July 14, 2013
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) 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 bonafied 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 Thike, 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
(Chairman)
Burmese Rohingya
American Friendship Association (BRAFA)
Milwaukee,
Wisconsin State
USA.
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