Rohingya issue talks held in Washington DC

 

On September 14, the United States In a discussion organized by Georgetown University, Ronan Lee, an Australian researcher who has researched the history of the Rohingya and the growth of anti-Rohingya sentiments in Myanmar, presented his analysis of how authoritarian regimes over the years have spread anti-Rohingya sentiments among the people, leading to acts of genocide.

 

"In the center of the city of Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State, there is Aung Myung Ward, where the Rohingya live. When I visited in 2015, about five thousand people lived there. They have been stuck in this neighborhood since 2012 without being allowed to go out. The Rohingyas living in these ghetto-style neighborhoods have no jobs or income, and have to depend on handouts from the government and outsiders who have put them in this situation. They live in fear of when the government will stop providing food. This neighborhood is only a few meters away from Sittwe Hospital and the city market, but you can't go there. Even if you want to get medical treatment because you are not living well, you have to ask for permission step by step. Anti-Rohingya graffiti images on Rohingya-owned shops

A Rohingya family living in a Rohingya refugee camp in Sittwe, Rakhine State in 2015. (Photo: AFP)

 

"From the time I saw such situations, I know for sure that what is happening now is Genocide. These were done by the Burmese authorities on purpose. It is certain that both the Burmese military and civilians have done this with the intention of making this group of people completely disappear. It is natural that the Rohingyas in Aung Myung Ward are afraid. Because two years later, in 2017, most of the Rohingyas fled from Myanmar, and there was a genocidal land clearing operation.

 

After the independence of Myanmar, the democratic government of U Nu accepted the Rohingya as an ethnic group in Myanmar. In 1962, the situation changed after the military leader General Ne Win's coup d'état. Researcher Ronan Lee concluded that the Rohingya's citizenship was revoked and propaganda was started as illegal immigrants.

 

In addition, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in 2017 prevented the army's land clearance activities against the Rohingya. The lack of calls for relaxation is a missed opportunity for all those who wish to remove the military from the political arena, says researcher Ronan Lee.

 

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as a civilian leader, had the opportunity to demand that the military's actions be weakened. If he had asked the army to stop the terrorist attack on the Rohingya, he would certainly have the support of the international community, especially the West. But he did not do so and expressed his suspicion that the army was committing such crimes. If the coup happened only because the military intervened at that time, the international response would have been different. Therefore, it is not only the Rohingya who lost this opportunity. It is also a loss for all those trying to remove the military from the political arena.”

 

Researcher Ronan Lee compared the anti-Muslim priest U Wirathu's beliefs to those of US President Donald Trump, pointing out that the Rohingya were subjected to genocide a decade after they were denied citizenship. We should not forget that this kind of situation can happen in any country.