ISPSW Strategy Series: Focus on Defense and International Security Issue Myanmar’s Rohingya Problem in Context No. 485 Anchalee Rüland May 2017 segments of the Buddhist population grew to resent the newcomers based on their greater access to labor 7 opportunities and British favoritism. With the end of the British Empire also the culturally, linguistically and socially inter-related Muslims of 8 Chittagong and Rakhine were separated by international borders. Inspired by the independence movement that led to the separation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan from India, Muslim settlers in the 1950s started to advocate for the northern part of Rakhine to become an autonomous Muslim zone or alternatively merge with 9 East Pakistan (today Bangladesh). In choosing the name Rohingya, the Muslim insurgents known as Muhjahid identified themselves with the history and geography of Rakhine state and thereby aimed to legitimize their 10 fight for autonomy. Against this backdrop, the Rohingya, as a distinctive group, appear to have their origin first and foremost in a political movement that emerged from a historical moment of separation and since then has been reinforced by their shared suffering under the military regime. Until the military took over control in 1962, the Muslim population in Rakhine was not only socially better inte11 grated, but also enjoyed the same civic rights as the Buddhist Rakhines. The junta used the political movement of the Rohingya to demonstrate that only the military could keep the Union of Myanmar together and thereby legitimized its own leadership claim. The military first stripped the Muslims off their legal documents, and then stigmatized them as foreigners. De facto stateless more than 200.000 Muslim Rakhines were violently forced into Bangladesh in 1978. After the mass exoduses of Muslims in 1978 and again in 1991 and 1992, international pressure each time persuaded the government of Myanmar to allow repatriation of some Muslim communities back to Myanmar. However, upon the Rohingya’s return the Buddhist majority entirely thought of 12 them as Bengalis and their living conditions further deteriorated. When violence escalated between the communities in 2012, the military similarly spurred tensions to force Aung San Suu Kyi to take sides in the conflict. She had just been elected into parliament and now faced a dilemma: Showing solidarity with the Rohingya would equal political suicide in Myanmar, especially for her as a member and representative of the ruling Bamar ethnicity. But internationally her silence was seen as indifference and harmed her reputation as a human rights defendant. Policy Recommendations The primary goal of the international Rohingya debate and subsequent policies should be the improvement of the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine. From a political point of view it is therefore essential to acknowledge the complexity of the conflict and take into account the existing fears within both communities. Accusations that internationally isolate the NLD-run government should be avoided. 7 Cheung, Samuel. “Migration control and the solutions impasse in South and Southeast Asia: Implications from the Rohingya Experience.” In: Journal of Refugee Studies 25, 1 (2011): 51. 8 Leider, Rohingya: 235. 9 Khin Maung Saw. Arakan, a neglected land and her voiceless people. Yangon: Kha Yee Phaw Publication House, 2016: 117. 10 Leider, Rohingya: 240.; Khin Maung Saw, Arakan: 125. 11 Cuningham, Susan. “Do Myanmar’s Rohingya really need citizenship now?” In: Forbes (04.07.2015): 10. Online: https://www.forbes.com/sites/susancunningham/2015/07/04/do-myanmars-rohingya-really-need-citizenshipnow/#489056c449e0 (11.04.2017). 12 Plugh, Is citizenship the answer: 14. © Institut für Strategie- Politik- Sicherheits- und Wirtschaftsberatung ISPSW Giesebrechtstr. 9 10629 Berlin Germany Tel +49 (0)30 88 91 89 05 Fax +49 (0)30 88 91 89 06 3 E-Mail: info@ispsw.de Website: http://www.ispsw.de