By Ibrahim Shah
Burma Times
April 27, 2014
The Rohingya genocide, Rohingya-cide, in Arakan state of western Burma, has been gradually orchestrated by Burmese chauvinistic dictators, extremist monks and ultra nationalist Burmese since 1978.However, since 2012, the world has witnessed premeditated attacks on Rohingyas by brutal government forces, state-sponsored Rakhine terrorists and extremist monks. The international community at large has seen devastations caused by the state-sponsored genocide against Rohingyas.
As Rohingya faces genocide, what is moremiserable for them is that the world is not sympathetic and concerned enough to their plight. What they do are just media murmurs. The more the momentum of the persecution of Rohingyas by Burmese quasi-civilian regime increases, the more the world turns a blind eye to their plight in lieu of advocating efficiently and effectively to stop the persecution.
On the other hand, Burmese President Thein Sein, a devil in angel disguise, overtly covers the crimes against Rohingya and humanity his government forces have committed since 2012. Being a sociopath, he deliberately lies that his government is working its best to restore peace in (what they label as) conflict-torn area. Besides, high-ranking ministers in his cabinet are openly propagating racism and Rohingya-cide. They name the genocide of Rohingyas as sectarian clash or communal violence between Rohingyas and Rakhines.
Now, it’s turn of the readers to decide the crisis that Rohingya face today is whetherstate-sponsored genocide, sectarian violence or others.
- As known to the world, Rakhine Buddhist mobs frequently attack Rohingyas and set their (Rohingyas’) possessions ablaze— homes, religious buildings and shops etc. Security Forces whose duty is to protect the lives of innocent people shoot down Rohingyas when they come out of homes to seek refuge in nearby places.
- Rohingya victims are kept in squalid and concentrated camps, a condition which UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, TomasOjea Quintana, has often compared with open-prisons.
- Government has imposed confinements in movement, livelihoods, education, medical care and marriage of Rohingya in both IDP camps and Rohingya areas.
- Innocent Rohingyas are arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned under false charges. They are not provided any legal rights for appeal division.(Likewise, it’s too shocking to frequently see that real perpetrators behind arbitrary imprisonments of Rohingyas are judges and lawyers practicing in Burmese courts.)
- On the other hand,the real perpetrators of violence remain outside to create even more unrests. No central government or state government, or district levelgovernment has issued arrest warrant against any of the perpetrators till date.
- Crimes against Rohingyas have been increasing beyond imagination. Burmese officials inhumanely torture Rohingya arrestees and quite frequently harass Rohingya women.
- Burmese Police has brutally tortured Rohingya women arrested under false and lame allegation of burning their own homes down at the village of Sin ThayPyin hamlet nearby Ducheratan hamlet in northern Maungdaw. They have been burned their genital parts using candles to force them to accept the accusations charged by the police.
- To be able to hide human rights violations during theperiod of Burma census 2014, aid workers and International NGOs had been expelled from Western Burma in advance to census enumeration.Valuable possessions of humanitarian workers including their offices were destroyed by state-sponsored Rakhine extremists. Yet, Burmese regime has not taken any action against the perpetrators yet since the real perpetrator is the regime itself. What kind of democracy is it in Burma where there is no life security for aid workers serving humanity in the region?
- Concurrently, Rohingya IDP face shortage of water and food, particularly in regions such as in Pauktaw, Nget Chaung and AnokYaing, surrounding areas of Sittwe, Sandawlee(Saantawlee) and Then Kya Yowa (Bassaara) and Myebon township. The regime has confined them since June 2012 and they have no access even to their livelihoods.
Moreover, two of Rohingya genocidal Acts 2014 are—(a) official elimination of Rohingyas from Burma census 2014, (b) paralyzing Rohingya people by arbitrarily arresting and severely beating using formula “Arrest, Torture, Paralyze and spread Fears.”
On the other hand, Rohingya people are finding hard to travel since Rohingyas were officially excluded from participation in Burma census 2014 as they tried to self-identify their ethnicity according to census law. They, children and adults alike, are abused and maltreated by Rakhine extremists, Burmese doggy officials and even Rakhine teachers in schools. Rakhine extremists harass them using a derogatory term Kular or Kalar(a derogatory term generally used against anybody of Indian descends). They illogically question “Hey, Kulars, where the hell on earth can you call yourselves as Rohingya?”
Only for self-identifying themselves as Rohingya, they are severely beaten by police in custody. The tortures cause some to go paralyzed and some become unconscious. So, do you think these inhumane and heartless people will give them their (equal human) rights?
Besides, there is a genocidal motto at every immigration office in Rohingya majority areas in western Burma. A motto that reads “Mye myo ywey lumyo ma pyok, lumyo ma’lumyopyouk mi” meaning “a Race can’t be swallowed by Earth but by another Race.” The motto has been there for decades. So, one can sense since when the murderous Burmese regime has planned the ongoing genocide of Rohingyas.
Rohingya are branded as illegal immigrants despite historical facts proving that Rohingya have settled in western Burma since 7th century.
Rohingya are segregated in Sittwe and many official buildings are being put up in the lands belong to them (Rohingyas). They have been facing chronic catastrophes—state-sponsored persecution and discrimination, and double standard policies are enacted in western Burma. Two separate discriminatory policies: one strictly for Rohingya Muslims and another for Rakhine Buddhists. And Rohingyas are oppressed beyond imagination!!
6 outof 10 stages of Genocide as mentioned by Genocide Watch have already been seen in the case of Rohingyas. Therefore, it is high time we declared the systematic persecution of Rohingyas and violations of their rights is nothing but Genocideof Rohingyas in Burma.
Barring ethnic Rohingya community from census registration, Burmese President Thein Seinhas deceived international community and broken commitment given to UNFPA for Burma census 2014.
It is so deplorable for UNFPA that it is still eerily silent. Hence, UN should take necessary measurements against President TheinSein for his aggression and being an immoral president who prefers chauvinism over equality.
It is the full responsibility of UN to take necessary measurements to prevent the ongoing genocide in western Burma. Otherwise, the Burmese genocidal quasi-civilian regime, under any circumstances, will not withdraw its continual discriminatory policies against Rohingya until western Burma becomes a Rohingya-free zone.
*Hereby, our distinguished readers are appealed to comment after perusal this article if it is time to declare the current Rohingya catastrophe as Rohingya-cide. Is the violence genocidal or Communal?
Written by Ibrahim Shah, Chief Editor of Burma Times
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