Current Crisis In Myanmar Shouldn’t Impede Return Of Rohingya – OpEd

eurasiareview
By Brig Gen (Retd) Hasan Md Shamsuddin
September 18, 2023 

A Rohingya man walks inside Balukhali refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar. Photo Credit: BenarNews

 

Myanmar is passing through a critical time due to unrest and conflict between the government and the anti-junta forces. There are no indications that the current violence in Myanmar will stop; instead, it is getting more organized every day.

ROHINGYA CRISIS IN BANGLADESH: SEARCHING FOR A DESTINATION

ROHINGYA CRISIS IN BANGLADESH: SEARCHING FOR A DESTINATION

Group Members

Sifat Uddin-KJ-137
Habibur Rahman-FR-121
Shakhaoath Hossain-ZIA-124
Mazharul Islam-KJ-87
Sumaiya Nour-KM-48
Faiham Ebna Sharif-MM-84
Md. Mohidur Rahman Bhuiyan-MM-82
Mostafa Mohammad Sazzad Hossain-BB-76

Submitted to 

Mohammad Tanzimuddin Khan
Lecturer
Department of International Relations
University of Dhaka

Date of Submission: July 5, 2007. 

DEDICATED TO

ALL THE REFUGEES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD WHO ARE
REMAINING SCAPEGOATES OF VARIOUS INTEREST
GROUPS BUT STILL DREAMING
FOR A BETTER LIFE.

An Escalating Rohingya Refugee Crisis Calls for a Renewed Canadian Response

ASIA PACIFIC FOUNDATION
Authors: Pia Silvia Rozario, Suyesha Dutta
Published: September 15, 2023 

As the 2023 Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit concluded in Jakarta, Indonesia, in early September, Southeast Asian leaders “strongly condemned” the continuing violence against civilians in Myanmar, one of ASEAN’s member states. In a 19-point statement, leaders called on the Myanmar Armed Forces to reduce violence and cease deliberate attacks on civilians, residences, and essential public infrastructure. One of the most visible examples of such violence carried out by the Myanmar military pre-dates the current civil war: the persecution of the Rohingya, a majority-Muslim ethnic group, many of them from Rakhine State in the west.

Blood on the tracks: The war over Myanmar’s railroads

Frontier Myanmar
September 11, 2023 

People walk along railway tracks as a train passes in Yangon on March 3, 2020. (AFP)

The resistance is increasingly targeting the railway network as the regime revamps it to transport troops and supplies, while civilian passengers risk getting caught in the crossfire.

As a railway bridge over a small creek explodes in a shower of debris, a group of resistance fighters can’t contain their jubilation. “It’s collapsed – totally collapsed! This is so cool!” shouts one of the fighters.

Rohingya of the Arakan

NEWAGE
Habib Siddiqui |
Published: Sep 11,2023 

Dr Habib Siddiqui has a long history as a peaceful activist in an effort towards improving human rights and creating a just and equitable world. He has authored 18 books and more than a thousand articles.

 

THE Rohingyas of Myanmar are a stateless people who are denied citizenship rights in Buddhist-majority Myanmar simply because of their distinct ‘otherness’ in race, culture, and religion. As a result, nearly 2.5 million Rohingyas, representing roughly 75 per cent of the community, now live as refugees in various parts of the world. Those living inside Myanmar are treated as unwanted people who are victims of genocide. Not a single Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is honoured by the government, which has rendered the Rohingyas the most persecuted people of our time.

ASEAN Sleepwalking Into Perpetual Limbo – Analysis

eurasiareview
By Collins Chong Yew Keat
September 9, 2023 

The 43rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Jakarta are again a manifestation of distinct power plays and indifference in facing new threats and urgency of risks. This state of inescapable loop is interwoven with conflicting individual and collective interests and strategic calculations, denting any aspired efficacy of the scramble to elevate conflict prevention mechanisms.

Reinforcing our commitment to Rohingya refugees

UNDP - Bangladesh
September 10, 2023

The Waning Spotlight on the Rohingya Crisis: A Renewed Call for Global Solidarity and Sustainable Solutions

Kanni Wignaraja is assistant secretary-general at the United Nations and assistant administrator and regional director for Asia-Pacific at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

It has been more than six years since the forced mass displacement of over 700,000 Rohingya from Myanmar's Rakhine state took place in August 2017. They fled state oppression and were forced to leave their homes and embrace an uncertain future. Bangladesh found itself having to deal with one of the most rapid, large-scale human displacements ever faced by a single country. The people and Government of Bangladesh rose to this extraordinary challenge with compassion and courage, and the United Nations along with the wider international community collaborated to assist the country in responding to this crisis.

