A/HRC/39/CRP.2
since been removed from the original Facebook and blog, but was still available on
other online blogs.2895
• Ro-gein-nya (“Rohingya are lying dogs”): the term combines the sound “gein” – a
sound that is attributed to dogs in Myanmar language – with Ro-lein-nyar mentioned
above. Usually in cartoons, when a dog is hit, it makes the sound “gein”. This
dehumanizing term is used to depict the Rohingya as “lying dogs that need to be hit”.
One example of this usage is a June 2016 post from a monk, advertising the upcoming
anti-Rohingya protests in Magwe Division and Karen State. The posts stated that
“Magwe Division and Karen State are holding events to drive out the “Ro-gein-nya”.
The text in the photo said, “as the government did not issue an official objection to
deny the request of the lying race (Rohingya), the people (in various regions) have
organized protests”.2896 As of August 2018, the post was still on Facebook.
• Anout Ta Kha (“west gate”): a term connoting the western “entrance” to the country,
namely Rakhine State and the western border with Bangladesh. The term is often used
to raise fear among the public in relation to immigration and “foreign invasion”. For
example, on 12 October 2016, a few days after the first ARSA attacks, Dr. Tun Lwin,
a well-known meteorologist with over 1.5 million followers on Facebook, called on
the Myanmar people to be united to secure the “west gate” and to be alert “now that
there is a common enemy”. He further stated that Myanmar does not tolerate invaders.
As of August 2018, the post had 47,000 reactions, over 830 comments, and nearly
10,000 shares.2897 Several comments called for immediate “uprooting” and
“eradication” of the Rohingya, citing the situation in Rakhine State as a “Muslim
invasion”.2898
• Yay Myaw Kan Tin (“unwanted person”): referring to “trash that is floating along a
river reaches the shore, but no one knows its origins”. In the Rohingya context, it has
been commonly used to refer to “boat people”, in particular during the 2015 Andaman
Sea crisis when thousands of Rohingya fled Myanmar on boats. For example, in
January 2017, a self-described pro-Myanmar patriot with more than 17,000 followers
on Facebook posted a graphic video of police violence against civilians in another
country. He captioned the post as follows: “Watch this video. The kicks and the
beatings are very brutal. I watch the video and feel that it is not enough. In the future,
‘Yay Myaw Kan Tin’ 786 Bengali disgusting race of Kalar terrorists who sneaked
into our country by boat, need to be beaten like that. We need to beat them until we
are satisfied.” One comment under the post reads: “It is very satisfying to watch this.
[…] It’s sad that Myanmar security forces are not as skilful in their beating”. In July
2018, the post had over 23,000 views, 830 reactions and 517 shares. 2899
• Ae Soe (“bad guest”): a term connoting the non-indigenous status of the Rohingya in
Myanmar, referring to them as guests from another country and as “bad”. This term
is used to imply that Rohingya are “bad guests” because they “insult the host”. For
example, one account holder, supposedly a monk, posted a poem with graphic photos
allegedly showing Buddhist Mros killed by the “Bengali” on 3 August 2017, along
with photos of damage to a pagoda allegedly done by “Bengali”. The poem goes “the
bad guests destroyed a pagoda, killed and tortured our people – this we must not
tolerate”. The pictures from the post were still available on Facebook as of August
2018.2900 The poem has been removed.
• Kalar-Oak (“camel”): Kalar-Oak as one word means camel, but also a “group of
Kalar” (oak means group). The use of this derogatory term is linked to a Myanmar
parable about a camel which gradually takes more and more space in his merchant’s
2895
2896
2897
2898
2899
2900
324
E.g. https://www.apyolay.com/archives/9670 (accessed July 2018).
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1601058356872424&set=a.1381500878828174.
1073741828.100009048252137&type=3; V-036.
https://www.facebook.com/tunlwin48/posts/1424521840895717; V-037.
V-040, V-041, V-042.
On file with the Mission.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=276331909519563&set=pb.100014282670913.2207520000.1523636460.&type=3&size=607%2C873; V-043.
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