The Rohingya Plan is to Force Rohingya

Muslims into Detention Camps Indefinitely

Nurul Islam-Oct-14-2014
The ever largest Refugee Exodus Awaits as Myanmar determines
who is worthy.
(MYANMAR) - Rohingyas have lived
in Arakan for generations and are
part of a small minority in the
predominately Buddhist Burma.
Many riters !laim their ethni!
origin on Ara" traders ho have
settled in Bengal and Arakan #$%-
&%# A'. (hey !laim that Rohingya
ethni! an!estry is a mi)ture of
those Ara" traders and lo!al
population and the language is
similar to *hittagonian diale!t ith
a slight variation. +or e)ample, 'r
A"id Bahar on his note-
.#$%-&%# Ara" traders "egan to
settle "oth in Arakan and *hittagong of present Bangladesh. Inter mi)ture
ith the lo!al population led to the first *handra-Rohingyas of Arakan.
.'uring this time, in "oth Arakan and *hittagong, the influen!e of /anskrit,
0ali, Ara"i!, 0ersi, 0ortuguese !om"ined together eventually formed the
*handra-Rohingya diale!t hi!h is similar to the *hittagonian diale!t ith
their slight variations.
.1oever, there are spe!ifi! attempts "y Rohingya riters of past and
present to "roaden a"ove ethni! identity definition to in!lude 2armans,
1eins-slaves and, even to a point that, any histori! ethni! identity hi!h
may "e of Islami! +aith and that knon to have resided in Arakan are of
"eing the .Rohingya. (see N'01R report 3uoted "elo)
.(he Rohingya !ampaigners have "een putting forard the !laim that the
Bengali-Muslim migrants entered Arakan after 4$56 are indeed that of the
Stop the genocide of the Rohingya people. Photo:
Burma Times
refugees returning their home land ho in earlier periods had fled to
*hittagong area from violent and oppressive Burmese rules.
After British !on3uest of Arakan, there ere 78,888 Arakanese and 98,888
Muslims. (he ratios of Arakanese vs. Muslim is 5 to 4.
(he Muslim population (ratio) as small "e!ause there ere those ho fled
to Bengal and *entral Burma "e!ause of the fighting.
.'r. 1a"i" /iddi3ui also 3uoted the same figure in his report (pp49)- ....
soon after the anne)ation of Arakan "y the :ast India *ompany in 4$57,
Mr. 0aton, prepared report... the total population of Arakan did not e)!eed
488,888 of hi!h 78,888 ere Maghs (Arakanese Buddhists) and 98,888
(Rohingya) Muslims..
.It is totally misleading and ill-motivated to allege that "ulk of the Muslims
entered Arakan during British era. (he fa!t is that many Muslim families,
ho had earlier "een driven out "y the Burmans, have returned to their
homes in Arakan hen pea!e prevailed there as e)plained "y 0hayre..
Rohingya !ampaigners are, in fa!t, also denying that ma;ority of
Rohingya<Bengali are migrants. 'espite eviden!e from various British
!ensuses, they keep insisting no large s!ale settlement of Bengali- Muslims
into Arakan.
+or e)ample, on a note "y = 2ya Min- .(hose Muslims ho living in
Arakan are not illegal immigrants from India (Bangladesh). =nlike those
Indian (Bangladeshi) ho go to Burma proper, ho usually are traders and
!ivil-servants, those ho entered Arakan are seasonal orkers.
.Be!ause their native land is so !lose, they usually return home at the end
of orking season. It might "e !alled as floating population.. /in!e the
4&78>s, the ethni! minority Rohingya !ommunity has "een en!ountering
state-sponsored dis!rimination and perse!ution a!ross Myanmar. Again,
sin!e 5845, Rohingya people had fallen into destitution as the 3uasi-
military regime headed "y 0resident (hien /ein governs the state through
politi!al tri!k.
(o maneuver the militarism, 0resident (hien /ein plotted to make tense
situations through religious violen!e or ra!ial !lashes or !ommunal violen!e
in fa!t knon as theo!ra!y.
=n!ounta"le Rohingya people ere massa!red, minor !hildren and elder
omen ere molested, homes and religious "uildings ere ra?ed to the
ground, numerous ere missing and more than 468,888 ere kept in
!on!entrated and s3ualid !amps here the internally displa!ed people fa!e
unpre!edented diffi!ulties for daily e)isten!e.
:very =N delegation e)pressed that the situation inside the !amps is
appalling after o"serving the !amps in Arakan state. It is a great
devastation today that the international !ommunity turned a "lind eye to
su!h ongoing !rimes against Rohingya in Myanmar and other ethni!
minorities of ruling Myanmar 3uasi-military regime.
Ahead of =/ /e!retary of /tate @ohn 2erry arrival in Myanmar, from one
I'0 !amp knon as (handalee !amp, a Rohingya as killed on 7th August
5846 and to ere in;ured and some ere arrested in!luding omen.
.Ae are trapped,. 2hin Maung Ain said last eek. 1e said authorities
started setting up poli!e !he!kpoints outside his village, 2yee 2an 0yin, in
mid-/eptem"er, preventing people from leaving even to shop for food in
lo!al markets, ork in surrounding paddies or take !hildren to s!hool.
Authorities sealed off villages in BurmaBs only Muslim-ma;ority region and
in some !ases "eat and arrested people ho refused to register ith
immigration offi!ials, residents and a!tivists say, in hat may "e the most
aggressive effort yet to for!e Rohingya to indi!ate they are illegal migrants
from neigh"oring Bangladesh.
