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PERSECUTION OF MUSLIMS IN MYANMAR
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Religion in Burma (Pew 2010)
Buddhism (80%)
Burmese folk religion (6%)
Protestantism (5%)
Islam (4%)
Catholicism (2%)
Hinduism (2%)
Other (1%)
Myanmar has a Buddhist majority. The Muslim minority in Myanmar are the
descendants of Muslim immigrants from India (including what is now Bangladesh)
and China (the ancestors of Chinese Muslims in Myanmar came from the Yunnan
province), as well as descendants of earlier Arab settlers and the recognized
Kamein minority and the Rohingya people, intermarried with local races of
Myanmar. According to Human Rights Watch the Burmese government has denied
citizenship to any Rohingya persons who cannot prove their ancestors settled in
the country before 1823, the beginning of British occupation of what is now
Rakhine State (also known as Arakan)
History
Muslims have lived in Myanmar (also known as Burma) since the 11th
century AD. The first Muslim documented in Burmese history (recorded in Hmannan
Yazawin or Glass Palace Chronicle) was Byat Wi during the reign of Mon, a
Thaton King, circa 1050 AD. The two sons of Byat Wi's brother Byat Ta,
known as Shwe Byin brothers, were executed as children either because of their
Islamic faith, or because they refused forced labour. It was recorded in the
Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma that they were no longer
trusted. During a time of war, King Kyansittha sent a hunter as a sniper to
assassinate him.
Pre-Modern
Persecution
The Burmese king Bayinnaung (1550–1581 AD) imposed restrictions
upon his Muslim subjects, but not actual persecution. In 1559 AD, after
conquering Pegu (present-day Bago), Bayinnaung banned Islamic ritual slaughter,
thereby prohibiting Muslims from consuming halal meals of goats and chicken. He
also banned Eid al-Adha and Qurbani, regarding killing animals in the name of
religion as a cruel custom.
In the 17th century, Indian Muslims residing in Arakan were massacred,
providing harmful and actual persecution. These Muslims had settled with Shah
Shuja, who had fled India after losing the Mughal war of succession. Initially,
the Arakan pirate Sandathudama (1652–1687 AD) who was the local pirate of
Chittagong and Arakan, allowed Shuja and his followers to settle there. But a
dispute arose between Sandatudama and Shuja, and Shuja unsuccessfully attempted
to rebel. Sandathudama killed most of Shuja's followers, though Shuja himself
escaped the massacre.
King Alaungpaya (1752–1760) prohibited Muslims from practising the
Islamic method of killing cattle.
King Bodawpaya (1782–1819) arrested four prominent Burmese Muslim Imams
from Myedu and killed them in Ava, the capi1tal, after they refused to eat
pork. According to the Myedu Muslim and Burma Muslim version, Bodawpaya later
apologised for the killings and recognised the Imams as saints.
BRITISH RULE
In 1921, the population of Muslims in Burma was around 500,000. During
British rule, Burmese Muslims were seen as "Indian", as the majority
of Indians living in Burma were Muslims, even though the Burmese Muslims were
different from Indian Muslims. Thus, Burmese Muslims, Indian Muslims and Indian
Hindus were collectively known as "kala".
After World War I, there was an upsurge in anti-Indian sentiments.
There were several causes of anti-Indian and anti-Muslim sentiments in Burma.
In India, many Buddhists had been persecuted by the Mughal empire. There was
significant job competition between Indian migrants, who were willing to do
unpleasant jobs for low income, and the native Burmese. The Great Depression
intensified this competition, aggravating anti-Indian sentiment.
In 1930, anti-Indian riots were sparked by a labour issue at the Yangon
port. After Indian workers at the port went on strike, the British firm
Stevedores tried to break the strike by hiring Burmese workers. Realizing
they'd lose their jobs, the Indian workers returned to work, and Stevedores
then laid off the recently hired Burmese workers. The Burmese workers blamed
Indian workers for their loss of jobs, and a riot broke out. At the port, at
least 200 Indian workers were massacred and dumped into the river. Another
2,000 were injured. Authorities fired upon armed rioters who refused to lay
down their weapons, under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The riots
rapidly spread throughout Burma, targeting Indians and Muslims.
In 1938, anti-Muslim riots again broke out in Burma. Moshe Yegar writes
that the riots were fanned by anti-British and nationalistic sentiments, but
were disguised as anti-Muslim so as not to provoke a response by the British.
