By Ibrahim Shah
Burma Times
May 11, 2014
“Appeal to world including ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) for a swift approach without further delay regardless faith and political views to save Rohingya in western Burma from this upcoming disastrous Monsoon. Monsoon (Rainy season) will start heavily raining from the last portion of May in western Burma.”
The Rohingya ethnic minority of Arakan, western Burma, encounters several catastrophes which are yet not faced by any other people of this earth planet.
Initially, Rohingya was made ineligible to citizens of Burma by the 1982 Burma citizenship law, a discriminatory Act, prescribed by Dictator Ne Win and eliminated them from Burma census 1983. Afterwards, they became non-citizens of Burma.
Rohingya people have been facing unimaginable humankind-made catastrophes in numerous ways increasingly since amidst 2012. The brutal Burmese rulers imposed double standard policies. Officially, Rakhine Buddhists are free from discrimination and persecution, on the other hand, severe restrictions imposed on Rohingya. The two sister communities were staying peacefully since many decades until 1941.
The atrocities against Rohingya have been carrying out by both local Rakhine people and authorities.
“Concurrently, Rohingya face quadrilateral catastrophes such as mistreatment from local Rakhine extremists, systematic persecution from brutal government officials, religious hatred from radical monks and destruction of properties by rampant climate change in their own territory.”
Local Rakhine people instigate hatred against Rohingya and threaten to flee leaving homes to uncertain destinations collaborating with authorities. The Rakhine thugs daily commit premeditated crimes against Rohingya such as robbery, dacoity. Habitually, the Rakhine thugs destroy farms and harass whenever Rohingya are seen, as well.
Nobody knows the accurate death toll of Rohingya boat people who have died in sea during their sea-journey.
Concurrently, authorities—state government, district administration, township administration, village tract administration and quarter administrations, police, paramilitary (99.99% Rakhine) and armies carry out several atrocities against Rohingya.
Rohingya face such inconceivable atrocities—Torture in unknown detention centers inhumanely under false accusations, sudden raid in houses and steal valued things, women are molested during travel on highways, male officers raid women touching body, both land and river path where Rohingya can earn livelihoods are blocked by authorities, children die in malnutrition due to lack of food and sanitation, and elder people suffer uncommon diseases, etc.
Radical monks address hatred discourses and put anti-Muslim mindset to every Buddhist individuals. Across the Burma, it seems that almost all Buddhists are approaching to “Terroristic-Buddhism”. I feel devastation that the world known Burmese opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu kyi is eerily silent on Rohingya crisis because Rohingya are non-Buddhists.
“Muslims throughout Burma pass their daily lives embracing death in heart in fear of unexpected attack of radical Buddhists, reported by Mohamed Ibrahim, the media and information secretary of the European Rohinyga Council, after a series of interviews with some Muslims across the Burma.”
Critically, People face a shortage of water during summer. Cold season makes people unconsciousness due to lack of blankets and warm clothes.
since June 2012, tens of thousands of victimized Rohingya people remain suffering of prison-life at squalid and concentrated camps in Sittwe, Paukhtaw, Minbya, Myebon, Maungdaw and some other areas which are yet unknown.
“The UN envoy Quintana reiteratively explained that the camps of internally displaced people are felt more like prisons rather than camps.”
It is dreadful! Certainly, both Rohingya residents and IDPs may face the rampant climate affect because the dwellings are not adequately strong to resist the stormy rains during upcoming Monsoon. Almost all the Rohingya households inside Burma are lack of food-stock due to official blockage to livelihoods so it is very dreadful that they may certainly face starvation during this upcoming Monsoon. The price of food in Burma skyrockets in every Monsoon.
Numerous homes of many impoverished Rohingya people remain without roof. Tens of thousands of Rohingya worry where they will be sheltered during stormy-flood.
The Rohingya encounter oppression more repressively than previous militaristic rulers during the quasi-civilian regime led by President Thien Sein.
“Rohingya Muslims are being segregated from Rakhine Buddhists at Aung Mingalar quarter in Sittwe. According to 6 out of 8 stages of Genocide, the current ongoing persecution against Rohingya is Rohingya genocide.”
I would like to appeal to leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states to urge Burma to lift up discriminatory policies against Rohingya granting them full-fledged citizenship rights equally to Burmans. Burma deprives all the ethnic minorities including Rohingya of their fundamental rights until now and ASEAN should pressurize Burma to turn into a true democracy from thugocracy.
In particular, leaders of ASEAN member states have an obligation to eradicate official conflicts created by respective governments; otherwise, all the neighboring countries of Burma may feel unexpected tragedy as worse as Rohingya do. Therefore, leaders of ASEAN member states should speak up to put an end to Rohingya crisis as well as for justice of Rohingya who have been encountering state-sponsored crisis with the Slow Burning Genocide.
International community including UN, OIC and ASEAN should take immediate steps to save the Rohingya from the mouth of Death-King that awaits Monsoon to take more Rohingya lives by the powerful stormy flood.
*Ibrahim Shah is the Chief Editor of Burma Times and a student of comparative religion based on esoteric thoughts.
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