Mohammed Ayub (TU), UAE
RB Article
October 22, 2017
Myanmar Military was never sincere in handling ethnics’
affairs, especially, in Rohingyas’ whose permanent home is northern Arakan.
Throughout the history, military uses the Muslims population of the country for
political diversion and benefits. After 9/11, 2001 attack in US, the perception
of non-Muslims world towards the Muslims has changed in unbelievable way. This
opportunity, though hidden anti-Muslims campaign has long been rooted in
Myanmar, was best used by the power monger groups like Myanmar Military to
de-attach the Muslims from mass public, and divert the attention of
all-problems-bundle of the country towards Muslims by exposing post 2001
sentiments of Islam. As a result, majority Buddhists public of Myanmar, who has
been caged more than five decades,turned away from the actual democratic
movement of the country to join anti-Muslim movement and hence emerging a
strong legal public anti-Muslim forces within Myanmar.
Publically motivated anti-Muslim operations have gained
momentum after the alleged murder of Rakhine woman by Muslim in mid-2012. The
campaign has got fierce intensity throughout the years as groups like MaBaTha,
969 has been publically propagating anti-Muslim hate speeches with the Military
sponsorship. ARSA’s attack on security posts of Arakan on 25th of august, 2017
met the Rohingyas with deadliest clearance operations that almost 600 thousands
of Rohingya Muslims has poured into Bangladesh to escape historic brutalities
of Myanmar Military and local Buddhists mobs.
Fortunately, Burmese Military has succeeded in filtering
out Muslims from the anti-Military dictatorship forces with the injection of
racially motivated propagandas to the majority xenophobic Buddhists public. The
resultant achievement is both the Buddhist public, Military and government,
have come under the same roof of de-rooting Rohingya Muslims from Arakan.
Recent years have been the years of rigorous anti-Muslims campaign through
different means; social media, mass public religious gatherings, that being a
Muslim in Myanmar has become the greatest crime. And majority Buddhist
perceives Muslims as a menace to their religion, race, culture and the country,
so much so that they want Rohingya constitutionally disable if not completely
eradicated from the soil of Arakan.
Actually, Rohingyas problem is based on well-founded fear
created from the psychological disorder, dementia and xenophobe of Myanmar
Buddhists. Logically speaking, the Myanmar has no problem with the word
‘Rohingya’ or with the Muslim inhabitants that have long been residing in
Arakan side by side. The problem with them is the religion, which Rohingyas
believe in. Keep aside the volumes of history of pre-independent Burma; in
post-independent Burma, there are mountains of historical evidences of Rohingya
starting from the office of the then military war-fair to Myanmar’s
Broadcasting Program, from Myanmar’s school, university textbooks to
encyclopedia, from village chairman to MPs and Ministers. Xenophobic Buddhists are
blatantly denying the Rohingya just because of superstitious belief that, if
Muslims were given equal rights, whole Burma will be Islamized, were made
conceived in the hearts of Buddhists in the successive military regimes.
As said earlier, the Buddhists want Rohingya Muslims of
Arakan to constitutionally disable by forcing them to accept National
Verification Card (NVC) that in turn will make them foreigners.
From the legal perspective, NVC is not the product of any
law or constitution of Myanmar, which is in force now. Even according to the
clause 65 of notorious 1982 citizenship law, no NVC is required to issue
citizenship card. It is a product of mere cowardice nationalist propagandists'
imaginary islamophobic assumptions.
It is point-out-worthy that all the citizenship cards
holder of Myanmar need not have to have NVC prior to citizenship cards. If the
government of Myanmar sincerely wants to help solve the Rohingya crisis, there
are many post-independent era’s records and evidences that it can depend on
without imposing unconstitutional NVC card. The Government’s ulterior motive
behind this NVC is making believe the world that the Rohingyas are foreigners
who are recent immigrants to Arakan from Bangladesh.
The following points are some of many historical
evidences that Rohingyas are not British era settler and hence no required to
go for NVC cards.
1. Rohingya holds the same citizenship NRC cards with 6
digits (where as foreigners hold FRC with 5 digits), which were issued after
1952-53 Mayu operations, as other ethnics of Myanmar and, were provoked in 1989
at the promise of issuing pink color citizenship cards. Unfortunately, 1990-91
exodus took place and what Rohingyas in return were gifted was White cards in
1995. If Myanmar sincerely wants to solve Rohingya crisis, it can base on those
records and details collected in 1989. In 1993, NaSaKa aliases Border
Immigrations Head Quarters (BIHQ) were deployed in Arakan with special decree
and power solely aimed at Rohingyas. And every year onwards was scrutiny and
records of Rohingyas with group family photo but found none of illegal entry.
2. After Burma independence, all ethnics groups including
Rohingyas took rebellion against Burmese government for autonomy. And the
Rohingya Mujahids were the first to surrender to the central government for the
sake of peace, tranquility and betterment of the state and, were recognized as
Rohingya indigenous ethnic as Rakhine.
