Rohingya

Geographically bordered by Bangladesh to the west, India and China to the north, and Thailand and Laos to the east, the Southeast Asian country of Myanmar has a deep-rooted history dating back to 1057, when King Anawrahta founded it as the Kingdom of Burma (see map below). In the western part of the country, along the border with Bangladesh, lies the state of Rakhine, home to the Rohingya Muslims—an ethnic and religious minority in a predominantly Buddhist nation.  

For years, the Rohingya have faced systematic oppression and persecution, with some arguing they are the most persecuted minority in the world (Ibrahim, 2018). To fully understand the ongoing atrocities they endure—including violence, destruction of homes and property, forced labor, and sexual abuse—we must first examine the history of Myanmar, beginning in the 19th century when it was still known as Burma. 

The targeted group of the genocide was predominantly Rohingya Muslims living in the northwestern state of Rakhine in Burma/Myanmar. Some have interpreted Theravada Buddhist beliefs to include the idea that, in order for Buddhism to remain secure, all other forms of religion must be eliminated. This thinking may have been a factor in the actions of the Burmese Buddhists looking to the state for support in dehumanizing anyone non-Buddhist in exchange for their political support. Consequently, throughout the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, extreme Buddhist organizations used their power and political influence to repress the rights of the Rohingya Muslims.  

Historical Background

In 1784, Burmese Kings invaded and conquered Arakan, making it part of the Burmese Kingdom. Historically populated by the Rohingya, Britain annexed Arakan in 1826 in the First Anglo-Burmese War. Buddhist extremists, military leaders, Burmese nationalists, ethnic extremists, and the National League for Democracy all have argued that the Rohingya did not traditionally live in Arakan but rather immigrated from Bangladesh and are thus not considered Burmese. This widely held belief was and is used to deny Rohingya citizenship within Myanmar today.

Within Rakhine as part of Burma, the Burmese people remained under British rule until World War II, when they fell under Japanese Occupation from 1942 to 1945. During this period, people within Burma supported different sides, with the Rohingya fighting alongside the British and the Buddhists living in Rakhine supporting the Japanese. As the tide of the war turned, so too did the support of Burmese leaders, with General Aung San and other local leaders turning their support to the British to help defeat the Japanese in 1945.   

In 1947, Aung San was elected as a transitional leader of Burma as it pushed towards independence. During this time, the Rohingya also shared some political rights and power, with the Rohingya Muslims being elected as members of Burma’s governing body. In July of that year, however, General Aung San was assassinated by a political enemy, ushering in a period of instability and persecution towards the Rohingya as Burma gained its independence in 1948. In the years that followed, as politicians and military leaders fumbled and fought for power, the Rohingyas were consistently cast as scapegoats to draw attention away from other matters and to gain political power among those in charge.    

Not all started out as bad for the Rohingya, however. In 1948, as Burma gained its independence and Prime Minister U Nu was elected to office, Rohingyas were recognized as equal citizens according to the Union Citizenship Act passed by Parliament. This followed in 1949 when the government began issuing identification cards to all citizens, including the Rohingya.  

With the military coup in 1962, however, the tide shifted against Rohingyas, ushering in a half century of persecution. When the military overthrew the elected government of Burma in 1962 under the leadership of General Ne Win, things became increasingly worse for Rohingya Muslims. With the prevailing belief among nationalists that the only true citizens of Burma could be Burmese Buddhists, Ne Win declared Burma a one-party state. No independent media were allowed under military rule, and Burma’s economy became nationalized. By the 1970s and 1980s, the citizenship of Rohingya Muslims was being called into question.   

 As the military increased in power, so too did Burmese nationalism. One effect of this was the increased fear and distrust of those considered outsiders, particularly ethnic and religious groups such as the Rohingya. In 1974, a new Constitution was implemented in Burma that allowed for one-party rule, still under the control of the military. With this came the passage of the Emergency Immigration Act, which severely limited the rights of foreigners from Bangladesh, China, and India. Included in the group were Rohingya Muslims who were seen as foreigners from Bangladesh.  

Along with other foreigners, the registration cards of Rohingya Muslims were confiscated by state authorities who considered them a threat within Burma. This persecution continued when in 1978, under a plan called Operation Naga Min (Dragon King), all people in Burma needed to have their certification status verified. During this process, people who were considered foreigners, especially the Rohingya, were subjected to brutal violence by the military, partly because of political and religious leaders within Burma calling for their expulsion.  