‘#SayNoToRohingya’: a critical study on Malaysians’ amplified resentment towards Rohingya refugees on Twitter during the 2020 COVID-19 cris

Myanmar NUG’s Rohingya Policy: A Political Gamble That Has Yet to Pay Off

The Irrawaddy
by Zung Ring
September 6, 2023

Rohingya Muslim refugees who were stranded after leaving Myanmar walk towards the Balukhali refugee camp after crossing the border into Banglades

On June 3, 2021, the National Unity Government released its policy position on the Rohingya, promising “right to citizenship”; “full enjoyment of citizens’ rights” for those who swear allegiance to the country; “repealing, amending, and promulgating laws including the 1982 Citizenship Law”; and “reparation and Justice” to be enshrined in the future constitution of Myanmar. It also promises “voluntary, safe, and dignified repatriation of Rohingyas who fled to neighboring countries from Rakhine State due to Tatmadaw violence”. (The Tatmadaw is a commonly used name for the Myanmar military.)

Solution caught in trilateral geopolitics

NEWAGE
by Md Zillur Rahaman
Published: Sep 03,2023 

The Rohingyas gather at Ukhiya in Bangladesh on August 25 for a rally marking the sixth anniversary of genocide day. — Agence France-Presse/Tanbir Miraj 

 

SINCE August 25, 2017, the Myanmar army began a large-scale violence against the Rohingyas in Rakhine State. Rohingya victims said that mobs joined the crackdown of the military junta, forcing more than 700,000 Rohingyas to take refuge in Bangladesh. More than 1.1 million Rohingyas now stay in 34 refugee camps at Teknaf and Ukhia in Cox’s Bazar. The Rohingyas say that the Myanmar army forced them to come to Bangladesh with indiscriminate killing, rape and arson.

Rohingya crisis may destabilise the region

Bangladesh Post
By Diplomatic Correspondent
Published : 02 Sep 2023 

Foreign Minister of Bangladesh Dr. A K Abdul Momen said that Rohingya crisis has the potential to destabilize the whole region unless the international community intensifies their efforts to eventuate the sustainable repatriation of the 1.2 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas, temporarily sheltered in Bangladesh, to their homeland Myanmar.

As US pressures Dhaka, Rohingya Crisis Looms on the Horizon

THE GEOGRAPHIC (TGP)
Mehjabin Maliha Hossain
September 2, 2023

With the election approaching, Dhaka is busy greeting foreign delegates and observers. The foreign observers are all invariably pressing for a free and fair election. It appears a balanced goal of the Westerners holding to their deep convictions of democracy and freedom. However, the policy is riddled with inconsistency and only appears subordinate to the geostrategic goals. The esteemed values of democracy and freedom are not sacrosanct per se — rather only viewed from a narrow geostrategic prism. 

Myanmar’s shadow civilian govt apologizes to Rohingya on 6th anniversary of genocide

ARAB NEWS
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim
September 02, 2023 

Rohingya refugees walk at Balukhali Refugee Camp in Bangladesh. (AP/File)

This week marks the sixth anniversary of the onslaught of ruthless violence, rape and genocide by the military in Myanmar against the Rohingya of all ages. The genocidal conduct of the regime forces compelled a staggering three-quarters of a million Rohingya, men, women and children, to flee to Bangladesh, clutching their meager possessions.

 

Good reason to tread carefully on Rohingya crisis

THE STRAITSTIMES
Opinion.
Tan Hui Yee
Thailand Correspondent

Published 15 Dec 2016

 
Layers of hatred and distrust in Myanmar need to be picked apart with care - and gradually

 
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak broke with the spirit of Asean camaraderie by joining a recent march protesting against Myanmar's treatment of its beleaguered Rohingya, a Muslim minority group within the predominantly Buddhist country. "We want to tell Aung San Suu Kyi enough is enough!" he told the leader of the fellow Asean member, in reference to alleged atrocities some have condemned as "genocide".

 
In contrast, former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, tasked by Ms Suu Kyi with heading an advisory commission on the situation in Rakhine state where the Rohingya live, urged caution in using the word "genocide". Visiting Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, meanwhile, offered humanitarian assistance without a public rebuke.

 

Marking lives without trace: Bamboo weaving in a Rohingya refugee camp

Garland Magazine
Loop
31 August 2023

Tasman Munro presents a craft collaboration between Rohingya and Australian makers inside the Kutupalong refugee camp.

