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Uniw Rohingya Report UNIW ROHINGYA REPORT THE ROHINGYA CRISIS Rohingya History - Rohingya issue - Current Situation Geographical Location of Arakan (Rakhine), Burma Arakan, also known as Rohang or Rosango-Dhess is situated on the tri-border region between modern day Burma, Bangladesh and India. It covers an area of about 20,000 square miles which have been reduced to 14,200 sq. miles in 1974. It lies on the north-western part of Burma, comprising a strip of land along the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal from the Naf River to Cape Negaris, with more than 360 miles coastal belt from Bay of Bengal. It borders 176 miles with Bangladesh, 48 miles of which is covered by the river Naf, which demarcates Burma- Bangladesh border. It is completely separated from the rest of Burma by the long mountain range of ArakanYoma.The state is formed with four districts. The districts are Sittway (Akyab),Maungdaw, Kyaukpyu and Thandwe. These districts are formed with 17 townships and 1,164 village-tracts. Sittway (Akyab) is the capital city of the state. In all, there seven rivers in Arakan: the Naf, Mayu, Kaladan, Lemro, Ann, Tangup and Sandoway; the Naf serving as the boundary line between Arakan and Bangladesh. Etymology of Arakan The term Arakan is definitely of Arabic or Persian origin having the same meaning in both these languages. It is the corruption of the world Arakan plural of the word Rukn meaning a pillar. The fundamental tenets of Islam are called 'five pillars of Islam'. Thus the word Arakan signifies the land of Islam or peace. It is difficult to ascertain since when the application of this term to the region now known as Arakan began. But almost certain is the fact that the name Arakan became popular after the Muslim conquest of the country in 1430 C.E. Since Persian was the court language of the then independent Bengal Sultans who conquered Arakan and which continued to be the official language of Arakan up to 1845, One of the coins found in Arakan and preserved in the Indian Museum, Culcutta, minted by Sultan Bahadur Shah dated 965 A.H. (1557-58 C.E.) is inscribed in Persian with Kalimah on the obverse side and mint name Arakan on the reverse side. Similar coins minted by his predecessor Sultan Muhammad Shah 962 A.H. (1554-55 C.E.) with inscriptions of mint name Arakan was preserved in Indian Museum, Calcutta. Muhammad Shah's coins with the same reading are also found to be preserved in the British Museum Arakan was declared a Muslim State again in 1942 On 9th June 1942 the Rohingya Muslims of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung area drove the BIA and Rakhine communalists from north Arakan. On 10th June 1942 the Rohingya Muslims declared North Arakan as Muslim State and Peace Committee was entrusted for administration of the area. In December 1942 Brigadier C.E Lucas Phillips of British 14th Army came to Maungdaw to contact the leaders of the Rohingya Muslims. After hard negotiation, the Peace Committee formed by the Rohingya Muslims headed by Mr. Omra Meah and Mr. Zahir Uddin Ahmed allowed the British 14th Army re-entry through the Naf border town of Maungdaw. As per Public Notice No. 11-OA-CC/42 dated. 31st. December 1942, the British Military Administration declared the former Muslim State as “Muslim National Area”. During the Second World War, Rohingya Muslims helped the Allied Forces against the invading Japanese in Arakan Front. The Rohingya Muslims generally stayed loyal to the British and work with the underground V-force, most Rakhine nationalists jointed either with the BIA or underground Communist movement. The Rakhines only turned against the Japanese when the British re- invaded Burma in 1945. On 1st January 1945 Brigadier C.E Lucas Phillips became the Chief Administrator of the area and appointed members of Peace Committee as administrative officers of the area. This represents a landmark in the history of Burmese independence. The British recognized the Rohingya Muslims as a distinct racial group and the British officer-in-command promised the Rohingyas to grant autonomy in North Arakan. The Rohingya Muslims of Arakan, Historical Background Arakanese Muslims or Rohingyas are indigenous to Arakan having genealogical linkup with the people of Wesali kingdom of Arakan. The early people in Arakan were descended from Aryans. They were Indians resembling the people of Bengal. "The area now known as North Arakan had been for many years before the 8th century the seat of Hindu dynasties. In 788 A.D. a new dynasty, know n as the Chandras, founded the city of Wesali; this city became a noted trade port to which as many as a thousand ships came annually;… their territory extended as far north as Chittagong; Some historians say they are racially Indo- Semitic. They are not an ethnic group developed from one tribal group affiliation or single racial stock. Tides of people like the Brahmins from