Nevertheless, the British government responded to the riots and demonstrations.
The agitation against Muslims and the British was led by Burmese newspapers.
Another riot started after a marketplace scuffle between Indians and
Burmese. During the "Burma for Burmese" campaign, a violent
demonstration took place in Surti Bazaar, a Muslim area. When the police, who
were ethnically Indian, tried to break up the demonstration, three monks were
injured. Images of monks being injured by ethnically Indian policemen were
circulated by Burmese newspapers, provoking riots. Muslim properties, including
shops and houses were looted. According to official sources, 204 Muslims were
killed and over 1,000 were injured. 113 mosques were damaged.
On 22 September 1938, the British Governor set up the Inquiry Committee
to investigate the riots. It was determined that the discontent was caused by
the deterioration in sociopolitical and economic condition of Burmese. This
report itself was used to incite sectarianism by Burmese newspapers.
JAPANESE RULE
Muslims under General Ne Win
When General Ne Win came to power in 1962, the status of Muslims
changed. For example, Muslims were expelled from the army. Muslim communities
that segregated themselves from the Buddhist majority faced greater
difficulties than those who integrated and potentially forfeiting observance of
Islamic laws.
The anti-Buddhist actions of the Taliban in Afghanistan (the
destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan) was also used as a pretext to commit
violence against Muslims in Burma by Buddhist mobs. Human Rights Watch reports
that there was mounting tension between the Buddhist and Muslim communities in
Taungoo for weeks before it erupted into violence in the middle of May 2001.
Buddhist monks demanded that the Hantha Mosque in Taungoo be destroyed in
"retaliation" for the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan.
Religious freedom for Muslims is reduced. Monitoring and control of
Islam undermines the free exchange of thoughts and ideas associated with
religious activities. Accusations of "terrorism" are made against
Muslim organisations such as the All Burma Muslim Union.
It is widely feared that persecution of Muslims in Burma could foment
Islamic extremism in the country. Many Muslims have joined armed resistance
groups who are fighting for greater freedoms in Burma.
1997 MANDALAY RIOTS
Racial tension grew between Buddhists and Muslims during the renovation
of a Buddha statue. The bronze Buddha statue in the Maha Myatmuni pagoda, originally
from the Arakan, brought to Mandalay by King Bodawpaya in 1784 was renovated by
the authorities. The Mahamyat Muni statue was broken open, leaving a gaping
hole in the statue, and it was generally presumed that the regime was searching
for the Padamya Myetshin, a legendary ruby that ensures victory in war to those
who possess it.
On 16 March 1997, in Mandalay, a mob of 1,000–1,500 Buddhist monks and
others shouted anti-Muslim slogans as they targeted mosques, shop-houses, and
vehicles that were in the vicinity of mosques for destruction. Looting, the
burning religious books, acts of sacrilege, and vandalizing Muslim-owned
establishments were also common. At least three people were killed and around
100 monks arrested. The unrest in Mandalay allegedly began after reports of an
attempted rape of a girl by Muslim men.
Myanmar's Buddhist Youth Wing asserts that officials made up the rape
story to cover up protests over the custodial deaths of 16 monks. The military
has denied the Youths’ claim, stating that the unrest was a politically
motivated attempt to stall Myanmar's entry in ASEAN.
Attacks by Buddhist monks spread to the then capital of Myanmar,
Rangoon as well as to the central towns of Pegu, Prome, and Toungoo. A curfew
remains in force in Mandalay until today and the army is patrols the streets in
many cities. In Mandalay alone, 18 mosques were destroyed and Muslim-owned
businesses and property vandalized. Copies of the Koran were burnt. The
military junta that ruled Myanmar turned a blind eye to the disturbances as
hundreds of monks were not stopped from ransacking mosques.
2001 anti-Muslim riots in Taungoo
In 2001, Myo Pyauk Hmar Soe Kyauk Sa Yar (or) The Fear of Losing One's
Race and many other anti-Muslim pamphlets were widely distributed by monks.
Many Muslims feel that this exacerbated the anti-Muslim feelings that had been
provoked by the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan. On 15
May 2001, anti-Muslim riots broke out in Taungoo, Pegu division, resulting in
the deaths of about 200 Muslims, in the destruction of 11 mosques and the
setting ablaze of over 400 houses. On 15 May, the first day of the anti-Muslim
uprisings, about 20 Muslims who were praying in the Han Tha mosque were killed
and some were beaten to death by the pro-junta forces. On 17 May, Lt. General
Win Myint, Secretary No. 3 of the SPDC and deputy Home and Religious
minister, arrived in Taungoo and curfew was imposed there until 12 July 2001.
