But, while the plight of the Rohingya is well known, less is known about the Rakhine and the historical reasons for their fear and distrust. Many Rakhine fled to Chittagong during the 1942 massacre. Then there was the mujahedeen separatist movement (1947-1970) and the Rohingya Islamist movement (1972-present). The recent terrorist attacks only perpetuated this fear and distrust.
It is true that many Muslims have lived in Rakhine for generations. However, the issue is complicated by the illegal immigration of Bengalis, especially during the Bangladesh Liberation War. Aung San Suu Kyi seems to be taking a middle-way approach:
“With regard to whether or not the Rohingya are citizens of the country, that depends very much on whether or not they meet the requirements of the citizenship laws as they now exist. There are those who say that the Burmese citizenship laws … are not fair. Now, that is a different question. At present what we have to find out is whether all those who are entitled to citizenship under the present law have been given citizenship. And once they’ve been given citizenship, have they been given all the rights of citizens? … And then we must go on to assess this citizenship law to find out whether it is in line with international standards.”
There are also countless fake photos circulating in the media depicting atrocities against Rohingyas – among them a Daily Mail story with pictures of a toddler being tortured. The toddler was later discovered to be from Cambodia. Even the photos on a banner under which Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke during the Rohingya solidarity rally were fake – one showing victims of an oil-tanker explosion in Congo, and another from a computer game. Such fake news only creates more distrust.
The Buddhist perspective on this conflict is straightforward and eloquently described by Suu Kyi:
“I object to violence committed by anybody against anybody. It doesn’t matter whether the violence is committed by Buddhists or by Muslims or by Christians – I object to it entirely.”
Contrary to the claims in the media, no Buddhist monks in Myanmar have killed any Muslims or encouraged the killing of Muslims. No doubt there are some who are nationalists. There’s also no conflict between Muslims and Buddhist in other regions of Myanmar.
The first step towards any conflict resolution is acknowledgement of the problems. Without this, any attempt would be futile.
Rahula Thor
Malaysia
Malaysia
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