Almost all Rohingya ere e)!luded from a =N-funded nationide !ensus
earlier this year, the first in three de!ades, "e!ause they did not ant to
register as Bengalis. And (hein /ein is !onsidering a .Rakhine CArakanD
A!tion 0lan. that ould make people ho identify themselves as Rohingya
not only ineligi"le for !iti?enship "ut !andidates for detainment and
possi"le deportation.
*hris Eea of the Arakan 0ro;e!t, hi!h has "een advo!ating on "ehalf of
the Rohingya for more than a de!ade, said residents reported in!idents of
violen!e and a"use in at least 98 village tra!ts from @une to late
/eptem"er. Ahile the eeks-long "lo!kades have sin!e "een lifted, arrests
!ontinue, ith do?ens of Rohingya men "eing rounded up for alleged ties to
Islami! militants in the last eek.
(ensions surrounding the family registration !ampaign in northern Arakan
/tate rose steadily after it "egan four months ago, ith most of the
resistan!e felt in Maungda (onship.
Many villages ere pla!ed under lo!kdon, ith poli!e !he!kpoints set up
to make sure only those ho have !ooperated !ould leave, more than a
do?en residents !onfirmed in telephone intervies ith (he Asso!iated
0ress.
In other villages, the names of influential residents ere posted on
!ommunity "oards ith ver"al arnings that they fa!e up to to years in
;ail if they fail to !onvin!e others to take part in the registration pro!ess,
Eea said.
Fther Rohingya say offi!ials for!ed them to sign the papers at gunpoint, or
threatened that they ould end up in !amps like those outside /itte if
they didn>t !omply, she said. In some !ases residents say authorities have
shon up after midnight and "roken don doors to !at!h residents "y
surprise and pressure them to hand over family lists.
'enied !iti?enship "y national la, even though most of their families have
"een living in Arakan from the time immemorial, mem"ers of the religious
minority are effe!tively stateless, anted "y neither !ountry. (hey feel they
are "eing systemati!ally erased.
Rohingya said they didn>t ant to register family mem"ers "e!ause they
orry the information might "e used to deny them !iti?enship. (he plan,
shared ith Reuters "y sour!es ho have re!eived !opies of the draft,
proposes Arakan authorities .!onstru!t temporary !amps in re3uired
num"ers for those ho refuse to "e registered and those ithout ade3uate
do!uments..
As international pressure mounts to end a"uses against Rohingya, the
government has agreed to provide !iti?enship to anyone ho 3ualifies. But
many Rohingya say they !annot meet the re3uirements, hi!h in!lude
su"mitting do!uments proving that their families have "een in Burma for at
least three generations. And under the plan (hein /ein is !onsidering, even
that ould not "e enough for people ho insist on !alling themselves
Rohingya rather than Bengali.
Rights advo!ates say it !ould potentially put thousands of Rohingya,
in!luding those living in long-settled villages, at risk of indefinite detention.
A!!epting the term Bengali !ould leave the Rohingya vulnera"le should
authorities in future attempt to send them to Bangladesh as illegal
immigrants, said 0hil Ro"ertson, deputy dire!tor for Asia at 1uman Rights
Aat!h.
./o itBs no onder that the Rohingya !ompletely re;e!t the national
governmentBs efforts to !lassify them as GBengalisB "e!ause they kno that
is the starting point for an effort to !onfirm their statelessness and e;e!t
them from Myanmar..
(he draft plan states that the authorities ould re3uest the =NBs refugee
agen!y, the =N1*R, to .resettle illegal aliens elsehere.. (hat might leave
them fa!ing indefinite detention, Ro"inson said, as the =N1*R ould "e
una"le to assist.
*omplying ith the government re3uest ould "e impossi"le, "e!ause the
=N1*R only resettles .re!ogni?ed refugees ho have fled perse!ution and
!onfli!t a!ross international "orders., said Medea /avary, a =N1*R
spokesoman in Burma. Almost all Rohingya ere e)!luded from a =nited
Nations-"a!ked !ensus earlier this year after refusing to list their identities
as Bengali.
In May, =./. 0resident Bara!k F"ama, ho is due to visit Burma in
Novem"er, 5846 !ited a"uses in Arakan /tate as one reason for
maintaining some e!onomi! san!tions. IINA H 1uman rights groups in
Yangon !ondemned on +riday a Myanmar government plan that !ould for!e
thousands of minority Rohingya Muslims into detention !amps indefinitely if
they do not 3ualify for !iti?enship.
(he =/ and some other em"assies in Myanmar had raised their !on!ern
ith the government a"out some aspe!ts of the plan, a =/ offi!ial told
Reuters.
Myanmar>s drafted plan, Forcing Rohingyas to Accept the term
"Bengali" must effe!t neigh"oring !ountry, Bangladesh "e!ause it is the
only nearest !ountry to Rakhine state.
(he (hein /ein>s tri!k and ploy is to for!e Rohingyas to flee Myanmar. But
Bangladesh already restri!ted its "order from any refugee from Myanmar.
Bangladesh, as a densely populated and under-developed !ountry, !annot
possi"ly host more refugees on its soil. Nevertheless, I think Bangladesh
!annot avoid its humanitarian and religious responsi"ility.
(o halt the !ontroversial Myanmar>s Rohingya plan in Myanmar,
international intervening is most !ru!ial and imminent.
/our!es- urul!"rassroots #elfare Association
4. (he 0lights of the /tateless Rohingya "y Imtia? Ahmed, 'haka =niversity
5. BurmaI missing 'ots "y 'R. A"id Bhar, *anada
9. Report on !urrent situation in Arakan "y *hris Eea of Arakan 0ro;e!t
6. 1istori!al Ba!kground of Rohingya Muslims in Arakn "y 'r. 1a"i"
/iddi3ui and 'r. A"id Bahar
%. (he Iraady Nes 5#th /eptem"er, 5846 and &th F!to"er, 5846