ARAKAN ROHINGYA NATIONAL ORGANISATION
ARAKAN, BURMA
13th February 2009
It is unfortunate that SPDC‘s onslaughts against the Rohingya people have always been reinforced by Rakhine communal leaders and academicians. Some of such fanatics had stated in their recent radio and media interviews, “Rohingyas are not among the ethnic groups in Burma…How they could claim that they came from Burma when in fact they come from Bangladesh…” Among them are Dr. Aye Kyaw, Dr. Aye Chan, U Aye Tha Aung, Secretary General of the Committee Representing People’s Parliament (CRPP), who is also Secretary General of the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) and U Khaing Lunn, Acting President of the ALD, who are popularly known as xenophobes for their extreme hatred towards Rohingya and for harping on the SPDC’s tune of Rohingya extermination.
Dr. Aye Kyaw stated Arakan and Buddhism are synonymous. He enjoys branding the Rohingya as ‘floating people’. Dr. Aye Chan even wrote a booklet titled “Influx viruses in Arakan” identifying the Muslims in Arakan as viruses, that is dangerous animals ought to be eradicated. To call a human being a virus is a degrading treatment, which is violation of the terms of Articles 1,3,5,6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is a criminal offence.
According to the South China Morning Post dated 11 February 2009, SPDC’s Consul General Ye Myint Aung in Hong Kong described the Rohingya boatpeople as “ugly as ogres” and contrasted the “dark brown” Rohingya complexion with the “fair and soft’ skin of people from Burma. These hate words unveil the racism and racial segregation policy of the SPDC. We know and everybody knows, the skins of the people of Burma – not the skins of Rohingya alone – have been daily faded under the iron heel of U Aye Myint Aung and his tyrannical military regime..
We are not surprised at the jungle behaviors of SPDC, its agents and vested interest groups. We are really disturbed by the statement of U Bo Hla Tint, the Foreign Affairs In-Charge of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB) and those Rakhines actively involved in Burma pro-democracy movement. What is more shocking is their ‘policy of exclusion’ that sounds in line with the illegitimate autocratic military regime’s statement, “In actual fact, although there are [135] national races living in Myanmar today, the so-called Rohingya people is not one of them. Historically there has never been a Rohingya race in Burma” This statement […there has never been a Rohingya race in Burma] is like covering the front while keeping the back open, according to All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF). This 135 national races is of dictator Ne Win’s quirky definition aims at setting one people against another and is repudiated by many ethnic nationalities, and so it does not worth referencing.
It is shameful to pretend not to know the history of a people, who identify themselves to be an integral part of the Burma society. In spite of clear affirmation of Rohingya as an indigenous group by the former parliamentary government (1948-1962), U Bo Hla Tint described Rohingya issue a matter of political complication in all three periods of U Nu, U Ne Win and SPDC and it has to be decided by the would-be parliament. This view contradicts the NCGUB’s earlier statement, expressed in its “Position paper on Persecution of Muslims in Arakan State” dated September 24, 1992, submitted to the United Nations, affirming “Muslim Rohingyas have lived in Arakan for centuries; Muslims Rohingyas are Burmese citizens; Muslim Rohingyas have the same rights and privileges as other citizens of Burma regardless of their ethnic beliefs or ethnic background.”
In fact, the issue is not complicated but it is their policy of exclusion — based on religious and racial discrimination — that makes the thing riddle. It appears that U Bo Hla Tint looks at the Rohingya issue not from a true perspective but through the prism of preconceived notion of “Arakan belongs to Rakhine only”.
Despite the fact that about 1.5 million Rohingyas are in Diaspora over the decades, the Burmese politicians in pro-democracy movement express very little concern about it. They are even ungenerous to issue a statement of sympathy on the recent Rohingya boatpeople tragedy involving hundreds of human lives, whereas the whole international community, including UN, OIC, US, UK, EU, Indonesia and many other countries and world organizations, expresses their serious concerns from humanitarian and political perspectives. They never ever try to make their way to the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. They are reluctant to acknowledge knowing agonies and untold sufferings of these unfortunate people.
We would remind that according to history “until 10th century the people of Arakan were Indians similar to that of East Bengal”. The Rohingya are the only people who look like people of East Bengal or Bengalis. The then Chairman of the Burma Historical Commission Col. Bashin stated from 1430 to 1531, for more than one hundred years, Arakan was virtually ruled by the Muslims. It is a gross lie to say that the Rohingya have no ‘historic right’, the right of the first occupier of Arakan.
The legal government of Burma had recognized the Rohingya as an in indigenous people, “Rohingya are at the same par in status of nationality with Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Mon, Rakhine and Shan”. SPDC is an illegal regime. It has no mandate of the people. The statement of an illegal regime is illegal itself. It has neither legal authority to alter the decision of previous democratic government nor right to decide the fate of Rohingyas. Similarly, we would remind NCGUB, by virtue of our historic and natural citizenship rights in Arakan, the Rohingya do not require to be recognized by any authority or parliament, on the principles of democracy and universal concept of human rights. These rights are inherent in them and have to be respected at all times. From all standpoints, Arakan is our motherland; we have historical, natural and spiritual attachments to it. It is an encroachment of their natural and inherent rights to keep out Rohingya from country’s all political and democratic processes in, which must be genuinely all-inclusive.
The Rohingyas are potential or actual victims of mass atrocities in Burma. No side — the regime or pro-democracy opposition group(s) — is willing to protect them. So, the responsibility shifts to the international community to use diplomatic, humanitarian and enforcement action. Hence we appeal to United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC), EU, Amnesty International, all human rights and humanitarian organizations, NGOs and international community.
For more information, please contact:
Nurul Islam, Phone +44 7947 854 652
AFK Jilani, Phone: +880 1720 657 5
Email: info@rohingya.org