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The Rohingyas : Inside Myanmar’s Hidden Genocide (Book)
By DR. AZEEM IBRAHIM
The earliest settlers in Arakan were probably closely related to aboriginal cultures that existed across South East Asia, Indonesia and Australia. However, the earliest settled kingdoms that left an archaeological record were Indo–Aryan groups who arrived from the Ganges Valley as early as 3000 BC. At the time of their arrival, minorities such as the Mru, Sak, Kumi and other Chin ethnic groups were already living in the region17 and continued to do so in the remote hilly regions.
As we have seen, Charles Paton carried out a major survey of Arakan in 1825–6. Ostensibly working for the British Colonial Office, he was actually gathering information for Britain’s secret spy agencies. But whatever his mission, he left behind a compelling account of life in Arakan in 1826. He detailed the ethnicity of the leaders of various villages and estimated that there were 60,000 Rakhine Buddhists, 30,000 Muslims and 10,000 from other ethnic groups.
Pamela Gutman suggests that whoever was in Arakan before the ninth century AD had ethnic links to Indian groups, rather than to groups in what is today Myanmar. The Rohingyas, whose language is Indo–Aryan,20 from the Bengali–Assamese branch, may well descend from these pre-ninth-century inhabitants of the region, whereas the Rakhine did not arrive until the ninth century. The Indo–Aryan roots of the Rohingyas are manifested in inscriptions from the Hindu temples at Anandra Chandra (eighth century AD), which display close similarities to similar inscriptions and buildings in India.
The earliest rulers of Arakan were mostly Hindus,22 reflecting the links to India. However, Islam arrived in the seventh century via trading links to India and Arabia, but the region remained multi-confessional, with Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims living together. Under these influences, the Rohingyas’ language evolved from its early roots with the adoption of Arabic and Persian words, and the script adapted to more closely resemble that of Bengali. Equally, as an ethnic group, the Rohingyas absorbed Arab and Persian elements in the period up to 1000 AD. Later, the close links with Bengal meant absorbing both Bengali and Mughal ethnic influences as part of the regular interaction with northern India.
However, it seems likely that the Rohingyas were an important part of the ethnic mix of Arakan in this era. Nineteenth-century British reports make reference to how the local Muslims called themselves ‘Rovingaw’ or ‘Rooinga’ (see Appendix 1, which reproduces the title page of one such work). More importantly, as early as 1799 Francis Buchanan made reference to ‘Rooinga’ in the area. Buchanan suggested in 1799 that the natives of Arakan were either ‘Yakein’ or ‘Rooinga’ and he indicates there are two main communities. One is the ‘Mohammedans who have long settled in Arakan and who call themselves Rooinga, or natives of Arakan’. The other are the ‘Rakhing … who adhere to the tenets of Buddha’. In turn, the Classical Journal of 1811 has a comparative list of numbers in many East and Central Asian languages and identifies three languages spoken in the ‘Burmah Empire’, including a direct reference to ‘Rooinga’: However, Prime Minister U Nu indicated on several occasions that this was a temporary problem and that ‘The Rohingya has the equal status of nationality with Kachin, Kayah, Karen, Mon, Rakhine and Shan’.32 There is ample evidence in the Burmese legal framework and in the practical decisions that were made that the Rohingyas were not seen as being especially different34 to any other ethnic minority in the period of democratic rule up to 1962. They are described as Rohingyas in the 1961 census, indicating an ongoing recognition of their existence as an ethnic group under that description. This relative tolerance started to change once the military came to power in 1962.
Myanmar now stands on the edge of genocide.106 The Rohingyas have nothing left, most live in internal refugee camps and they are denied basic health care and the ability to work. Due to these deliberate pressures they look to flee;108 and many in the regime, of the regional Rakhine establishment and among the Buddhist extremists are keen to encourage them to do so—so keen that the use of violence to trigger a final exodus cannotbe ruled out. This is genocide: it is the deliberate destruction of an identified ethnic group. International indifference only encourages the regime to believe it can get away with it.
We have seen that the UN defines genocide as the ‘intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group’. But in the case of the Rohingyas these extra requirements are beginning to be met. As an example, for the Rohingyas, marriage is strictly regulated, and the number of children they can have is limited to two by law, which is below the rate needed for demographic replacement (that is, fewer than are necessary to ensure the population does not decline). And it is hugely important that we call a genocide a ‘genocide’ for practical reasons aswell: not just the act of genocide itself, but the fear that such an act is imminent triggers a requirement for the UN Security Council to take direct action.38 Indeed, reports by UN officials suggest that the treatment of the Rohingyas warrants referral to the International Court.
Further reports by UN officials stress that they are denied access to the Rohingyas and that the community is facing systemic persecution and denial of civil and human rights. The regime has shown itself to be unwilling to properly investigate ethnic attacks against the Rohingyas, especially in instances where the military was involved. This in itself removes one of the barriers for the case of genocide to be heard at the International Criminal Court, as the host nation can be seen as incapable of taking action within its own jurisdiction.
At the moment, the situation in Rakhine can be described as almost a textbook case of pre-genocide. All that is missing is a final trigger which could come from conflict, economic crisis, natural disaster or political events. This is likely to start a massacre of those Rohingyas still living in urban areas (such as around Sittwe) and villages and then those held in the various prison camps dotted around the state. A related issue is the need to deal with what has happened so far. Many observers argue that what has been done in Rakhine since 2012 already constitutes genocide. There have been several failed attempts to bring a case at the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague. At the moment, there is no means of justice, or even access to the justice system, for the Rohingyas in Myanmar. The ICC is the court of last resort for the prosecution of crimes against humanity40 and its jurisdiction includes both the crime of genocide and more general ‘crimes against humanity’.
