By Palash R. Ghosh: Subscribe to Palash's RSS feed
January 6, 2012 11:33 AM EST
As Myanmar (or Burma) gradually opens up to Western nations after a half-century of isolation, observers are wondering how far the Burmese government will actually go into enacting democratic reforms.
Having elected a (nominally) civilian government last year, the new president of Burma, Thein Sein, has promised a series of liberalizing measures, including the legalization of trade unions, the release of (some) political prisoners, as well as “fair and free” elections. He has even opened up talks with pro-democracy activist and opposition figure, Aung San Suu Kyi.
However, given the still-heavy presence of military figures in the “civilian” government, there are doubts that Burma will reform at all.
In addition, Burma has one of the worst human rights records of any nation on earth. The military-led abuse and mistreatment of its ethnic minorities remains a sordid, black mark on the country’s psyche.
Among the victims of this state-sanctioned oppression are the Rohingya people, an ethnic Muslim group that has long suffered in Buddhist-dominated Burma.
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About 2-million Ronhingya live in the northwestern parts of Burma, near the Bangladesh border.
Hundreds of thousands of Burmese Ronhingya are currently living in neighboring Bangladesh, where they are unwanted refugees. But lacking Burmese citizenship, they are essentially stateless and existing in a kind of limbo.
Late last month, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported that the Burmese government agreed to take back some refugees from Bangladesh – excluding Rohingya.
According to the United Nations, the Rohingya who live in Burma don’t have it much better – they are forbidden from owning property, marrying or even travelling without state permission. Many are subject to forced slave labor and extortion by authorities.
Mizzima, the India-based Burmese news agency reported a few years ago that Rohingya women in Burma are frequently subject to sexual abuse and rape by Burmese soldiers. Reportedly, Burma’s military continues to commit atrocities against the civilian Rohingya population.
As such, desperate Rohingya pour across the borders into Bangladesh every year – although they are Muslims like the overwhelming majority of Bangladeshis, the Rohingya are despised and rejected there as well. Bangladesh, already impoverished and overpopulated, simply cannot cope with the influx.
Mojibar Rahman, a Rohingya refugee living in a United Nations camps in Bangladesh, told AFP: "We thought that after the election [of a civilian government in Burma], the situation would improve for Rohingya in Myanmar, but it hasn't… no one wants to go back.”
Indeed, Rohingyas are trapped in a hopeless Catch-22… unwanted in Bangladesh, rejected by Burma since they lack Burmese citizenship.
Some Rohingya refugees have made it as far as Malaysia I the east or the Arab countries towards the west. Many are also in Thailand. But wherever they are, Rohinya remain vulnerable.
Refugees International has reported that “in both Bangladesh and Malaysia, repressive government policies and lack of adequate international support force the Rohingya to struggle for survival in both countries. The inability of the Rohingya to access basic services in both Bangladesh and Malaysia is further compounding their vulnerability.”
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