Buddhist monks demanded that the ancient Han Tha Mosque in Taungoo be destroyed
in retaliation for the destruction in Bamiyan. On 18 May, the Han Tha
mosque and Taungoo Railway station mosque were razed to the ground by
bulldozers owned by the SPDC junta. The mosques in Taungoo remained closed as
of May 2002. Muslims have been forced to worship in their homes. Local Muslim
leaders complain that they are still harassed. After the violence, many local
Muslims moved away from Taungoo to nearby towns and to as far away as Yangon.
After two days of violence the military stepped in and the violence immediately
ended.
2012 RAKHINE STATE
RIOTS
Main article: 2012 Rakhine State riots
Since June 2012, at least 166 Muslims and Rakhine have been killed in
sectarian violence in the state.
2013 ANTI-MUSLIM
RIOTS IN MYANMAR
Since March 2013, riots have flared up in various cities in central and
eastern Myanmar. The violence has coincided with the rise of the 969 Movement
which is a Buddhist nationalist movement against the influx of Islam in
traditionally Buddhist Myanmar. Led by Sayadaw U Wirathu, "969" has
claimed that he/they do not provoke attacks against Muslim communities,
although some people have called him the Buddhist Bin Laden". In an open
letter, U Wirathu claims he treated both Beech[clarification needed] and
photographer with hospitality, and that he "could see deceit and recognize
his sweet words for all people's sake." In the letter, he claims he has
respect for the Western media, but that the TIME reporter misinterpreted his
peaceful intentions. “My preaching is not burning with hatred as you say,” U
Wirathu says to Beech in his open letter. He goes on to say that he will
“forgive the misunderstanding” if she is willing to do an about-face on the
article. However, much of his public speeches focus on retaliation against
Muslims for invading the country.
Michael Jerryson, author of several books heavily critical of
Buddhism's traditional peaceful perceptions, stated that, "The Burmese
Buddhist monks may not have initiated the violence but they rode the wave and
began to incite more. While the ideals of Buddhist canonical texts promote
peace and pacifism, discrepancies between reality and precepts easily flourish
in times of social, political and economic insecurity, such as Myanmar's
current transition to democracy."
2014 Mandalay riots
In July a Facebook post emerged of a Buddhist woman being raped,
supposedly by a Muslim man. In retaliation an angry, vengeful mob of 300 people
started throwing stones and bricks at a tea stall. The mob went on to attack
Muslim shops and vehicles and shouting slogans in Muslim residential areas. Two
men — one Buddhist and one Muslim — were killed. Roughly a dozen people were
injured. A curfew was imposed on 3 July.
2016 MOSQUE BURNINGS
In June, a mob demolished a mosque in Bago Region, about 60km northeast
of the capital Yangon.
In July, police were reported to be guarding the village of Hpakant in
Kachin state, after failing to stop Buddhist villagers setting the mosque
ablaze. Shortly after, a group of men destroyed a mosque in central Myanmar in
a dispute over its construction.
2016–17 ROHINGYA
PERSECUTION
Main article: 2016–17 Rohingya persecution in Myanmar
SEPTEMBER 2017
Human rights violations against Rohingya
Background
ROHINGYA PEOPLE IN
RAKHINE STATE
Legal framework
The Rohingya people have been denied Burmese citizenship since the
Burmese nationality law (1982 Citizenship Act) was enacted. The Government of
Myanmar claims that the Rohingya are illegal immigrants who arrived during the
British colonial era, and were originally Bengalis. The Rohingya that are
allowed to stay in Myanmar are considered 'resident foreigners' and not
citizens. They are not allowed to travel without official permission and were
previously required to sign a commitment not to have more than two children,
though the law was not strictly enforced. Many Rohingya children cannot have
their birth registered, thus rendering them stateless from the moment they are born.
In 1995, the Government of Myanmar responded to UNHCR's pressure by issuing
basic identification cards, which does not mention the bearer's place of birth,
to the Rohingya. Without proper identification and documents, the Rohingya
people are officially stateless with no state protection and their movements
are severely restricted. As a result, they are forced to live in squatter camps
and slums.
