The Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar led to the continued existence of quasi-independent armed groups as some ethnic movements have developed their own armed operations. From the time of the signing of the Burmese Constitution back in 1948, ethnic minorities in Burma/Myanmar have been denied constitutional rights. Furthermore, access to lands that were traditionally controlled by their peoples and participation in the government has been curtailed.
Various minority groups have been consistently oppressed by the dominant Burmese majority, in addition to suffering at the hands of warlords and regional ethnic alliances. Prior to the Rohingya tragedy, the Karen, Karenni and Mon ethnic groups have been forced to seek asylum in neighbouring Thailand.
The Broader Implications of Myanmar’s Conflict on Southeast Asian Security
These groups are perhaps more fortunate than Wa and Shan ethnic groups who have become Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) in their own state since being removed from their ancestral lands by the military junta in 2000. There are reportedly 600,000 of IDPSs living in Burma/Myanmar today. The continuous displacement of peoples has led to both human rights violations as well as the exploitation of minority ethnic groups.
The Rohingya crisis is the latest episode in this long chain of events leading to mass waves of forced migration in Burma/Myanmar. The Rohingya people of Burma/Myanmar were stripped of their citizenship in 1982, with the reasoning that they could not meet the requirement of proving that their forefathers had settled in Burma before 1823.
Since 2012, hundreds of thousands Rohingya have fled Burma/Myanmar, either marching on foot or in poorly constructed boats for journeys lasting several weeks to neighboring countries, causing hundreds of deaths. The level of abuse and persecution perpetrated upon them surpasses the possibility of quantification.
The Role of International Aid in Managing the Rohingya Crisis in Southeast Asia
Rohingyas were forced out by state-sponsored persecution in Burma/Myanmar, yet they are currently forced to be repatriated due to the fact that Bangladesh cannot afford to welcome them either as migrants or as refugees. Hence the cycle of violence repeats itself, with each turn costing more living and normalising the situation of the Rohingya as perpetually dispossessed.
The case of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh is one of the most complex refugee situations in South Asia inducing multiple forms of suffering, which has been continuing for more than three decades. While the effectiveness of traditional durable solutions offered by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) remain highly questionable, examining the nature of the political engagement exhibited by stakeholder state parties is essential for our understanding of the regional and historical nature of the problem.
Rohingya Crisis Is Affecting Neighboring Countries
In international refugee law, it is speculated that after the situation becomes normalized, refugees would either return to their own country or would be naturalised in their host country. By the end of 2012, there were 10.5 million refugees worldwide and among them estimated 6.4 million were in protracted situations.
UNHCR defines a protracted refugee situation as one in which 25,000 or more refugees of the same nationality have been in exile for five years or longer in a given asylum country. In terms of geography, in the case of Rohingyas arriving at Bangladesh, we are dealing with borderland politics par excellence. Arakan province is a long stretch of land along Myanmar’s coastline in the Bay of Bengal.
Meanwhile, Rohingya refugees arriving in Bangladesh report fleeing appalling violations of human rights and other abuses in Burma/ Myanmar, including mass rape and other forms of communal punishment and brutality. The government of Bangladesh is asked to work closely with the United Nations and other humanitarian response, in order to ensure that Rohingya refugees are protected in line with international standards of such rescue operations and to provide desperately needed supports.
