By Claudia Ionita
Once upon a time two years ago, the crisis concerning Rohingya muslims was a major subject given major media coverage. The world was appalled by the treatment that this ethnic minority within Myanmar was suffering. Yet, as time went by, the subject has been less and less approached by the media. As the International Court of Justice (ICJ) finally issued a long-awaited ruling last month on the case, we thought it would be worth opening the discussion on the past and future of the Rohingya once again.
Timeline
In order to properly understand how this crisis came about, it is vital to take several metaphorical steps back and analyse the events which have led up to this.
1962
After general Ne Win gained power through a coup d’etat in Myanmar (then known as Burma), a process of ethnic cleansing of the various minorities living in the country began. The change of governing powers within the state coupled with the liberation war being close to an end in the neighbouring Bangladesh brought upon fears of an influx of immigrants. The new government thus started taking action against the existing minorities, such as the muslim minority of Rohingya by dissolving their political and social organisations.
1977
Operation Dragon King is launched by the government. The Rohingya population is succinctly stripped of citizenship. This marks the beginning of an incessant cycle of displacements.
1978
Operation Dragon King continues. Arrests, violence and persecution ensure. 200,000 Rohingya muslims flee to Bangladesh. As food rations are cut, as many as 10,000 people (primarily children) die of starvation.
1989
A military crackdown follows a people’s uprising, Myanmar is renamed Burma. The government increases the presence of the military in states inhabited by the Rohingya. Forced labour, rape, violence and executions continue to be carried out against the muslim minority. Another 250,000 Rohingya flee to Bangladesh.
1992
Refugee camps are established for the Rohingya in Bangladesh. As an agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar is signed, forced repatriation of the Rohingya minority living in Bangladesh takes place. New Rohingya are not allowed to arrive in the refugee camps and those already there are forcibly sent back to Myanmar.
2006
Only two refugee camps remain in Bangladesh. Both children and adults living there face severe hunger and are at risk of disease.
2009
The Rohingya are not legally recognised by Bangladesh as refugees thus they receive very little to no legal protections. Henceforth they remain vulnerable to exploitation and harassment.
2014
The government of Myanmar denies the Rohingya citizenship and fails to count them as citizens during the official census. One of the reasons for this is religious intolerance: the Rohingya are muslim while Myanmar is a predominantly Buddhist country.
2017
In August The Rohingya Arsa militants launch deadly attacks on more than thirty police posts. The Myanmar troops responded by setting fire to Rohingya villages and killing members of the minority. In the first month after the violence broke out, around 7000 people die. The government, however, put the official number of deaths at 400. Furthermore, the government claimed that it had stopped its attacks on the 5th of September, while reporting from news anchors present in Myanmar showed otherwise.
2018
UN investigators accused the military of Myanmar of carrying out rapes and killings for a genocidal purpose.
2019-present
The predominantly muslim state of The Gambia, backed by 57 muslim states urged the International Court of Justice to intervene and settle the dispute between Bangladesh and Myanmar. These states believe that through its actions, Myanmar has breached the UN convention against genocide signed after the WWII as a means of preventing genocide from happening. Thus, the leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, was called in December of last year before the ICJ. The ICJ ordered Myanmar to take actions in protecting its muslim minority. Furthermore, in November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) which rules in cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity has approved an investigation into the Rohingya case.
What’s next?
The case of the Rohingya muslim minority illustrates the dangers that lack of religious tolerance can breed. No person should ever lose citizenship or be subjected to violence or death due to their religion, race, sex or orientation. The 40-year old crisis that the Rohingya's have been exposed to should be a wake-up call for all other nations and individuals as to where intolerance and refusal to accept the other despite differences can lead to. One can only hope that through the involvement of the ICC and the ICJ not only could the current crisis be solved, but future ones avoided as well..
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