April 3, 2017
A mistranslation by Reuters has twisted the message given by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army commander, according to Rohingya activists.
According to activist Anwar S. Mohammed, the rebel leader Ata Ullah said, “Don’t believe in his (the Myanmar Government’s) lies. The world, please come and secure us our rights. We will drop our weapons. We won’t continue fighting against the Gov’t.
“Else, we, many more thousands of Rohingyas, will die fighting for our rights. If necessary, we all Rohingyas will die fighting (for our rights) against the cruel military Government.”
The translation given by Mohammed has been verified by our correspondents and many other Rohingya activists who are familiar with both the Rohingya and English language.
However, the Reuters translation reads, “If we don’t get our rights, if 1 million, 1.5million, all Rohingya need to die, we will die,” he said, speaking via a video call from an undisclosed location. “We will take our rights. We will fight [against] the cruel military government.”
The clip clearly shows that Ata Ullah did not mention the words 1million or 1.5million.
The Reuters report has generated much concern among the Rohingya community. There have also been intense debates regarding the pros and cons of armed resistance among Rohingya supporters.
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