Source Bangaltimes, 5 Feb
By---Shuja
The Violence against Rohingyas and the Stand of Bangladesh
The pogroms of Muslim Rohingyas and Kamans in Arakan, Burma started on 8th June 2012. The continual heinous crimes against them, since then, makes their situation worse than the situation of Jews in Nazi Extermination Camps during WWII, Muslims in Bosnia in the late 90s and Hindus in Sri Lanka in the recent years. Deservingly, their plights are having enough media coverage across the globe. Many concerned Human Rights Groups are openly calling Burma to end the genocides of Rohingyas and Kamans. Being a bordering country, Bangladesh is unable to avoid the aftermaths of the violence against Rohingyas and Kamans in Arakan. Inhumanely pushing the boats loaded with the Rohingya victims fleeing the violence back to the sea by Bangladesh authority has been drawing severe international criticism and condemnation against the country.
Bangladesh has its own reason behind the pushing back of those boats to the sea. Perhaps Bangladesh doesn't want to exaggerate their problems by adding more people to their already booming population. According to the Bangladesh government, they are already hosting thousands of Rohingya refugees in the country, whom they are unable to repatriate to the country of their origin. Yet, so as to avoid some solvable problems, pushing human beings back to the sea to die is unacceptable to many people today. Instead, as a neighboring nation and just as what India did to Bangladesh during its independence struggle, Bangladesh has the moral responsibilities to find out the root-causes of Rohingya problems and a win-win solution for both parties. Or else, if a problem in Arakan arises, naturally Bangladesh will be unable to avoid its aftermaths.
2) The Culprits and Criminals behind the Violence
Though it is widely believed that Burmese government for its political gains is behind the instigation of the violence against Rohingyas and Kamans, there are certainly some interest groups that have been playing behind to create violence and fuelling the fire. To these interest groups, the more the violence, the more the Arakan destabilizes. The more the Arakan destabilizes, the easier their task becomes. After all, what is the interest of these groups? Shockingly, it is something that neither General Bangladeshi nor General Burmese could have imagined. The interest of these groups is to separate Arakan from Burma and Chittagong area from Bangladesh and to unite it to make it into an independent country. In 1900, Indians' dream of an independent India out of British colony might sound funny to British but it is a truth today. Likewise, separating Chittagong from Bangladesh might sound funny to many Bangladeshis today and but it can be a reality of tomorrow!!!
To make things worse and more worrisome, these interest groups have the strong bases and supporters both in Bangladesh and in Burma. They have been working towards achieving this goal for a long time. These interest groups are from none other than people called Rakhine in Burma and Marma, Barua and Chakma etc (in short, Jamma Hill Tribes) in Bangladesh. They have persuaded and recruited more people from other Buddhist minorities of Bangladesh on the ground of the religion. But I don't want to squarely blame all the Buddhists in general in Bangladesh. Indeed, there are Buddhist people who have been giving their lives for the interest of Bangladesh. However, no destructive force should be neglected no matter from which community it is.
Burmese government might be well aware of the separatist tendency of these people. That's why they not only don't fulfill their every demand but also put many restrictions for such movement of theirs. Yet, when it comes to these Rakhines and Rohingyas, the government always favors Rakhines on account of their racial and religious affiliations. But being a democratic country with full of human rights, Bangladesh is giving them those special rights which they can never dream of in Burma. By manipulating the rights given to them, they have been working against the state policy of Bangladesh.
3) Majority of Rakhines are Terrorists and Separatists
To many extremist leaders of Rakhines and their historians with the selective amnesia, Chittagong of Bangladesh and Arakan of Burma were one belonged to the Buddhist people of the race they themselves call Rakhine. Therefore, in the future, too, it must be one country that should belong exclusively to them. It is necessary for Rakhines to wipe out Rohingyas in particular and Muslims in general for they think that as long as there are Muslims in Arakan, they can't have independent Arakan state.
Therefore, with the exception of few, all Burmese Rakhine political parties or armed groups, media groups, woman organizations, youth groups, academics and individuals living outside Burma or on the border are actively working against Rohingyas and Kamans as well as against the interest of Bangladesh in cooperation with the terrorist outfit of United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) in Bangladesh. Some of them are:
Arakan League for Democracy (ALD),
Arakan Liberation Party (ALP),
Democratic Party of Arakan (DPA),
Rakhine Women Union (RWU), based in Dhaka at present,
All Arakan Student and Youth Council (AASYC), and
Dhaka based Narinjara News Agency are hostile to Rohingyas and Muslims.
As it appeared in the numerous news reports, ALP and DPA are well-known to have been involved in robbery, murder, kidnapping, tax collection, poppy cultivation, deforestation and gun running and other crimes in Bandarban area of Chittagong Hill Tracts. Besides, the separatist militants, UPDF, in the hill-tracts work in cooperation with Arakan Liberation Party (ALP). ALP is also a Rakhine Militant Group that has committing mass-killings of Rohingyas in Arakan with the help of local Rakhine extremists.
2. Likewise, Arakan National Council (ANC), an umbrella organization of the Rakhines, in its policy declaration, rejects the Rohingya ethnicity and labels them as illegal Bengali immigrants from Bangladesh.
