening up" and democratisation process has been a welcome change. Therefore, in a quest for fulfilling self-interests, sanctions (which were considered hardy leverages to direct the reforms process) are being rapidly lifted and international obligations to step in to protect the most vulnerable have sadly been relayed to nothing but rhetoric.

IV
Conclusions

Not only does the exclusion of the Rohingya pose a threat to the process of national reconciliation, it also poses a serious security threat and economic loss. Due to the state's denial to gainfully employ them, the youth remains in a state of frustration and is ripe for indoctrination by militant outfits. They are also vulnerable to human trafficking all over the Southeast Asian region. The cost of not handling this issue is much higher than the government of Myanmar has so far estimated. Considering that their concentration is in the Rakhine state, Kyakphue and Sittwe being two of the cities with a comparatively high Rohingya population, it might impact Myanmar's investment prospects adversely.

Rakhine state has an international border with Bangladesh, access to the Bay of Bengal and consequently, all the countries in the BoB region, including India and the offshore oil and Natural Gas blocs where major exploration work by international companies is being carried out. In fact, Kyakphue port is the origin of the oil and gas pipelines being built by China National Petroleum Corp. that connects it to the Yunnan province. Therefore, having simmering tensions in the state may not be in the best interest of the country as that affects the safety of institutional infrastructure that supports investments.

It is important for Myanmar to be seen as a stable state. It will perennially have to contend with the fact that it is one of Asia's most ethnically diverse states, and therefore, people are watching to see how the government handles the tensions. The first step is for Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar government to acknowledge that the Rohingya exist.

The continued clashes have consistently raised concerns about the fragility of Myanmar's democratic reforms process. It is crucial, in this regard, to contextualise Brad Adams, Human Rights Watch's Asia director views on the issue whilst developing a roadmap ahead. He asserts that so much justified excitement about Myanmar's reforms and emergence could imply that the chances of the Rohingya issue being taken seriously will be even lower than usual. He adds, and this could well be a moot point, that, "If the atrocities in Arakan had happened before the government's reform process started, the international reaction would have been swift and strong. But the international community appears to be blinded by a romantic narrative of sweeping change in Burma [Myanmar], signing new trade deals and lifting sanctions even while the abuses continue." Therein lies the dichotomy of a people in crisis, which must be expeditiously addressed in times to come.

References

Huda, Sadaqat Mirza. 2013. "The Rohingya Refugee Crisis of 2012: Asserting the need for Constructive Regional & International Engagement." South Asia Journal. New Jersey: p.47.

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-rohingya-of-burma-are-on-the-edge-of-disaster-why-wont-the-world-act-8513536.html

http://www.wfp.org/content/pushed-burma-stateless-rohingya-flee-boat

'Persecuted Burmese tribe finds no welcome in Bangladesh', The Guardian, U.K., 7 August 2012 and 'Nowhere to Turn: Rohingya People Feel Violence in Myanmar, Unwelcome in Bangladesh' International Business Times, U.S.s, 9 August 2012

https://twitter.com/rohingyavoice

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2012/06/16/understanding-the-violence-in-western-myanmar/

Lallah, Rajsoomer. 1999. "Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar." Commission on Human Rights. 55th Session. The United Nations.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j_x2afxfntqJUV3PuaTz6Jy12_Yg

http://www.aljazeera.com/pressoffice/2013/03/20133210535530465.html

http://www.rfa.org/english/commentaries/east-asia-beat/rohingya-06122012225150.html

JI slams UN silence on Muslim genocide in Myanmar

Source thenewspk, 12 June

LAHORE

JAMAAT-e-Islami Ameer Syed Munawar Hasan has strongly condemned the criminal silence of the United Nations, other world bodies and international media on the genocide of Myanmar Muslim minority and said these institutions were only watching the interests of non-Muslims and aggressive powers.

In a statement on Tuesday, he called upon the Muslim world and the UN to convene an urgent meeting of Security Council to save Myanmar Muslims from extinction. He also called for an emergency meeting of OIC to take up the issue and warn Myanmar rulers of strong reaction if it did not give up its unholy designs against its Muslim minority.

Munawar Hasan appealed to the nation to express solidarity with oppressed Myanmar Muslims by joining JI protest on Friday, June 14. JI Ameer said tens of thousands of Myanmar Muslims had been murdered inside their homes and mosques during the last several months but the champions of human rights have shut their ears to their cries because in their eyes, the Muslims had no rights at all.

The Roohangya Muslims who had been living in Myanmar for centuries were being ejected from their houses by force and their houses were being burnt along with the dwellers in order to cause harassment.

The Myanmar rulers had also slapped several tough conditions for Muslim minority to continue living there, including that they must not give birth to two babies per family, not purchase properties exceeding some limit and not to engage in violation of 'laws' against the Buddhist majority.

He said it was shameful that Muslim rulers, who were morally bound to come to help of the oppressed brethren in Myanmar, were acting as agents of Islam's enemies.

Meanwhile, JI Ameer Syed Munawar Hasan and Secretary General Liaqat Baloch have condemned brutal police baton charge on people in Faisalabad protesting over prolonged outages, and said this was something unpardonable. In a statement, they said people who were being denied their basic needs had the democratic right to protest and the attempt to crush them through state machinery was condemnable. JI leaders appealed to the masses to lodge peaceful protests and refrain from violence and damaging the state property as this would harm their just cause.

Earlier, JI Deputy Secretary General Dr Farid Ahmed Piracha said the federal budget of new government would be its first test and would show how far the rulers kept their election promises. He expressed hope that PML-N government would fulfill its promises and raise the minimum wages for workers to Rs 18,000 as promised, and also raise salaries and pensions reasonably.