According to Ibrahim the Rohingya made for easy targets as they were “visibly ‘alien’ in the color of their skin, in their language, and most of all in their religion”. This resulted in the government severely limiting the citizenship of Rohingya in 1982. Under the leadership of retired General San Yu, Burma’s parliament passed a law that stripped Rohingya Muslims and other minority groups of their citizenship status.  

By the late 1980s, Burma faced a severe economic crisis that led to mass riots across the country. In response, the government cracked down on perceived dissidents, arbitrarily arresting individuals and sentencing many to death. Amid this turmoil, Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of General Aung San, was placed under house arrest. It was also during this period that Burma was officially renamed Myanmar. 

As political shifts unfolded and pro-democracy protests spread, the military grew increasingly threatened. The Rohingya, particularly in the state of Rakhine, were treated as a security threat, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency and impose harsh military crackdowns. In the aftermath of the unrest, the government introduced new identification cards, known as "Citizenship Scrutiny Cards." However, these cards were never issued to the Rohingya, further entrenching their statelessness and marginalization.   

In 1991, in a marked increase in violence towards the Rohingya, the government implemented Operation “Clean and Beautiful Nation” allowing soldiers to commit violent atrocities towards the Rohingya, forcing over 250,000 of them to flee into refugee camps in Bangladesh. In an effort of continued persecution, the following year, the government created a special border force that was designed with the sole intent of harassing and targeting the Rohingya.  

Nevertheless, in 1992, many of the Rohingya who had fled into Bangladesh had returned. The effort to dehumanize and persecute Rohingya Muslims intensified in the mid-1990s when the government began to deny birth certificates for Rohingya Muslims and issued them new identification cards. These new “white cards” only allowed for temporary registration and were not considered proof of citizenship.   

The first decade of the 21st century brought with it a period of increased violence and, in turn, displacement, of Rohingya Muslims. Although the NLD was making headway towards Myanmar, the military retained power. Thanks to a provision in the revised 2008 constitution, a specific percentage of seats in Parliament had to be reserved for the military, making it highly unlikely that they would lose their grip on power.  

In the first national election held since 1968, the military-backed political party won the national election in 2010, appointing General Thein Sein as president. In a series of protests and boycotts, the NLD was not happy. Although at first it seemed as if President Thein Sein would bring about progressive reforms, including the freeing of political opponents and limiting censorship, these promising policies were short-lived. Under the leadership of President Thein Sein, violence and persecution towards the Rohingya greatly escalated.  

Genocide Triggers

In October of 2016, Burmese police posts in Rakhine were attacked by a small group of Rohingya Muslims. With nine officers killed in the attack, the Burmese military launched what was called a “clearance operation,” where they destroyed villages, killed people, and raped women throughout Rakhine. Triggering what most countries now acknowledge as a genocide, these violent attacks led to over 80,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh. Although the government tried to portray and justify the attacks as a proportionate response to the earlier attacks on the Burmese police, first-hand accounts and satellite pictures revealed these were genocidal actions with mass murders, sexual violence, and entire villages being burned. By 2017, the Kutupalong refugee camp became the largest refugee camp in the world with over 600,000 Rohingya Muslims.  

and support efforts to help separate families reunite. As the crisis continues and violent acts and persecution are continuously perpetuated against the Rohingya, various Human Rights and Genocide groups continue to document evidence of what is happening.    

Although there has been widespread international condemnation for the human rights violations and ethnic cleansing that have taken place in Myanmar over the last fifty years, until relatively recently, the plight of the Rohingya attracted little international interest.  

For most of its history, Burma has been seen as a country that is predominantly closed off from the world. Aung San Suu Kyi was primarily painted as a figure of peace committed to a peaceful and democratic future for all inhabitants of Myanmar/Burma. As violence began to escalate in 2017, however, the United States responded with economic sanctions of the military leaders who perpetrated the violence.   

As it became clear that a genocide was taking place in Myanmar after 2017, there was steady pressure put on both the NLD and eventually, the military, to stop the violence targeted at Rohingya Muslims. Beginning in 2018, the United Nations Human Rights Council issued results from a fact-finding mission that was conducted in Myanmar, declaring that what was taking place was a genocide and crimes against humanity.   

Later that year, an international law firm called The Public International Law & Policy Group, which had investigated the crisis in 2017, thanks to a grant from the United States State Department, declared that crimes against humanity were taking place. In January of 2020, the International Court of Justice imposed measures against Myanmar ordering it to comply with the obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 

Rohingya and the Ten Stages of Genocide