Habib Siddiqui

In his book - Worse Than War - Daniel Jonah Goldhagen says that during mass murders, the murderers themselves, their supporters and those who wish to stand idly by practice linguistic camouflage. And this has been the case with the apartheid regime in Myanmar when it comes to its national project towards exterminating or purging out the Rohingyas. When asked by an independent reporter Barb Weir (from deLiberation) to comment on Rohingya citizenship crisis, an Interior Ministry official working for the Myanmar government said:   “After trying for many years to connect them to neighboring countries, we finally have decided that they are most likely the descendants of Swiss nationals that came to Myanmar many centuries ago and lost their passports.  Unfortunately, their birth records were lost in an avalanche in Switzerland and so we cannot prove their origin.  However, we are negotiating with Switzerland to repatriate them.” When asked by the reporter about...

South Asia is really going to the dogs or so it appears these days. When we thought that we had seen enough of a pogrom directed by the Rakhine extremists and Burmese authorities against the Rohingyas of the Arakan state of Burma ( Myanmar ), we are forced to witness yet another massacre of minority civilians in the state of Assam . Assam , located next to Bangladesh on the north-east corner of India , has a long history of recurring violence targeting minority Bengali-speakers. In 1983 Nellie massacre when Indira Gandhi ruled India , the pogrom, carried out with crude weapons in a matter of a few hours, left some 5,000 people dead. The killers didn’t even spare young babies.   At the heart of Assam 's troubles is a debate over the "infiltration" by outsiders, which has led to ethnic tension between the state's so-called indigenous population and Bengali-speaking people who have settled there for generations. Overlooked in this debate is the fact that a...

There is unrest in Assam, neighboring Indian state to Bangladesh. It is burning. Once again the extremist Assamese are killing Bengali speaking people that have lived there for centuries.  Entire villages have been burnt down while the state administration remains curiously clueless and indifferent. Delhi insists Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi is “monitoring the situation” and doing everything possible to restore peace. This is little comfort to the community, though, which increasingly lives in fear, worrying the worst may be yet to come.  Gogoi is yet to visit the affected areas. Not even a flying, whirlwind tour for the cloistered satrap. Assam has a long history of recurring violence targeting Bengali-speaking minorities. In 1983 Nellie massacre when Indira Gandhi ruled from Delhi with her famous iron fist, the pogrom, carried out with crude weapons in a matter of a few hours, left 1,819 people dead. Independent sources suggest the toll was as high as 5,000. The killer...

Dr. Sue Ballyn of Barcelona University has done an excellent job in her   article   - The Why and the “Therefore” of Human Migration. A Brief Overview (Lives in Migration: Rupture and Continuity) - providing an overview of the migration issues of our time. In what follows I capture some salient features of her article. She writes that  human beings have been on the move since the beginning of time. What is of interest to us is that our recent history has proved to be a period when more people have migrated than at any time before in human history. She writes, "How do we define migration? What classifications of migration exist? What are the factors that contribute to migration? What kinds of migration are we dealing with today? What are the consequences of migration? These are some of the questions I want to try and answer here. Migration can be defined in a variety of ways, amongst which: 1. An individual who lives permanently ...

I just came across an article posted in the Dawn which was full of twisting facts and denial of any responsibility for the Rakhine mobs who started the current pogrom against the Rohingyas of Burma, in total collusion with government support at the federal and local levels. I sent out the comment below for posting, although I am not sure if my message would be posted by the Dawn. Here below are my comments for those who care to read: "Ms Khine's views here are not silent views of a reluctant observer but of a highly biased Rakhine Magh who has not grown up to understand that ethnic cleansing of anyone is unacceptable in our world, esp. in the 21st century. She does not tell about the lynching death of 10 Burmese Muslims who were not from the Rohingya race or ethnicity when they were returning from their trip to Arakan. Why were they killed, if not for sure: bigotry and racism?  Point here is: Burma has been a racist and bigotry-ridden country for ages. The majority peop...

Last week, I came across Kanbawza Win's long article – “Killing two birds with a stone or a Win, Win Situation” (Eurasia Review, July 19, 2012) – discussing his thesis for solving the Rohingya crisis in western Burma. As a global citizen who has worked for decades to make our world a more inclusive one away from the brunt of racism and bigotry, I could not resist the temptation to read Mr. Win’s piece. After all, Mr. Win is part of the so-called pro-democracy movement for Burma . He has been critical of the military regime that has been ruling Burma . He is also considered by many to be the voice of reason within the Burmese exiles. Unfortunately, Mr. Win has not been able to shed his deplorable prejudice and racism when it comes to the ‘other’ people. And he is not alone in this serious mental disorder. As I have noted many times, when push comes to shove, most of these pro-democracy leaders have proven to be closet fascists and bigots. It is they who have often led the ca...

For years, I have written about fascistic tendencies of the leaders of the so-called pro-democracy movement in Burma. Through their venomous and hateful writings and personal abuses, I saw firsthand how racist and fascist they were. They behaved like Nazis of the Hitler era. I knew that they were an insincere group who are no better than the military regime that has ruled Burma for nearly half a century. I felt that if put into power, they would carry out massacre of 'others' that are racially and religiously different than they.  The current pogrom in western Burma (Arakan state) in which thousands of Rohingyas have been lynched to death by the Buddhist Rakhines, aided by government forces, once again proved my thesis that the Rakhine leaders and their scholars are war criminals. They continue to live in their feudal savage past of intolerance.  Click here to read a must read piece for all those who are interested about learning about the current crisis in Burma against ...

The lunar month of Ramadan has come. It is the blessed month in which the Qur’an – the Muslim Holy Scripture -- was revealed: “The month of Ramadan [is that] in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for the people and clear proofs of guidance and criterion. So whoever sights [the new moon of] the month, let him fast it; and whoever is ill or on a journey - then an equal number of other days. Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship and [wants] for you to complete the period and to glorify Allah for that [to] which He has guided you; and perhaps you will be grateful.” (Qur’an 2:185) As can be seen from the above Qur’anic verse, all able-bodied Muslims who are either not sick or on a journey are required to fast in this holy month. The word "Ramadan" comes from the Arabic root word for "parched thirst" and "sun-baked ground." This year, for many Muslims living either in the territories that are located around the ...

June 20 marked the World Refugee Day. It was supposed to raise awareness of the plight of the estimated 42 million displaced people worldwide. A United Nations report released that week showed that 800,000 people were forced to flee across borders last year -- more than any time since 2000. In a message to mark the day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, “We must not turn away from those in need. Refugees leave because they have no choice. We must choose to help.” The emerging refugee crisis inside Burma ( Myanmar ) makes a mockery of Ban Ki-moon’s statement. His office has failed not only to stop refugee crises in our world from emerging but also in ensuring that the refugees are not turned away. According to several human rights groups thousands of unarmed Muslims may already have been killed in the apartheid state of Myanmar . Many Rohingya young men, picked up by the government forces, have simply disappeared, and are now feared death. Many victims – old and young...