By: Camp Correspondent
July 17, 2025 — A new political council representing the Rohingya people has been formed, aiming to reclaim their indigenous identity, secure rightful citizenship in Myanmar, and amplify their voice on the global stage.
The Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC) was officially launched on July 13 and includes members from within Rakhine State, refugee camps in Bangladesh, and the global Rohingya diaspora. Describing itself as a collective response to decades of erasure, violence, and exclusion, the ARNC says it will work toward justice, accountability, and the political recognition of the Rohingya as rightful stakeholders in Myanmar’s future.
In a public declaration, the council stated:
“We are Rohingya — a people of Arakan — and we will not allow our identity, history, and rights to be wiped from the earth.”
The ARNC was formed at a time of renewed crisis. Since the Arakan Army (AA) gained control over large parts of Rakhine State in late 2024, the Rohingya have faced a new wave of violence. The council claims more than 2,500 Rohingya have been killed in recent months, while over 150,000 have fled to Bangladesh since early 2024. Entire Rohingya villages in Buthidaung and Maungdaw have reportedly been burned, with survivors forced to live without food, medicine, or shelter.
The ARNC accuses both the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army of committing atrocities and continuing what it calls an ongoing genocide against the Rohingya population. The council says that while the perpetrators may have changed, the cycle of violence remains.
“Genocide did not end in 2017 — it evolved,” said one founding member of the ARNC. “Now the Arakan Army has taken over our lands, but our suffering continues.”
The council vows to pursue full legal rights, including citizenship, freedom of movement, security guarantees, and a safe and dignified return to ancestral lands under international supervision. It also declared its support for a federal democratic system in Myanmar that respects the rights of all ethnic groups.
Unlike previous initiatives, the ARNC says it will actively seek engagement with Rakhine civil society, democratic actors, and even the Arakan Army, aiming for political dialogue rather than isolation.
At the international level, the council plans to intensify Rohingya advocacy with the United Nations, ASEAN, OIC, and the European Union, pushing for greater accountability and the recognition of Rohingya as political stakeholders, not just passive victims.
The ARNC’s structure includes 40 Central Executive Committee members and 60 Central Committee members, with representatives spanning different countries, camps, and regions of Myanmar. Its leaders say this broad and inclusive framework is designed to unify fragmented Rohingya voices under a common goal.
“We have remained silent for too long,” the council stated. “This is the end of silence. We will speak not with fear, but with determination. We will resist not with violence, but with truth. We will return — not as refugees, but as rightful citizens of Arakan.”
As the humanitarian crisis deepens and displacement continues, the ARNC’s emergence signals a critical shift — one where the Rohingya seek to reclaim their narrative, shape their own political future, and demand a seat at the table of Myanmar’s rebuilding process.
