by Admin,
The Rohingyas have their
own history, culture, tradition and language different from other ethnic
minority races who were living as a compact community in a geographical
territory within the Union of Burma.
Although
the call of Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations to the
Burmese Government President Thein Sein is not too late to grant the
citizenship to the ethnic Rohingya minority people of Burma, it is the moral responsibility
of President Thein Sein not to delay the restoration of the citizenship rights
of the Rohingya people to establish its democratic standing and show of respect
to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) before ending his
Presidency at the end of March, 2016 or newly elected NLD democratic government
led by Nobel Peace Laureate and Burma’s Human Rights Advocate Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi so as Burma becomes a dignified, democratic and credible nation in the
world.
Not only
Mr. Ban Ki-moon but also the Governments of Indonesia, United Kingdom, United
States of America, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Australia, Malaysia, Turkey, Iran,
Ambassadors form Islamic nations, ASEAN, OIC Secretary General, European Union,
international Nobel Peace Prize winners, International NGOs and Humanitarian
Organizations, Geneva based UN Human Rights Council, international civil
societies and religious community leaders including world-wide Human Rights
organizations urged and demanded the Burmese Government President Thein Sein to
grant the citizenship rights to the Rohingyas to maintain the complete openness
of democratic reform and free economy.
In fact,
the government of Burma President Thein Sein is playing foul play to the
international community still branding the Rohingya people as Bengali or
foreigners who entered to Burma from Bangladesh during the British colonial
period. Presenting unjustifiable show cause that Rohingya status must be
verified and decide in the Burmese Parliament whether they should be granted
citizenship or not which he says a risk factor for the security, sovereignty,
and the national integrity of Burma.
The
simple analysis is that the current Burmese Government is intentionally not
providing the citizenship rights to the Muslim Rohingyas to continue their
divide and rule policy against the people of Arakan State creating communal
violence destroying the centuries old peaceful co-existence between the Muslim
Rohingyas and Buddhist Rakhine in the name of superiority complex of Buddhist
nationalism so that Arakanese people can never unite to establish peace,
prosperity and freedom of restoration of the lost independence of Arakan
kingdom which was forcibly occupied by the Buddhist Burmese King Bodaw in 1784.
The
Rohingya people of the north-western region of Burma are an indigenous people
of Arakan and sons of the soil known as Bumi-putra of Arakan home-land. They
are living there from generation to generation since 8th century until today.
History of the Rohingya people as an ethnic minority people in Burma is
available in the net, media websites, and all ancient history books of Arakan.
The
Rohingyas have their own history, culture, tradition and language different
from other ethnic minority races who were living as a compact community in a
geographical territory within the Union of Burma. They are the heroic and brave
people who have been enduring all sorts of inhuman atrocities, racial and
religious persecution at the hands of successive Burmese Government and its
brutal security forces since last 60 years and now at hands of their own fellow
countrymen Buddhist Rakhines.
Being an
indigenous racial group with distinct quality of a civilized people ,who are
law abiding and seekers of peaceful life with fellow Rakhine community on the
spirit of peaceful co-existence, who are bona fide citizens of Burma based on
the Declaration of Burma independence and 1948 Citizenship laws, their active
participation in all democratic election since 1937 to 2011 without rejection
by the Election Commission of Burma, the repeated assurance and issuance of
statements by the previous Burmese Government leaders such as Bogyoke Aung San,
Prime Minister U Nu, U Ba Swe, President U Sao Shwe Thaik, Lt. General Aung Gyi
and other leaders confirming that Rohingyas are one of the races same as Shan,
Kachin, Mon and Rakhine during the parliamentary democratic rule in Burma are
the strong solid evidences that clearly manifests the legal rights of the
Rohingya people as dignified human group in Arakan under the protection of rule
of law and governance of the union of Burma. They have every rights same as
other ethnic minorities and national races in the union of Burma.
The 1982 citizenship law
which took away the citizenship rights of Rohingya people making them as
stateless people in their own ancestral homeland is a conspiracy of previous
military Government to create communal riots in Arakan on the basis of divide and
rule policy of former military junta. This discriminatory citizenship law which
violates the standard international laws and Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) must be repealed immediately when the country is opening as free
economy and passing through a transition to a democratic society. The President
Thein Sein who recently advocated to send the Rohingya people to third country
under UNHCR supervision classifying the Rohingyas as foreigners was compelled
to change his unrealistic and fabricated accusation and now pledged to the
world to restore Rohingyas citizenship and accommodating the Rohingyas through
national reconciliation process in their own places lost during the man-made
tragedy and ethnic cleansing against the Rohingyas by the extremist Rakhine
ruling Government of Arakan is a welcome sign to the right direction, but,
continuation of violence, burning, arrest and harassment of the Rohingyas in
the name immigration check forcing to accept as Bengali race is totally
unacceptable which needs to stop without further delay.
Arakan is
belonged to the Rohingya people same as other minority races like Rakhines,
Mro, Thet, Kamwee and tribal people and all of them are citizens of the Union
of Burma with same national rights rendered by the Burma current Constitution
and they have every right to live safe, secure and free from fear with honor
and dignity in Burma beyond the reasonable doubt. It is the responsibility of
the Union of Burma Government to establish rule of law restoring all Rohingyas rights
and provide the required protection to the Rohingya ethnic minority people
disregarding race, religion and language.
Our great
President Mr. Barack Obama during his 6 hours visit to the Union of Burma on
November 19, 2012 clearly mentioned during his speech to the people and
government of Burma that Rohingya people have dignity, dignity inside
themselves same as the President Obama and Burmese people and no one such as
Rohingya should be subjected to torture, inhuman treatment and violence due to
race, religion and color in Burma.
The
historic speech of our great President of USA, Mr. Barack Obama in University
of Yangon should be regarded as an eye-opener, failure to heed this valuable
advice by the Burmese Government will be self-destructive to people and country
of the Union of Burma. Instead of exclusion of the Rohingyas from Burma
main-stream society, the inclusion and embracing the Rohingyas as sons of the
soil (Bumi-putra) will enhance the current on-going democratic process and
establishment of free-economy with foreign investment leading the Union of
Burma a most prosperous, peaceful and progressive country in the world within
15 years.
Shaukhat
(aka) MSK Jilani
(Executive
Director)
Rohingya
American Society (RAS)
Milwaukee,
Wisconsin State
USA.
Dated:
March 15, 2016
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