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ROHINYGA CITIZENSHIP RIGHTS

UN demand, Myanmarese defiance

C .R. Abrar
LAST week, the United Nation's human rights committee passed an important resolution urging Myanmar to grant equal access to citizenship to the Rohingyas. It also called on the Myanmarese authorities to crack down on Buddhist violence against the members of the Rohingya community and other Muslims. Under the General Assembly rules the resolution will be unanimously approved later this year.
Welcoming the Myanmarese president's statement that there will be "no prisoners of conscience ... by the end of the year," the resolution "expresses concern about the remaining human rights violations, including arbitrary arrests and detentions of political activists and human rights defenders, forced displacement, land confiscations, rape and other forms of sexual violence and torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as well as violations of international humanitarian law, and urges the government of Myanmar to set up its efforts to put an end to such violations." The resolution expressed its serious concern about communal violence and other abuses of the Rohingya community in Rakhine state and on attacks against Muslims elsewhere in the country.
The adoption of the resolution was the rational outcome of the international community's recognition of the dire conditions that the Rohingyas and other Muslims currently face in Myanmar. Despite repeated promises of providing protection and mitigation of their problems little progress has been made to bring about a solution to the plight of the Rohingyas. Sectarian violence no longer remains contained within the Arakan region. The Muslims and their properties are targeted in other parts of the country as well.
There have been well-orchestrated hate campaigns against them by the extreme nationalist and Buddhist religious groups. Often, such campaigns lead to violence, taking toll on human lives and property. So far, 240 people have died. About quarter of a million more, mostly Rohingyas, had to flee their homes. Thousands of families are living in squalid camps with very little basic amenities such as proper shelter, potable water and hygienic sanitation. These Rohinygas live in constant fear of attack on their life and belongings. Life in camps has been particularly
challenging for women, children and the elderly. The international community is deprived of regular access to those uprooted by violence. While adult members are denied livelihood opportunities, children suffer due to lack of access to food, nutrition, health care and education.
There is little evidence to indicate that the Myanmarese authorities are committed to take action against the perpetrators of violence. The bias of the members of the law enforcement agencies in favour of the majority community has been amply recorded by international observers and human rights organi-zations. Seeking redress from the judiciary has also proved be an unrealistic option for the Muslims as this institution has also become a blatant party to the ethnic dispute. The courts have been meting out disproportionate punishment to the Muslims while condoning those of the Buddhist violators of the law.
Under such difficult conditions, a resolution urging the authorities to grant citizenship rights to the Rohingyas was the least that the UN could do. It may be recalled that the Myanmarese authorities failed to take any meaningful step in response to a series of appeals from many quarters, including the UN Secretary General.
The UN Committee resolution has elicited a mixed response in the Myanmarese official quarters. The director of the country's President's Office, Zaw Htay, was cautious in his reaction and stated that steps were being taken to address the issue. He was forthright in his stand, denying that Rohinygas were "stateless" as the UN resolution had suggested. He stated that these people were either
Bangladeshis or Myanmarese, and went to say that "we are not denying their right to citizenship. They will be given citizenship according to the law." He, however, failed to provide any details when and how such consideration would be made.
As against the above rather conciliatory gesture of the director of the President's Office, another presidential spokesperson, Ye Htut, gave a sharp reaction to the UN Committee resolution. He stated that the Myamarese government "absolutely does not accept" the word 'Rohingya' and maintained that the provisions of the 1982 Citizenship Act would be adhered to in letter and spirit. Those who would meet the criteria, including Bengalis in Arakan state, should be granted citizenship but "those who don't meet the criteria will not be granted citizenship regardless of pressure from anyone, and this our sovereign right."
In other words, the international community was again reminded that amendment to the 1982 Citizenship Act was not on the agenda of the Myanmarese authorities and, thus, Rohingya claims to citizenship would continue to be kept on hold at least for the foreseeable future. This may very well be concluded as a defiant rejection of the UN demand.
It is interesting to note the response of the opposition party led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on the UN Committee resolution. It accused the UN of "interfering" in the country's internal affairs. A spokesperson of the party stated that "anyone who is eligible to become citizen will get citizenship but they cannot become ethnic nationals." The hard line taken by Suu Kyi on the Rohinyga citizenship question
was further reflected in her refusal to meet the visiting delegation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference last week. It may be understood that the Nobel laureate's aspiration to become the next president of Myanmar has far outweighed her moral responsibility to stand up for the rights of the Rohingyas.
Daw Suu Kyi may be reminded of the call that twelve Nobel Peace laureates, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Shirin Ebadi, Muhammad Yunus, Tawakkol Karman and Jody Williams, called for immediate end to the violence against Muslims and other ethnic minorities in Myanmar. She may also be made aware of what two of her fellow Nobel laureates, Mohammed Yunus and Jose Ramos-Horta, had concluded that the Muslim Rohingyas are "one of the most marginalised peoples in the world."
The laureates' statement came in support of a call by LIN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, to conduct a UN investigation into the deaths of Muslims inMyanmar, as well as to investigate ongoing violence against the Kachin, Shan and other ethnic minorities. Pillay urged the Myanmarese government to allow her office a "full mandate" in Burma to investigate human rights abuses. Thus far, the government has refused to entertain the idea.
It may be concluded that in an unfortunate way the Rohingya issue has finally been able to draw international attention. The UN Third Committee's latest resolution is a move in the right direction to exert pressure on the Myanmarese authorities to accord citizenship rights to the Rohingyas and bring an end to discriminatory' practices and violence they are being made to endure.
The onus lies on all to make sure that the Rohingyas are not subjected to further brutality and mistreatment. The countries of the region, including Bangladesh, should engage with the issue from humanitarian perspective. They should play their due role in continuing to pressure Myanmar to create enabling condition for the Rohingyas to live in Arakan in dignity, and those outside to return. Pending a durable solution, they should continue to provide asylum and support to those fleeing persecution.
The writer teaches International Relations and coordinates the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit at the University of Dhaka. He is president of Odhikar.