Rakhine holds key to future of Myanmar

Myanmar Times

Why is there such a divide between what Myanmar and foreign writers report about Rakhine? I believe it is important to bridge the gap because the future of Myanmar as a nation may depend on it.

In 1988, I gave up my international business career to work for democracy in Myanmar. I wanted what was best for the country. However, the Tatmadaw (military) saw me as an enemy intent on undermining them.

This belief was suspended only when the late U Nay Win Maung of the non-profit organisation Myanmar Egress persuaded Minister Aung Min that the long-held views of the Tatmadaw might not be accurate. So after nearly 50 years in exile, I was allowed back into the country by then-President Thein Sein to help facilitate the peace process.

But why did I agree to come back to work with the regime that had caused the deaths of my father and brother and exiled me from my homeland? Was it a desire to cash in on the transition and make lots of money or political ambition?

No. I have not gained politically or financially from the peace process. One of the key reasons for coming back was President Thein Sein’s inaugural speech on in March 2011. He talked about “the hell of untold miseries” suffered by the people because of the decades of armed conflicts caused by “dogmatism, sectarian strife and racism,” and the need for national reconciliation.

This was what I had been trying to do since 1999 when I contacted Ambassador U Kyaw Win in Canada to persuade Senior-General Than Shwe to talk with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. I wanted to convey the message that using force and violence to advance one’s political agenda does not work, that dialogue can solve problems, and that democracy would benefit Myanmar.

Today, some Myanmar claim that the Muslims in Rakhine State are foreigners who are trying to take over Myanmar through illegal immigration and a population explosion.

The truth about Muslims

Is this true? Inscriptions from the 1st century show that Arakan is an ancient civilisation that pre-dates the Myanmar Kingdom. Sculptures from the 4th century also show that the Kingdom of Vesali was Buddhist. Islam arrived in Arakan with Arab traders in the 8th century and its influence grew in the 15th century during the Mrauk-U period. The kingdom at that time was comprised of Buddhists and Muslims.

Mrauk-U was conquered by Myanmar in the 18th century, and later, after World War II, national boundaries were re-drawn. In Myanmar’s Arakan State, Buddhists became the dominant population. In India’s Tripura State and Bangladesh’s Chittagong and Barisal divisions, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Buddhist Rakhines became minorities in their respective nations but were recognised as citizens.

Similarly, the 1947 Constitution recognised the Muslim population in Arakan as citizens. They had national registration cards (NRCs) identifying their religion and ethnicity. They voted and could run for office. Government textbooks described them as an ethnic minority in Myanmar and the government’s Burmese Broadcasting Service had a programme in their ethnic language.

But some wanted northern Arakan to be annexed to East Pakistan. When the mujahideen were subdued in 1961, the Myanmar Government set up the Mayu Frontier District, which was governed directly from the capital to provide adequate protection and representation of the Muslim minority. Brigadier-General Aung Gyi, Army vice-chief of staff, speaking at the mujahideen surrender ceremony in Maungdaw in July 1961, said, “The ethnic group that resides on the west of Mayu District boundaries are Pakistani. And the people who reside on the east side of this border are (Myanmar)... In central Burma, there are people who hold the view that people in this region are not Tai-yin-tha, or an ethnic group native to the Union of Burma. There are also people who make moves to separate from Burma and join with Pakistan. These are false views… From today on, I openly and publicly tell you this: We consider the people of Mayu District an ethnic minority integral to the Union of Burma.”

All of this changed after General Ne Win seized power in March 1962 and embarked on a Burmanisation programme. All foreigners, including westerners, were expelled and their businesses nationalised. Over 100,000 Chinese and 300,000 Indians who had been in Myanmar for generations but were not citizens were also pushed out overnight.

In 1978, the Burma Army conducted Operation Naga Min, ostensibly to stop illegal migration. NRCs identifying ethnic Muslims as citizens were confiscated and temporary 3-fold white identity papers were issued. They were supposedly to be replaced at a later date. But these IDs were replaced only 36 years later in 2014 with certificates having no legal standing. However, the fact that the ID holders could vote showed that they were citizens.

No documents before 1885

The citizenship of ethnic Muslims in Arakan State was officially changed in 1982 by Ne Win, who demanded they prove they had been in Burma for three generations. This was impossible, since most people, including Burmans, were not documented until the British came in 1885. Even in 2013-14, the Thein Sein government had to issue new NRCs to people living in the Karen and Shan ceasefire areas because they had no documents. If the law were applied today to Burmans with NRCs, many might not qualify as citizens either.

Some say that the list of Myanmar’s 135 races does not include ethnic Muslims in Arakan, so they cannot be citizens. The list, introduced by the regime in 1991, is a political document with no ethnological basis. The Union Solidarity and Development Party said as much in Parliament in 2013, stating that the list was drawn up by the Burma Socialist Programme Party.

From the early 1990s onward, ethnic Muslims in Arakan State were restricted: they could not travel from village to village, they were not allowed to marry without permission from township officials, nor could they attend universities, just to name a few. Most of Myanmar forgot about them until 2012.

That is probably why today, 20 years later, people in Myanmar say, “We have never heard of them before. It is a made-up identity. They are foreigners.” By the same token, most of the world had never heard of Myanmar before 1991, so is Myanmar a made-up country? Of course not. So this is not a valid argument.

We all have deep-seated prejudices whose basis we may never have tried to verify. In the past, we may not have been able to do so easily, but today, in a democracy where information is more accessible, it is our responsibility to do so.

In promoting democracy, I always emphasise that for it to work, basic human rights must be respected. Democracy is not just about majority rule. It needs to be inclusive, non-discriminatory, just, and protect minorities.

I hope democracy will truly take root in Myanmar and that our diversity can be our strength, so that we can proudly take our place in the world without shame. Otherwise, the crisis in Rakhine could be the beginning of the end.

Harn Yawnghwe is the founder and executive director of the Euro-Burma Office established in 1997. He holds a mining engineering degree and an MBA in international business and finance and is the youngest son of Sao Shwe Thaike, the first president of the Union of Burma from 1948 to 1952.