India, Arabs, Moghuls, Bengalis, Turks and people from Central Asia, came mostly as traders, warriors and preachers overland or through the sea route to Arakan. In their suffering they found an identity now known to the world as the Rohingyas of Arakan. The Burmese do not seem to have settled in Arakan until possibly as late as the tenth century A.D. The Rakhines were the last significant group to come to Arakan. Who are the Rohingya? The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority group in Burma who has been subjected to targeted restrictions on their basic freedoms. Approximately 1.5 million Rohingya live in Burma, and most live in Arakan (Rakhine) State, which is in western Burma near the border of Bangladesh. Rohingya have lived in Burma for decades and the Rohingya community has historical roots in the country that date back to ancient times. However, many Burmese people today, including Burmese government officials, consider Rohingya to be foreigners. The government uses the term “Bengali” to refer to Rohingya. Burmese law excludes Rohingya from citizenship, leaving most Rohingya stateless and vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Rohingya in northern Rakhine State are subject to restrictions on basic freedoms, like marriage and childbearing, which do not apply to members of other ethnic groups. The People of Arakan There are two major ethnic communities in Arakan. The Rohingyas who from the majority population of Arakan, as a whole, are the believers in the religion of Islam and the Maghs (Rakhaings) who are the minority profess the cult of Buddhism. The Arakan, before 1942, has been occupied over its entire length by both Rohingyas and Maghs. During the 1942 anti-Muslim rioting, the Muslims of southern Arakan had been pushed to the north whereas the Buddhist Maghs took over the southern half of the country where they now form majority. There are a few tribes dwelling in Arakan hills who are mostly animists. Their number is still insignificant. They are Kamis, Mros, Chaungthas, Saaks, Chins, Chaws, Khaungtsos, Ahnus and Kons. The principal races are however, the Mros, Kamis, Chaungthas and Chins. The Rakhaings are not expressly denied citizenship nor are they subjected to the local policies in Rakhine State that limit the fundamental rights of Rohingya. What is the Rohingya issue? Arakan was occupied by the British after the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824-26), the confrontation between the Muslims residing in the northwestern part of Arakan and the Buddhists as the majority in central and southern Arakan became tense, because a large scale Indian immigration was encouraged by the British. The confrontation came to a head during the Japanese occupation period (1942-45), when Japan armed the Buddhist Arakanese in order to fight against the British and the British used Muslim forces for counterattack. It resulted in serious Muslim/Buddhist clashes and both communities experienced heavy damage. The situation did not change even after independence of Burma in 1948. There were some attempts at building a stable and peaceful coexistence of the Muslims and Buddhists in Arakan, but it ended in vain after Ne Win's coup in 1962, which brought Burma into a strongly centralized socialist state under the monopolized control of the Army. Rohingya were recognized citizens of Burma (1948 - 1962) They are considered illegal immigrants who had settled in Burma during the British colonial rule. Treating the Rohingyas in this way began at first under the rule of Ne Win government (1962-1988). Though the U Nu government (1948-58, 60-62) recognized the Rohingyas as an ethnic national group of Burma, the Ne Win regime stripped the Rohingyas of their nationality and rendered them foreigners by enacting the 1974 Emergency Immigration Act. The government also enforced the 1982 Burmese Citizenship Law, which distinguished between three categories of citizenship as follows: The first category, ordinary citizens, is the people who belong to the eight major ethnic groups as mentioned above as well as other indigenous people who were considered to be present in Burma before 1823 (a year ahead of the First Anglo-Burmese War). These people are recognized as the "genuine" citizens. The second category, associate citizens, is the people who obtained the Burmese citizenship according to the previous 1948 Union Citizenship Act, which was in force for only two years (1948-50). The most of these people are offspring of mixed marriages between the immigrants after 1823 and to spouses of indigenous Burmese. The third category, naturalized citizens, is the people who have been naturalized after the suspension of the 1948 Union Citizenship Act. Among these three categories, the associate and the naturalized citizens have restricted legal rights to some extent. The Rohingyas are not included in any of these three categories as they are considered foreigners.
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