4th April 2009: One of the most unfortunate Muslim ethnic minorities Rohingya is untold sufferer of more than 40 years silent genocide and victims of defecto-statelessness in Arakan state, the western province of Myanmar (Burma). Now a day, the termed Rohingya becomes on the spot-light and international attention has been drawn when scores of Rohingyas landed to the Indonesian shores following the allegation of their boats being dragged to sea by Thai Navy and abandoned in rickety, engine-less boat, which resulted more than 500 Rohingyas lost their lives in the ocean, while the policy has provoked widespread condemnation. At the end of recent ASEAN summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, the ASEAN leaders already decided to call them illegal migrants from the Indian Ocean? Does anybody believe that human beings are produced by the ocean? If so, it might not be wrong that the Thai army towed the boats of Rohingya refugees and setting them adrift toward Indian Ocean and deserted them to die, because they are creation of ocean according to decision made by ASEAN leaders. As they could not find out the solution of Rohingya in their summit, it has been shifted to Bali Process which will be held on 14-15 April, 2009. The faith of Rohingyas would be tested by Bali Process so far.
leaders who confess themselves that they respect and ready to establish human rights, are more voracious for their own benefits throughout big business rather than maintaining human rights in the regions in the course of saving lives of innocent people facing various human rights violations in their own and neighboring countries like the Rohingya inside Burma and exile.
The Tiger of ASEAN (Myanmar) denied the Rohingyas citizenship since 1982 because of their religious and political belief. In the summit, at the foreign ministry level meeting the Foreign Minister of Myanmar mentioned that it could only take those who could be identified as its Bengali ethnic minority and not the Rohingya. It makes acknowledged that they military regime has been treating them as illegal and oppressing unconditionally in Arakna, Burma according to their statement.
Besides, a memo faxed to journalists and published in various media by the Burmese consul in Hong Kong, insisted Rohingya cannot be real Burmese, as they are dark-skinned and as ugly as ogres. It does not make scene that dark-skinned cannot be citizen of red skinned country. In this case, sending them back to a country where they face even worse treatment than the average Burmese citizen does not emerge a sensible solution.
According to reliable information from Arakan State, now the military regime has been snatching the previous ID card from Rohingyas which indicates to citizen of Burma and issuing white ID card instead, which points toward FRC as foreigners, while the Rohingya are being made to receive it forcefully. The FRC holders cannot get passports to travel and they do not have right to take part in any election.
Few days later, it might be happened soon that the regime will announce the Rohingyas are agree on the term ‘Bengali Rohingya’, hiding the reality.
Now, some of the original Bengali people who are making benefits doing business and staying in safe inside Burma have been being given chance to travel abroad and to stay legally on the banner of Rohingya by the military regime for their personal-profits. Such people are being used as Bengali Rohingya by the military regime to show and able to prove the world that the Rohingyas are from Bangladesh, destroying the good images and the origins of Arakanes-Rohingya who have been staying in Arakan State since 7 Century.
Historically, it is revealed that Arakan was neither a part of Burma nor Bangladesh. Arakan was an independent region ruled by Muslims for years. Bangladesh was gained independence from Pakistan merely in 1971 and the Rohingyas have been living in Arakan since 7 century.
Rohingyas are not extremists or separatists group and they never thought of separate a country. Thus they are struggling for their peace, freedom and to save their future generation from darkness. The Rohingyas are peace loving people and so far they want to work together with other Burmese pro-democracy groups who have been struggling to insure democracy in Burma.
But they do not have their own voice to advocate their cause to the international community as it has become well-known to everybody in the world that “the Rohingyas are made educationally back warded, economically crippled, politically liquidated, religiously persecuted, culturally assimilated, racially discriminated, ethnically exterminated, socially degraded and traditionally doomed by the military regime for decades.”
According to UNHCR report, 230,000 Rohingyas now live a precarious stateless existence in Bangladesh, having fled their ancestral homeland Arakan after decades of abuse and harassment at the hands of its dictator military regime. Beside Bangladesh, there are large numbers of Rohingya refugees languishing in Malaysia, Thailand and middle-east.
