The Stateless Rohingya Blog

The quasi-military government of Myanmar seems determined to isolate the Rohingya Muslims, numbering about 1.1 million, living in the western Rahkine state. Its Rakhine State Action plan aims to ostracise these hapless people and convert them into the dregs of Myanmar society.  Under the plan, the Rohingyas must identify themselves as Bengali – a term, which implies they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and most reject it – in order to possibly receive citizenship. Yet another problem is that many Rohingyas do not have the necessary papers to prove they have lived in Myanmar for a long time. Some lost them during the 2012 violence.  All this would mean that thousands will be forced into what is being termed by authorities as “temporary camps.” Of course, the Rakhine State Action Plan has been sugar-coated by the government which said the projects aimed at “reconciliation, economic development, and providing accommodation” for those who remain displaced by...

 Rohingya refugees in Thailand are either deported or sent to other countries offering them asylum [Reuters] By Oman Tribune February 20, 2014  The news that Thailand has sent back 1,350 Rohingya Muslim refugees to Myanmar is shocking. They were among the 2,000 who braved the choppy seas to escape persecution to what they thought was the safety of Thailand. Their hopes have now been belied. This is happening at a time when all right-thinking people everywhere, fighting for the rights of those deprived of freedom and a life of self-respect and dignity, are calling for ways to end the suffering of the Rohingyas. The United Nations has described them as being among the world’s most persecuted people. There is no doubt that the Rohingyas have suffered a lot. Though living in Myanmar for more than a century, they have not been given citizenship. In every respect, they have been treated as second class citizens. In the mid-1990s, thousands of them fled persecution ...

Photo AP By Oman Tribune November 25, 2013 The stand of the Myanmar government in the context of the Rohingyas is crystal clear. These hapless people will continue to be third class inhabitants of Myanmar and their persecution will go on. This point was implicit in the rejection by a spokesman for President Thein Sein of a United Nations resolution calling on the Myanmar government to grant Rohingyas citizenship and to end the violence against them. “We cannot give citizenship rights to those who are not in accord with the law, whatever the pressure. This is our sovereign right,” said spokesman Ye Hut and added that only “Bengalis in Rakhine state who are in accord with the 1982 citizenship can become citizens.” According to rules minorities must prove that they have lived in Myanmar before 1823. That will be impossible. This means that more trouble is in store for the Rohingyas who number around 800,000 and most of them live in Rakhine state. A repeat of the riots som...

Oman Tribune: April  18, 2013 On Sunday, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) asked the government of Myanmar to grant entry to a fact-finding ministerial delegation to look into the horrible violence against Muslims. Whether such a visit will serve any useful purpose remains to be seen as long as the government looks the other way or tacitly backs atrocities against the Rohingya Muslims and Muslims of other stock. In fact, the current violence is not a new phenomenon. In the 1990s too, the Rohingyas were subjected to a lot of persecution and hundreds of thousands fled to Bangladesh. Voices were raised around the world in their support. The OIC and the Gulf Arab also joined the chorus. But the effect of the hue and cry was minimal and now years later, the situation has grown worse. The plight of the Rohingyas and Muslims in other parts of Myanmar is worse than before, mainly due to the indifference of successive military governments. It seems like the governmen...

Source Oman Tribune: February 10, 2013   The sufferings of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar cannot be ignored any more by the international community. That their situation is serious is evident from the revelation by the Thai authorities that 6,000 Rohingyas have arrived in Thailand since October when violence against them was unleashed in Rakhine state. Thousands of others are languishing in neighbouring Bangladesh. Hundreds of others reportedly have plans to flee Myanmar and the persecution there. The million-dollar question is, what is the international community doing to help the Rohingyas ? Not too long ago, the Americans were vocal about the lack of democracy and the violation of human rights in Myanmar. Why are they silent now? This is not the first time that the Rohingyas are being persecuted. In the mid-1990, the Myanmar government was involved in a systematic assault on the rights of these people and hundreds of thousands sought refuge in Bangladesh. The subse...