The Rohingyas have been named as "the most persecuted minority in the world" by the United Nations, following a wave of atrocities unseen since genocides in Rwanda.
Although, Myanmar government considers the Rohingya as British colonial and postcolonial migrants from neighboring Bangladesh, "A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire" by Francis Buchanan (1799), which was found and republished by Michael Charney in the "SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research" in 2003, says, among the native groups of Arakan, there are the "Mohammedans," who have long settled in Arakan, and who call themselves Rooinga, or natives of Arakan.
"The Classical Journal" of 1811 identified "Rooinga" as one of the languages spoken in the "Burmah Empire." In 1815, Johann Severin Vater listed "Ruinga" as an ethnic group with a distinct language in a compendium of languages published in German.
The Rohingya are still regarded as illegal immigrants and non-citizens by Myanmar. Sadly, the persecution of the Rohingya has never been limited to legal means only. Violent, large-scale crackdowns targeted toward the Rohingya -- like Operation King Dragon in 1978, and Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation in 1991 -- forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee Burma into Bangladesh.
The most current, and possibly most virulent, wave of anti-Rohingya persecution began in August 2017 when a group of Rohingya rebels attacked police stations and an army camp. A million Rohingya have fled the carnage to adjacent Bangladesh due to mass killings, raping, and the burning of hundreds of villages by security forces.
In 2018, The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar reported atrocities that “undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law” and that could constitute a genocide. The report highlighted the extreme scale and brutality of the violence. It said estimates of 10,000 deaths took place in the Rakhine campaign and cited harrowing witness accounts of mass killings, gang rapes of women and young girls, and the wholesale destruction of villages by the military.
Since then, there has been increasing pressure on the Myanmar government to find a long-term solution to this situation. On November 23, 2017, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a repatriation agreement, marking the start of the first repatriation attempt. There was, however, no consensus on a specific repatriation procedure or a date for its conclusion.
In June 2018, the United Nations Development Program and the UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement with the Myanmar government to create favourable conditions for the Rohingyas to return. Repatriation attempts in November 2018 and August 2019 also failed because of the mistrust of Rohingyas in the Myanmar government.
In January 2021, Bangladesh proposed a village-based repatriation process to make the Rohingya feel safe about their return. After a year, in January 2022, both countries resumed the talks. Myanmar said it would like to start the process by repatriating 42,000 refugees from the list of 8,30,000 Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh, but failed also.
The most recent glimmer of optimism appeared when Myanmar organized a trip to Rakhine in March 2023 for the ambassadors or consul generals of 11 nations, including Bangladesh, India, China, and eight ASEAN nations, to observe the situation there. The envoys who are in town have noted that Rakhine's security situation is presently steady. The time is right to begin the repatriation procedure.
The government of Myanmar is quickly validating a list of more than 1,000 Rohingya citizens from Bangladesh that will be returned soon as part of a pilot programme. The government of Myanmar is organizing the Rohingyas' rehabilitation in Rakhine. Two receiving centres in Myanmar will receive the relocating Rohingya citizens. These centres are already finished.
In Rakhine, the security situation for Muslims is better than it has ever been. In addition to this, facilities for livelihood, health, and education have improved. The number of Muslim-specific educational establishments has expanded. After a nine-year break, 200 Muslim students were enrolled to Sittwe University last year. This year, a significant number of Muslim students were also accepted. Muslims have access to medical care as well.
Behind the scene
Although the peace agreement negotiated by Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of the Nippon Foundation and Japan's special representative in Myanmar, between the Arakan army and the military junta helped to stabilize the situation in Rakhine, China is really the star of the show.
Former US ambassador to Myanmar Scot Marciel urged (February 2023) the US government to provide substantial funding to the NUG and its partners. He also suggested that Washington gather military experts to consider ways to help the resistance counter the regime's air power, mindful of concerns about supplying sophisticated anti-aircraft systems.
Given Beijing's influence over several EAOs in the north, any effort by the West to step up engagement and support for EAOs and PDF forces operating in ethnic territories would be of concern to China. Through Chinese special envoy Deng Xijun's visit to Myanmar, China reminded all stakeholders (military junta, NUG, EAOs, and PDFs) that Beijing wants stability in Myanmar.
Mass repatriation, a win-win deal
In light of the advantages and disadvantages of this pilot project, if Myanmar can begin and complete the mass repatriation of Rohingyas while maintaining security, dignity, and honour, this will undoubtedly aid the Myanmar Junta in gaining some respect in the international community. On the other hand, it will be a first step for the Arakanese Muslims to regain their rightful identity.
Nur-Mohammad Sheikh is a security affairs analyst.
