A/HRC/39/CRP.2 roots and reinforces the narrative that all “Bengali” are a problem and that a distinction between “terrorists” and civilians/victims is not relevant. 1337. Most of the Myanmar authorities’ posts and communications also directly feed the narratives of illegal immigration and Islamic threat, as espoused by MaBaTha affiliated groups and individuals, and as widely promoted in Myanmar, both online and through other sources. The narrative representing the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh is promoted not only by the persistent use of the word “Bengali”, but also through the focus on citizenship and residence verification in the context of resettlement discussions and speculation that the actual numbers of refugees must be far lower. These messages are reinforced by government accounts that highlight the damage to Buddhist monasteries, and efforts of the military to cooperate with local monks to rebuild damaged monasteries. 2960 For example: 1338. The motto of the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population is: “The earth will not swallow a race to extinction but another race will”. 2961 The same theme appears throughout official communications from the Myanmar authorities. For example, in a 21 September 2017 post on Facebook (entitled “Gallant efforts to defend the HQ against terrorist attacks and brilliant efforts to restore regional peace, security are honoured”) 2962, Commander-in-Chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing states that, “the Bengali population exploded and the aliens tried to seize the land of local ethnics” and “in checking the cases in which Bengali trying to sneak into the country through various means were seized involvement of some officials were found. Race cannot be swallowed by the ground but only by another race. All must be loyal to the State in serving their duties, so that such cases will never happen again.” On 11 October 2017, he stated, “…not accepting the process means that there are lots of those born to illegal migrants and entry of illegal migrants. There are many Bengali families each of which has about 40 members”. 2963 The same post also argues that “the native place of Bengali is really Bengal. Therefore, they might have fled to the other country with the same language, race and culture as theirs by assuming that they would be safer there.” The theme of Rohingya not belonging in Myanmar was made explicit in a March 2960 2961 2962 2963 See, for example, the following posts from Information Committee: https://www.facebook.com/InfomationCommittee/posts/786691611503947; https://www.facebook.com/InfomationCommittee/posts/790059134500528; https://www.facebook.com/InfomationCommittee/photos/a.639477959558647.1073741828.63945620 6227489/787636464742795/?type=3&theater (accessed July 2018). This motto, in Myanmar language, can be seen on the front page of the Ministry’s website: http://www.mip.gov.mm/ (accessed August 2018). Post on file with the Mission. Post on file with the Mission. 337