INTERNATIONAL
CONVENTIONS
That being said, a number of international treaties have been ratified
or acceded to by Myanmar, namely the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (UNCRC), on 2 July 1997 and 15 July 1991 respectively. There are slow but
positive developments in recent years. For instance, Myanmar signed (but has
not ratified) the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR), which protects the right to education, the right to health,
and the right to an adequate standard of living, on 16 July 2015.
UNIVERSAL PERIODIC
REVIEW
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism of the United
Nations (UN) that reviews the human rights records of all UN member States. It
is a unique process that is undertaken by the Human Rights Council, which
allows each State to recognise key areas of human rights issue that has had
progress in the country, and also to identify further steps and efforts that
will be taken to meet their international obligations. As a member of the UN,
Myanmar is obliged to be involved in the UPR process. On 23 December 2015, a
Report of the Working Group on the UPR on Myanmar looked at the current human
rights situation in Myanmar and noted that the Government of Myanmar has made
positive advances in political, administrative, social and judicial reforms.
Nonetheless, many States, such as Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom,
expressed concern about, amongst other things, human rights violations against
the Rohingya people, as there were still much more room for improvement in this
area. For instance, Bahrain expressed concern about ethnic purification and
discrimination against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. It was also noted in
the report that the ethnic rights protection law of 2015 would broaden the
rights of all ethnic minorities in Myanmar. However, the Government of Myanmar
reiterated their stance that there was no minority community in Myanmar under
the name of "Rohingya". Nonetheless, the aftermath of the 2012
Rakhine State violence led to the formation of a Commission of Inquiry, which
recommended that a central committee be set up for the implementation of
stability and development. Since then, the Government has provided humanitarian
access, such as food, water and education services, to displaced people around
the Rakhine State. In addition, a project for citizenship verification was
launched, which granted 900 displaced people citizenships. The Report was
concluded by various recommendations from member States, with many of the
States suggesting that Myanmar ratify other main human rights treaties that it
is not a party to and to further enhance their international obligations
towards the Rohingya people.
HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS
The quality of education and health care in the Rakhine State is
undeveloped and inadequate, as compared to other parts of Myanmar. Despite
this, the Rohingya severely lack basic access to these services and in
addition, international humanitarian agencies are not allowed to train Muslim
health workers. As a result, the standard of health is severely lacking and the
illiteracy rate amongst the Rohingyas is high, estimated at 80%.
There are growing concerns that a genocide is occurring against the
Rohingya in Myanmar. Research done by scholars in Yale Law School found
empirical evidence that the Rohingya have historically suffered serious and
persistent human right abuses, and these actions have increased in frequency in
recent years. Since 2012, living conditions and human rights abuses have
worsened with reports of beheadings, stabbings, killings, beatings, mass arrests
and villages and neighbourhoods being burned to the ground, however, there
remains a lack of justice and accountability by the Government of Myanmar, thus
representing failure of state protection.
As of 2005, the UNHCR had been assisting with the repatriation of
Rohingya from Bangladesh, but allegations of human rights abuses in the refugee
camps have threatened this effort. Despite earlier efforts by the UN, the vast
majority of Rohingya refugees have remained in Bangladesh, unable to return
because of the regime in Myanmar. Now they face problems in Bangladesh where
they do not receive support from the government. Lack of support from the
Bangladeshi Government and also human rights abuses in Bangladeshi refugee
camps have led many asylum-seekers to risk their lives and to journey further
south to other South-east Asian countries. The mass exodus in 2015 has led to
an international humanitarian crisis because of the deliberate refusal and
alleged inability of host States in South-east Asia to accommodate the vast
number of asylum-seekers. Most of them are also subjected to human trafficking
by organised crime groups operating in Thailand and Malaysia. These traffickers
take advantage of asylum-seekers' desperation by exploiting them for money,
with many of their victims being beaten, sold, or killed if they or their
families do not comply with their demands. The 2015 Rohingya refugee crisis
highlighted the flaws of the ASEAN community in responding to humanitarian
crises, as the response from those countries were inadequate and delayed.
Human rights violations against the Rohingya are not only confined to
Myanmar and Bangladesh. The status of the Rohingya is unrecognised in most
South-east Asian countries. Although they do not receive the same persecution
in countries such as Malaysia and Thailand, than in Myanmar, they are subjected
to exclusions and poverty. There are roughly 111,000 refugees housed in nine
camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. There have been charges that groups of
them have been shipped and towed out to open sea from Thailand, and left there.