3. Saw Mra Raza Linn lives in Dhaka and is the President of the Dhaka based Rakhine Woman Union (RWU) and also a central executive member of ALP using the nickname Zeya Myo Line and Mra Aye Thein. She married to a Bangladeshi Buddhist living in Dhaka. Her husband's name is U Chit Maung and one of his sisters is a selected member of parliament in Bangladesh. Despite living in Bangladesh, she works against the interest of Bangladesh and against Rohingyas. Here is her one of the baseless accusations: on 4th April 2007, in an interview with BBC Burmese Service, she said, "still Bangladeshi or Bengalis people are stealthily entering Arakan. They (Bengalis) committed rapes of many Rakhine women." At a time when Arakan has become a hell for its own people, Rohingyas, why will Bangalis go to a land which is ruled by the world's most oppressive government, relatively less economic opportunity, less income (GDP per Capita in Bangladesh and Myanmar in 2011 are US$1700 and US$1300 respectively) and poorer infrastructures?
On 27th August 2012, she together with other six people from the terrorist groups like ALP and UPDF illegally crossed the Naff River, the Teknaf-Maung Daw border and entered Burma. They were given a warm welcome by the Rakhine extremists and separatists in Arakan. In Akyab (Sittwe), they held several secrets meetings with the Rakhine Buddhist Extremists such as Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) responsible for the ongoing mass killings of Rohingyas and Burmese government officials. They have reached to an agreement with Burmese government to open an ALP liaison office in Arakan. From Arakan, she went to Rangoon (the second capital of Burma) to meet with higher government officials and other members of RNDP. The question is: how could a woman living in Dhaka and known for working against Burmese government for a long time illegally cross Bangladesh-Burma border, enter Burma and go to Rangoon to meet the higher officials of Burmese government unless she went there with an attractive proposal for them (Burmese government)? If so, what kind of proposal could that be? And after staying for two weeks in Burma, she returned to Bangladesh by crossing the same border again and is living in Dhaka now. With whose permission has she been doing that? Is she living in Bangladesh legally?
4) The Malevolent Conspiracy
In late September 2012, there were series of attacks against the Buddhists' houses and monasteries in Cox's Bazaar District. According to an internal source, these attacks against their own monasteries conspired by these interest group in an attempt to destabilize the region. A member from these groups was called Uttam Barua. He, with the advice of his colleagues, has intentionally posted an insulting picture of holy Quran on Social Networking site, Facebook, knowing that Muslims would retaliate. And so happened! There are some benefits for them in doing so.
1) If they could have destabilized the region, their mission would have been achieved.
2) They could not destabilize the region. They are having sympathy of the country's people as well as of government. And they can have more rights that will make their future steps easier.
Fortunately, Bangladesh government was rather quick to take action to normalize the situation which delayed their plans.
3) Besides, by doing so, they have diverted attention of Bangladeshis from the atrocities against Rohingyas in Arakan. To many Bangladeshis' curiosities, the instigator of the attack, Uttam Barua, mysteriously disappeared from the scene after the attacks. Many Bangladeshis wonder where he can be now! According to a source in Burma, he is nowhere but in Burma given shelter by the state.
Why was he given shelter by Burma? What is the benefit for Burma in giving him shelter?
5) It is the Time for Both Bangladesh and Burma to realize their Intention!
It is very unfortunate that neither Burma nor Bangladesh understands the separatist tendency and long term ambition of these Rakhine war criminals. To stop the Rakhine province to secede from Burma, Rakhine leadership is right that it is only Rohingyas that can help Burma stay together. It is important to know that Rakhines are only 5% of total Burmese population but they are 30% in the Burmese army. If they go to jungle, it will be a major challenge for Burma. In addition, there are Rakhine militant groups such as ALP and Arakan Army (AA) working for the same purpose.
Similarly for Bangladesh, research shows, the rebellions in Chittagong Hill Tracts such as UPDF has been instigated largely by the Rakhine separatists from Burma. Some innocent looking Rakhine monks were found to carry weapons in Bangladesh. For its internal security, it would be good for Bangladesh to monitor these war criminals and their movements within Bangladesh. For the Rohingyas, if the international community ignores the killings of Rohingyas by the Rakhine extremist leaders, they and the international community must have the right to arrest them and send them to the ICC and stop their criminal bugging in that part of the world. Surely, if timely actions are not taken, there is a price to pay by both Burma and Bangladesh for silence!
Having said that, being a leading nation in solving Rohingyas' problems through negotiating with Burmese government in cooperation with other nations, raising the matter in the international meetings by using its historians and historical evidences and its news media, Bangladesh can solve Rohingya problems and it will be the win-win situation for both Bangladesh and Rohingyas. Therefore, Bangladesh news media play a vital role in improving the vulnerable situations, solving the chronic problems and easing the oppressions that Rohingyas have been facing for decades. We, therefore, request Bangladesh News Media to possibly highlight the critical situation that Rohingyas and Kamans have been facing in Arakan for months. Highlighting their plights especially by the Bangladesh media will be the most effective in improving their vulnerable situation and hence will be beyond value for them.
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