ISPSW Strategy Series: Focus on Defense and International Security Issue Myanmar’s Rohingya Problem in Context No. 485 Anchalee Rüland May 2017 Improving the legal status As an important first step in the resolution of the conflict, the improvement of the Rohingya’s legal status matters to guarantee their basic civil rights, such as freedom of movement and access to government services (i.e. education and health care). However, to find a politically viable solution in Myanmar, the international community needs to start differentiating between a legitimate demand for citizenship for the Muslims living in Rakhine and full citizenship based on a Rohingya ethnic identity native to Myanmar. From a historical perspective the latter is highly problematic and by reproducing such a claim the international media only intensify grievances, as the Buddhist Rakhines feel unfairly treated and misrepresented in the conflict. Instead of insisting on the recognition of the Rohingya as a national race, their citizenship could be established based on the time of their migration as outlined in the 1982 Citizenship Act. Such a process, however, needs to take place in accordance with the Buddhist majority in Rakhine and at a rate acceptable to them. As the International Crisis Group has repeatedly warned, setting out a “path to citizenship” after decades of unchecked immigration, will likely crank up fears among the Buddhist Rakhine of a Muslim take-over: “there is a fear that they could soon become a minority in their own state - and valid or not, there is no doubt that it is very strongly felt in Rakhine 13 communities.” Building new trust between the communities As the situation of the few registered Muslims in Rakhine has shown, documents alone do not decrease the mutual hatred and experienced discrimination against the Rohingya in Myanmar. Accordingly, Lilian Fen who is a research fellow at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has pointed out that fast-track citizenship leaves 14 unaddressed the defining challenge of shifting the perceptions the two communities hold of each other. As long as the Buddhist Rakhine simply do not want Muslims to live amongst them, there is very little that a stroke of legal reforms implemented by the government can achieve. Populating one of Myanmar’s poorest states with a poverty rate of 78 percent, most Buddhist Rakhines believe that they have been left behind, after a group of foreigners had taken their jobs and land. With international humanitarian support now focusing 15 primarily on the Rohginya they feel betrayed once again. To reduce such resentments and contribute to rebuilding trust between the communities, from an international donor perspective it is therefore essential to accord development aid equally to all groups in Rakhine state. Responding to military violence In response to the military crackdown on Rohingya communities following the attacks on police stations in October 2016 an extreme policy, such as the cancellation of urgently needed development aid in Rakhine would thus be counter-productive. It would punish those who were not responsible for the events. Other than 2012, when tensions between Muslim and Buddhist communities escalated in Rakhine, what happened in October 2016 depicts a conflict between a separatist Rohingya group and the government of Myanmar. However, focusing on Aung San Suu Kyi, who as state counsellor is de facto responsible for running the country and blaming her for the subsequent military violence ignores that she has almost no power over the military forces of the country. Her means in Rakhine are severely limited, where the military could operate almost unrestrictedly after declaring the state of emergency. To make matters worse, all of the relevant ministries and 13 “The politics of Rakhine State” In: International Crisis Group (2014). Online: https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-eastasia/myanmar/myanmar-politics-rakhine-state (11.04.2017). 14 Fan cited in Cunningham, Do Myanmar’s Rohingya really need citizenship now: 3. 15 Ibid: 6. © 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 4 E-Mail: info@ispsw.de Website: http://www.ispsw.de