The Rohingya - victims of apartheid policies in Myanmar

The Rohingya
The Rohingya are indigenous people living in their ancestral homeland in Rakhine state of Burma. Rohingyas were citizens in Burma: voted, elected their representatives, served in the military, in government and the police force. However, the 1982 Citizenship Act, passed by the military regime, took away their citizenship. This policy launched a slow, increasingly destructive genocide which is in full swing now. Rohingyas have been living under apartheid for decades.
  • They cannot attend school,
  • They cannot enter a mosque,
  • They cannot pray in public,
  • They cannot hold jobs,
  • They cannot marry,
  • They cannot travel freely.
Amnesty International calls it apartheid. Human Rights Watch has noted a number of “crimes against humanity.” Fortify Rights speaks of the “mounting evidence of genocide.” Similarly, the United Nations human rights chief has called for a full investigation of suspected “acts of genocide.” For the Rohingya, it’s an ongoing reality while waiting for the world to act.
Most Rohingya are Muslims. There are some Christian and Hindu Rohingyas as well; many were among those attacked and forced to flee to Bangladesh. Since 1982, repeated military attacks have displaced over two million Rohingyas.
At the core of the apartheid system has been the systematic removal of citizenship from Rohingya people.
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