During the recent visit of Mr. Antonio Guterres, United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to Arakan State of Myanmar (Burma) 鈥渃ame to conclusion that UNHCR’s current level of activities in northern Rakhing state where Rohingyas live does not correspond to the actual needs and a decision was taken to upgrade the program with immediate effect, a UN statement announced on 12th of March 2009.
He visited Sittwe, the capital city of Arakan (Rakhing state) and also traveled to the port town of a big ocean where many of the Rohingya migrants are thought to have deceased. Being a Chief Representative of UNHCR, he came to understand that what is going on Rohingyas and how they are surviving after just his first visit. So, he kind heartedly urges to extend focus on the Rohingyas who have been passing lives in Arakan under military rule.
Now, you may think why the Rohingyas are jumping in the sea and ready to die instead of passing lives in their homeland. But some of the leaders still decline to say Rohingyas are refugees and kept the Rohingya problem unsolved.
There are more than thirteen thousand Rohingyas refugees in Malaysia, registered with United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Most of them are languishing for more than decades, while the future of their first generation has already been destroyed for the lack of facility to be educated. Neither the government recognized the Rohingyas and nor the UNHCR as its mandated refugees. The Rohingya children are not allowed to study in government school even religious school as Refugees are considered illegal in Malaysia.
It is very disappointing matter to see some of the policies of UNHCR in Malaysia are almost indicate to dissatisfactory, now refugees are categorized into different ways, such as, some refugees have been issued UNHCR Identity Card (ID) writing ‘UNHCR MANDATED REFUGEE’ on the back side of their cards and the categorized refugees like Rohingyas were written in different way, which does not indicate or understand whether they are refugee or not.
As a result, if they find for work to survive, the employers say you are not allowed to work in our country because you are still ‘illegal’ and the resettling countries also feel in doubt to relocate them in their countries only because of the word Refugee.
In 2007, in an interview with TV7, Mr. Volka Turk, the former Representative of UNHCR in Malaysia said, “refugee is a person like you and me and they belong to same rights as human beings regardless of race and religion.”
It is a surprising matter to be heard that in 2008, 17,000 (Seventeen thousands) refugees were newly registered and 6,000(Six thousands) were resettled in third-countries by the UNHCR in Malaysia. But unfortunately, there were not more than 100 Rohingyas among them.
However, the UNHCR Malaysia has been denying the allegation and saying that they are treating the refugees as equal basis, regardless of race and religion. Among the Burmese refugee groups registered with the UNHCR, Rohingyas were the large and first refugee community in Malaysia since 1992 and their long standing problem still remains unsolved. They are victims of torture and Rohingya women are at risk both in Burma and exile.
It is well-known and obvious that Malaysian government has already announced it does not recognized Refugees at all as Malaysia is not a signatory to 1951 convention and 1967 Protocol related to the status of refugees.
After the recent ASEAN summit, when Datuk Sri Abdullah Ahmed Badawi, the prime minister of Malaysia was asked to had comment on the Rohingya, he said e have some problems with the Rohingya. When they come to us of course we know that they are from Myanmar, but when we ask Myanmar, they ask: “are you sure they are our people? What evidence have you got?” So, we have to be firm at all borders to turn them back. If the International groups help them we will be very happy. It clearly indicates that Malaysia has no policy to accept refugees or asylum seekers even Rohingya.
According to United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a refugee is ‘who has been forced to leave his/her own country because of circumstances, such as human rights abuses, conflict and non-acceptance by the government because of religious or political beliefs or ethnic group.’ Are the Rohingyas deserved for the Refugee status? Does the UNHCR need to find permanent solution for the Rohingya? But UNHCR pay less attention on this persecuted minority group and International Community is not well-aware of the situation faced by Rohingya inside Burma and exile.
As their repatriation to Burma and local solution in Malaysia become impossible, UNHCR in Malaysia should interfere in the Rohingya-case and need to find the way to permanent solution through the resettlement program like other Burmese refugees in order to solve their long standing problem and to save their future generation as Rohingya refugees always depend on UNHCR and International Community to get every sort of assistance for the sake of humanity and thus they are deserved for it.
Muhammad Saifullah, Email: saifulrohin@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment