The Rohingya crisis: The fate of a stateless minority
"the situation has spiralled into the world’s fastest developing refugee emergency and a humanitarian and human rights nightmare" -United Nations Secretary General António Gutteres
Widespread destruction of villages, violence, rape, and mass murder: these are some of the recurring words in nearly every newspaper headline regarding the crisis of the Rohingya. The world is well aware of the atrocities against this Muslim minority in Myanmar; often described of as ethnic cleansing. Though the Rohingya have suffered constant discrimination and attempts of exclusion in Myanmar since World War II, the present situation has evolved to a new level of crisis with no prospect of a short-term solution. United Nations Secretary General António Gutteres recently stated ‘the situation has spiralled into the world’s fastest developing refugee emergency and a humanitarian and human rights nightmare’.
In August 2017 a new round of extreme violence sparked against the Rohingya. Clashes broke out when a Rohingya militant group named ‘Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’ (ARSA) attacked Myanmar police outposts and regimental headquarters. This resulted in the death of multiple police officers and members of the Myanmar security forces. The government immediately declared ARSA a terrorist organization and responded with ruthless counter-attacks, which the military itself called ‘clearance operations’. This triggered a major exodus of the Rohingya from their homes in Rhakine State, Myanmar. Research of OHCHR indicates that these attacks of the military ‘incited hatred, violence and killings against the Rohingya population through extremely derogatory abuse based on their religion, language and culture and ethnic identity’.
The plight of the Rohingya
The Rohingya are considered to be among the most persecuted people in the world. Since the independence of Myanmar in 1948 the government has consistently been refusing to grant the Rohingya citizenship, effectively making them the largest stateless group of people in the world. Since the government does not recognize the Rohingya as residents, they experience severe basic human rights violations such as denial of access to healthcare, education, and employment. Even rights to get married or to have children are limited. With no legal protection the Rohingya have been subject to decades of violence and discrimination, which caused an armed insurgency to grow within the Rohingya population. The ‘Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army’ or ARSA is the most recent group to emanate from this movement. Group leader Jununi claimed their ‘legitimate self-defence is a necessary struggle justified by the needs of human survival’.
Myanmar’s denial and cover-up
Despite satellite pictures of scorched villages and evidence of mass graves in Rhakine State, Myanmar denies nearly all of the crimes committed against the Rohingya and even seems to ‘justify’ their acts by claiming the armed forces are solely targeting ‘terrorists of ARSA’. Meanwhile, all access for independent investigators to Rhakine is denied by the government. UN special rapporteur Yanghee Lee had been due to assess the state of human rights in Myanmar including Rhakine in January, but the government barred her from visiting the country.
Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, who is also a known human rights activist, is facing increasing pressure to address the Rohingya crisis. Critics condemn her ignorance towards the humanitarian crisis by saying she is burying her head in the sand about the horrors in Rhakine. Many say she is tolerating the kind of repression she spent years fighting against.
Repatriation: too dangerous and premature
Rohingya continue to face challenges in the refugee camps, mostly situated in Bangladesh. The refugee population consists for 55 percent of children, which causes extreme vulnerability to disease outbreaks and malnutrition. Humanitarian aid in the refugee camps as well as in Rhakine is not sufficient and on top of that, extreme rain due to monsoon season is putting the camps at risk of flooding entirely.
In November, Myanmar and Bangladesh came to a controversial agreement to repatriate the Rohingya refugees, which was supposed to start in January. However, the the question arises: could this not be an attempt of Myanmar government to distract the world from the atrocities taking place?
At first sight the agreement sparks hope and may potentially be a big relief for the Rohingya refugees, who would finally be able to return ‘home’. Yet, it appears that to this day that the systematic violence against the Rohingya still persists. Andrew Gilmour, UN assistant secretary-general for human rights says ‘the nature of the violence has changed from the frenzied blood-letting and mass rape of last year to a lower intensity campaign of terror and forced starvation, that seems to be designed to drive the remaining Rohingya from their homes and into Bangladesh.’
Repatriation of the refugees will thus not be possible in the present circumstances due to the on-going violence and other practical matters. For example, the agreement requires the refugees to provide documents to the Myanmar government that most of them are not able to provide. The majority of the Rohingya do not have any legal and official documents as the result of abrupt having to flee for their lives.
The repatriation is not a realistic durable solution as it will not solve the root cause of the actual problem. Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Director of Emergency Programmes stresses that ‘people won’t go home unless they are guaranteed safety and security, unless they have citizenship, unless they can send their children to school and have a chance of a future’.
If repatriation takes place without fundamentally changing the internal situation in Myanmar, Rohingya may remain trapped in a vicious circle of discrimination and violence, eventually sparking a new exodus.
Hence, the recognition of basic rights of the Rohingya would be a logical first step towards creating necessary conditions for a dignified and safe return to Myanmar. This would end the policies and legislation that discriminates against them and may provide a starting point to curb the tensions between the Rohingya and the authorities and Buddhist majority of Myanmar. However, creating a society without discrimination, a safe environment for the refugees to return to, and granting basic rights to the Rohingya will be a long and difficult process for Myanmar, especially after nearly 75 years of institutional discrimination and societal stigmatization of the Rohingya.