3. In 1872, per square mile population of Arakan was 33
and that of Bengal was about 450. Even at that time, having unrestricted
movement within British India, and greener pastures in British-Burma, dense-populated
living Bengali had not seen flooding into British Arakan for good. Whoever,
came was for seasonal work and went back after pocketful of money. And still
Myanmar Buddhists say over populated Bangladesh pours Bengali to Arakan, a
modern day killing field for Muslims.
4. On many occasions, Government imported Bengali
Buddhists from Bangladesh with A to Z support. They could not survive in the
golden Arakan having seen no future and returned Bangladesh. And still Myanmar says
Muslims are entering Myanmar while their fellow Bengali Buddhists did not survive
because of zero opportunity and dead future.
5. No Muslim's "official family list" is left
intact, except for dead or any other reasons, that member entry is stroked with
red pen with remark that reads, "Fled to Bangladesh" and still
Myanmar accuses Rohingya of illegally coming in to Arakan.
6. In 2012, ex-president U Thein Sein and ex-immigration
Minister U Khin Yee confessed in a VOA interview that there were no illegal
Muslims residing in Arakan and still Myanmar label Rohingya as
"Khoewin" (ခိုးဝင္) meaning
illegal immigrants.
7. And also under different rules of British, Arakan was
under British-Burma, British-India and British-Bengal, where in all cases
British censured the indigenous Muslim populations of Arakan as either
Mahomadensor Mussulmans or Arakanese Mahomadens or Arakanese Mussulmans.
8. What Myanmar propagandist portrayed the Rohingya
history is that there were no Muslim (Rohingya) inhabitants in the soil of
Arakan before 1823 and they came into existence in Arakan only after British
annexation when the British brought many Muslims from Bengal as laborers,
ignoring piles of historical evidences as early as 1000 years before British
conquest.
9. It was recorded in 1872 British-Burma census that
there were 100,000 souls (of whom 30,000 were Muslims Rohingya) in Arakan when
British annexed Arakan in 1826 and, many Muslims who escaped the brutal Burmese
killings in 1784 returned to their original home Arakan when situation became
peaceful in Arakan. And still there were uncertainty in Arakan and some
Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh in 1874 prefer to work as “seasonal laborers”
in Arakan than settling back there in Arakan.
10. 1942 Muslim-Buddhist riot forced refuge the Buddhist
populations of Northern to the southern part of Arakan and Muslim population of
Southern into Northern part of Arakan and that is the reason why Muslims are
densely populated in Northern Arakan.
From the above points one can comprehend and ponder that
the Rohingyas are the core people of the soil of Arakan and requires no NVC
process, as they have been under tight surveillance and scrutiny in the
successive governments. What Myanmar’s perception about Rohingya was that
Myanmar is sandwiched between two over populated countries; Bangladesh and
China, and it needs verification process in place to deter illegal entry from
Bangladesh and China. When China is concerned, Myanmar ignores even national
sovereignty concerns, at the same time welcoming the Chinese with all its race,
religion, culture and scarce resources. The Chinese from the eastern gate
penetrated into Myanmar and gradually has absorbed and distorted Myanmar’s
race, culture and resources and passed through the western gate (Arakan).
Astonishingly, whole Myanmar remains silent on the matter and unwise, foolish
discriminatory agendas are put in practice against Rohingya Muslims.
Throughout the Military regimes to date, no single
illegal entry residing in Arakan can be brought forward by Myanmar to
International surface, and contrary to that, the international bodies are
witnessing Rohingyas fleeing due to the heinous crimes committed to them by the
Military and local mobs. Annan Commission left dubious state regarding
citizenship status of Rohingya in his final report enforcing NVC process even
to be allowed with uncles’ or aunts’ documents when one’s own documents are not
available. On the other hand, the report also emphasizes to amendment of the
1982 citizenship law. So, no clear cut strategy was advised in the report for
the citizenship of Rohingya, who’s the same, was stripped off by the
enforcement of 1982 citizenship law after 1978 refugees take-back.
In the most years of tyrant rule of Military, Rohingya
Muslims were suffered from all aspects of life and also Arakan has never been a
safe place for Rohingya Muslims, which 1784, 1978, 1991 and 2017 exoduses
testified. Rohingyas are dying to live in Arakan because it is their ancestral
land. Economically, Bangladesh is in relatively better position than Myanmar
and it is a nasty ideology to accuse of Rohingyas of recent immigrants from
Bangladesh and enforcing them for NVCs. In conclusion, It would be wise choice
for Myanmar to restrain using the word “Bengali” when referring Muslim minority
Rohingya and, to stop enforcing NVC cards to Rohingyas. And last but not the least;
all Rohingyas should be called back with assurance of recognition, safety,
security, and many other civil rights.
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