For Nuru Salam and Nurus Safar, their practice of weaving bamboo and cane goes back generations. They share memories of simpler times sitting in the shade of a large Banyan Tree in the Rakhine state of Myanmar, telling stories while their hands keep busy weaving baskets and farming tools. These are memories of rest, peace and joyful times with their community. The last six years have not been as simple, both Nuru Salam and Nurus Safar are now refugees living in Kutupalong along with one million other Rohingya people. They were forced to flee Myanmar after successive bouts of state-sponsored violence, the largest of which occurred in 2017, culminating in over 700,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh. In this predicament of forced displacement and the uncertain future of living in the world’s largest refugee camps, their weaving practice offers solace of familiarity and a vehicle to keep their denied culture alive.

Between ifs and buts dwindles the future of the Rohingya

Asia News Network
The Daily Star
Farah Kabir
August 31, 2023 

The Rohingya living in the refugee camps of Teknaf and Ukhiya in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh are humans with the right to life, food, water, education, and dignity. PHOTO: REUTERS/THE DAILY STAR 

 

DHAKA – As we approach the six-year mark of the unprecedented 2017 influx of the Rohingya from Rakhine State in Myanmar, I cannot help but wonder if we are really doing enough for the people who sought support to be alive with safety and dignity. It was between August 24-25, 2017, in the weeks that followed escaping death and persecution, when the Rohingya sought refuge in Cox’s Bazar. They had fled to Bangladesh earlier too; numerous times over the last 50 or 60 years. However, the influx of 2017 was significantly different. The violence had been unleashed with no bars held. The genocide was being committed and it took years to get the global leadership to acknowledge this.

The Other Side of the Rohingya AsiaWeek – 14 July 1978

The Other Side of the Rohingya
AsiaWeek – 14 July 1978

 

Rangoon correspondent U Maung Maung reports on his recent (July 1978) secret visit to thetowns of Aykab (Sittwe), Buthidaung and Maungdaw:

Extracts: From the minarets of mosques in the townships I toured, I could hear the familiachant calling the devout to prayer. The sound seemed to support the government’scontention that there was no religious persecution in the area. I certainly saw no sign ofantipathy  among the non-Muslims towards Muslims.

'We are citizens of Myanmar; they must accept it'

The Daily Star
Star Digital Report
Fri Aug 25, 2023

 On Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day, refugees in Cox's Bazar demand a safe return to Myanmar.

Ignoring the rain, the Rohingyas held the 'Hope is Home' campaign in the Kutupalong camp

Today marks 6 years of the Rohingya repression in Myanmar's Rakhine. Rohingyas have been observing the day as Rohingya Genocide Day, calling it Black Day. The Rohingyas held the 'Hope is Home' campaign at the Kutupalong Rohingya camp in Ukhia ignoring the rain around 10 am.

Justice More Important Than Ever as Rohingya Mark Bleak Anniversary

THE I DIPLOMAT
By Tun Khin
August 25, 2023

“It is high time that the world takes action to end the genocide against the Rohingya, starting with supporting the international justice efforts.” 

It was six years ago today, on August 25, 2017, that the Myanmar military poured into Rakhine State and unleashed unimaginable violence on my people, the Rohingya. Over the course of a few weeks, soldiers and their proxies killed thousands of women, men, and children, burned whole villages to the ground, and drove close to 800,000 people to flee into Bangladesh.

It is a source of shame for the world that six years later, not only do the Rohingya remain a people on the brink of extinction, but the architects of the genocide against us remain in power in Myanmar. Despite this, Rohingya and the people of Myanmar have largely been forgotten on the world stage, with other crises dominating global headlines. It is now high time that the world takes action to end the genocide against the Rohingya, starting with supporting the international justice efforts.

How to Truly Mark Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day

THE DIPLOMAT
By Ishrat Zakia Sultana
August 25, 2023

The Rohingya issue has become deeply politicized, but there are still possible solutions at hand.

There’s an old joke about a patient who went to see a doctor about back pain. The physician advised the patient that he should not remain sitting, neither should he stand, nor lie down. “Otherwise,” the physician warned, “your back could deteriorate permanently.” The patient, extremely confused and annoyed, asked the doctor, “Shall I then hang like a jacket on a hanger?”

The helplessness of the patient portrayed in this story provides an apt analogy for the situation of the Rohingya – the victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing in their own country, Myanmar, now stuck in limbo in crowded camps in Bangladesh. Their homeland will not take them back, which nullifies the possibility of their repatriation. The host country will not grant them any form of status (whether as citizens or refugees), which has exacerbated their situation. And finally, no third country has come forward to take them as part of a resettlement plan.