On February 2009, there was evidence of the Thai army towing a boatload of 190
Rohingya refugees out to sea. A group of refugees rescued by Indonesian
authorities also in February 2009 told harrowing stories of being captured and
beaten by the Thai military, and then abandoned at open sea. By the end of
February, there were reports that of a group of five boats were towed out to
open sea, of which four boats sank in a storm, and one washed up on the shore.
On 12 February 2009 Thailand's prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said there were
"some instances" in which Rohingya people were pushed out to sea.
"There are attempts, I think, to let these people drift to other
shores. when these practices do occur, it is done on the understanding
that there is enough food and water supplied. It's not clear whose work
it is but if I have the evidence who exactly did this I will bring them
to account."
October 2015, Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit has uncovered what
amounts to strong evidence of a genocide coordinated by the Myanmar government
against the Rohingya people. Based on many evidences, the investigation
concluded that Myanmar government agents have been involved in triggering
anti-Muslim riots. An official military document shows the use of several ways,
including hate speech and hiring thugs to stir hatred. The investigation
stressed that in the case of the Rohingya, and Rakhine State, that could amount
to the crime of genocide, several of the most powerful people in the country
should reasonably be the subject of an international investigation into this
situation of Rakhine State.
INTERNATIONAL
RESPONSE
There is a lack of co-operation between Thailand, Malaysia and
Indonesia, with regards to the Rohingya crisis. In May 2015, as many as 8,000
Rohingya "boat people" were believed to be stranded in rickety boats
at sea, with little food and unsanitary conditions, and were left in limbo as
countries refused the boats to dock. Critics have accused South-east Asian
governments of playing "human ping-pong" by refusing permission for
these refugee boats to land and instead, pushing them back out to sea in the
direction of other countries. Though at various times in the past these
countries of flight have been accepting of Rohingya refugees, most of them have
not signed nor ratified the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951
Refugee Convention) and the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless
Persons, thus the rights of the Rohingya people as refugee cannot be ensured.
Human rights violations continue to occur in Malaysia and Thailand,
with little to no protection from the governments. There are no effective
mechanisms in these countries for the protection of Rohingya refugees. Instead,
immigration crackdowns are common and Rohingya boat people are often deported
out of these countries, falling victims to slavery instead. Because of the lack
of proper documentation, many Rohingya people rely on smugglers and human
traffickers to flee them from persecution in Myanmar. There has been reports
that authorities in Thailand and Malaysia have connections and ties with
organised human-trafficking groups and as a result, majority of the Rohingya
are sold in bonded labour and do not receive protection as refugees.
In February 2009, many Rohingya refugees were helped by Acehnese
sailors in the Strait of Malacca, after 21 days at sea. However, this has
not lead to a consistent response from the Indonesian authorities, with many
Rohingyas still not being accepted at the border. The governments of these
countries, especially Malaysia and Indonesia, take an especially hardline
approach on refugees arriving by boat, but a more lenient approach if they are
registered through the UNHCR and arrive by appropriate means. It is estimated
that Malaysia has currently up to 150,000 Rohingya people in within its
territory.
Rasheduzzaman, professor of international relations at Dhaka
University, said the reformist administration of Myanmar is said to be
democratic; however, there were no signs that its strategy on the Rohingya
would see an improvement soon. Indeed, even the opposition democratic pioneer
Aung San Suu Kyi, who had been kept under house arrest for nearly 15 of the 21
years from 1989 to 2010, is quiet on it. It implies the humanitarian crisis on
the Rohingya issue that the world sees today may have no end in sight.
In August 2016, former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was invited to
head a commission in addressing human rights violations in Rakhine
On 3 February 2017, the UN human rights office alleged that the Myanmar
military had long been engaged in a brutal rape and ethnic cleansing campaign
against the country's Rohingya Muslims. On 6 February 2017, a US State
Department spokesperson stated that the US was "deeply troubled" by
the UN's allegations and urged the Myanmar government to take the findings
seriously, but that they were also still studying how accurate the report was
and would not come to any conclusion. On 8 February 2017, Pope Francis
officially condemned the Myanmar government's treatment of Rohingya Muslims.
The Kofi Annan Foundation also published the complete final report of the Advisory
Commission on Rakhine State which was accepted by the Myanmar government in
August 2017, citing 10% of the world's stateless people as having originated
from Rakhine
By Faheem Jamal
Faheemjamal.blogspot.com
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