New Found Democracy in Myanmar Does Not Apply to Rohingya Population
Alison Vicrobeck
As the world acclaims the victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, a minority Muslim group is still the victim of severe human rights violations that cast a shadow on the newfound democracy in Myanmar.
The Rohingyas, who are based in the southwestern Arakan State of Myanmar, have historically been denied citizenship and have been faced with violent attacks from Buddhist, which hit their highest point in 2012. Earlier this year, their right to vote was revoked and they continue to live in inhumane conditions without access to proper food, health care or shelter.
Many Rohingyas acknowledge that the National League for Democracy’s victory is a good step for Myanmar, but it is not a victory for them. They feel as though their own plight is far from being resolved. The violence they face along with the violation of many of their basic human rights have led Rohingyas and many experts and to conclude that the Rohingyas are experiencing a genocide, one that is not recognized by local Burmese officials or by the international community. This has caused the Rohingyas to feel uncertain of their future, regardless of the outcome of these elections.
“I am cautiously optimistic,” said Dr. Wakar Uddin, the director general of Arakan Rohingya Union, an association that claims to represent the approximately 2.6 millions Rohingyas in the world: half of them in Myanmar , and the other half living abroad.
He explained that although he believes it is better to have the Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy as the ruling party than the incumbent Union Solidarity and Development Party, he and other Rohingyas have mixed feelings about the changes that these elections will bring. Even though the National League for Democracy will hold the majority of seats, the military, which established the system that discriminates against the Rohingyas, will still hold a quarter of the seats. Furthermore, they will head key ministries that have a direct impact on the fate of the Rohingyas, including Home Affairs, Defense and Border Affairs.
“I believe the NLD is better than the currently ruling party,” said Nay San Lwin, who runs The Rohingya Blogger, one of the most popular websites in the Rohingya community. He is not sure whether Aung San Suu Kyi will make the necessary changes to end discrimination against the Rohingya, because she does not have the best track record with them so far. “Unfortunately, during the violence in Arakan state in 2012, she neglected us.”
At the time, widespread Buddhist propaganda against Muslims led to the burning of homes, killing of dozens and displacing of tens of thousands of Buddhists and Muslims. The violence against the Rohingyas since then has decreased, but according to Amnesty International, it has not stopped.The Burmese government still denies the existence of the Rohingyas and Aung San Suu Kyi has remained silent on the issue. Her silence has led to much skepticism from the Rohingyas.
“People are hopeful that things will change but are not expecting much to change,” said Jamila Hanan, an activist who has worked closely with the Rohingyas. She added they are disappointed with Aung San Suu Kyi’s leadership and see her as “a puppet with little power to change things.”
“There is no guarantee in Burma politics as long as the military is in the picture,” said Dr. Uddin. “But I call this a positive step forward.”
As long as the National League for Democracy isn’t officially in power, the military could still present a serious threat to the Rohingyas. There is no guarantee that Aung San Suu Kyi’s message of hope and democracy will materialize as concrete action or power that could help them.
“I have doubt that they will really hand over power,” said Mr. Lwin, adding that if they do hand in the power, “there will be less human rights violations, but we will have to keep fighting for our citizenship rights.”
Without Burmese citizenship, the Rohingyas’ right to marriage and childbirth has been limited. Additionally, they do not have the right to work legally, many are victims of forced labor and live in camps where food is tightly rationed.
Additionally, Buddhist monks and the Burmese government have been inciting anti-Muslim riots and violence against the Rohingyas, who have been victims of torture and rape as means to harm them both mentally and physically. These conditions meet many of the criteria set out by the United Nations to define genocide. Recently, Yale Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic published a new report which “finds strong evidence that genocide is being committed against Rohingya”, an opinion shared by many experts.
Rohingyas who currently find themselves either in what has been described as concentration camps or in what Mr. Lwin calls open-air prisons have few, if any, ways of expressing themselves. They are not allowed to move around freely between villages, have little or sporadic access to a strong internet connection and few of them have cellular phones, making it harder for them to seek what they see as the only solution to their problem: escape.
Access to the Arakan state, where most Rohingyas live, is quite limited and for many, leaving the province means never being able to return. This is why there are few Rohingyas in Myanmar who can actively speak out. Most spokespeople, who left the country long ago but remain in contact with local Rohingyas, are also calling the situation Rohingyas are faced with a genocide.
“They totally know it’s a genocide,” said Ms. Hanan referring to Rohingyas still living in Arakan. “When people they think of genocide, they think of mass slaughter; that’s not always the case. Genocide is a process of elimination, and mass slaughter is the end process.”
Discrimination against the Rohingyas has forced many of them to seek refuge in neighboring countries. “People are fleeing day by day because they cannot stay inside,” said Mr. Lwin. Rohingyas “have two options: they will die there or live there.”
Some experts say that international leaders are reluctant to call this discrimination a genocide because that would force them to act. But the Rohingya agree that without pressure from the international community, their situation cannot get better.
“Why is there democracy in Burma today?” said Dr.Uddin. “Because the military wanted it? No. Because of international pressure.” He believes that Aung San Suu Kyi will respond more positively to international pressure than representatives of the party that was just voted out of parliament.
Although the Rohingyas face many issues that need to be addressed, Dr. Uddin believes that the first priority should be basic respect of human rights. He stays realistic but hopeful that the situation will get better for his people.
“The future doesn’t look bleak, but it doesn’t look bright either,” he said. “There will be light at the end of the tunnel but it will be a long tunnel.”
