Abstract
The book The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Hidden Genocide by Azeem Ibrahim is an engaging and endearing account of the persecution of the Rohingyas in Myanmar. With years of thoughtful research, the author was able to successfully analyse and identify the political challenges faced by the Rohingyas in Myanmar. The Rohingyas makes a significant contribution by communicating to the audience the brutality involved in the laws discriminating against the Rohingya, infringing on their freedom of movement, education and even employment. The author attempts to initiate a debate and provide a painstaking account of the oppressive nature of the regime in the twenty-first century.
For scholars who are eager to know ‘who are the Rohingya,’ this book provides an excellent grounding and foundation for understanding this Muslim minority group and their struggle to gain recognition among the 135 ethnic groups within Myanmar. Ibrahim has rigorously chronicled the painful sufferings of the Rohingya culminating in the brutal genocide perpetrated by the government of Myanmar. The Rohingyas also offers valuable insights for understanding the complications involved in the life of a Rohingya who is widely viewed in both Myanmar and now Bangladesh as intruders from across the border. Today, the Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority originating from Myanmar’s Rakhine State and thought to number about one million people. As such, they are denied land and property rights and ownership, with the land on which they live can be taken away by the government at any given time. In fact, Myanmar regards them as illegal immigrants, a view that was rooted in their heritage in East Bengal, now known as Bangladesh.
The Rohingyas is divided into seven chapters, with the first three dedicated to tracing the history of the Rohingyas and the origins of their persecution. Ibrahim traces the origins of the Rohingya to the last Rakhine Kingdom with its capital in Mrauk U. Situated on the border between Buddhist and Muslim Asia, the city became one of Asia’s richest and attracted numerous migrants. However, in 1785 the Rakhine Kingdom came under the control of the Kingdom of Burma, which itself became absorbed into British India. The Muslim community in Rakhine expanded rapidly during colonial times, doubling in size between the 1880s and 1930s. During the Second World War, the Rakhine State was on the front line between the Japanese troops and Allied forces and it was here the first significant fractures between the future Burmese communities became visible. Whilst the Muslims were mostly pro-British, the Rakhine Buddhists on the other hand initially supported the Japanese. Shortly after Myanmar’s independence from British rule, a Muslim rebellion erupted in Rakhine, with the goals of establishing an autonomous area for themselves and equal rights with the Buddhist ruling classes. The rebellion was eventually defeated and led to the beginning of the military rule in the region and whatever rights the Rohingya had enjoyed before the conflict were eroded. Since then, the situation kept on becoming worse. In 1978 and 1991, heavy-handed government campaigns pushed more than 200,000 Muslims across the border into Bangladesh. Although new citizenship laws were passed identifying 135 national ethnic groups, unfortunately, the Rohingya were not one of them. In fact, they were effectively rendered as stateless.
In chapter 4, Ibrahim provides a vivid account of Myanmar’s efforts to engage in ‘social control’ of the Rohingya and the implications this has had for the now mostly disposed people. When Myanmar conducted its first census in more than three decades the Rohingya were excluded. Even in the first democratic elections since the end of military rule, Rohingya were not allowed to participate either as candidates or as voters. After Aung San Suu Kyi became the de facto leader in a power-sharing agreement with the military, the persecution of the Rohingya spiralled out of control. There were frequent crackdowns on the Rohingya by the Myanmar military, triggering an estimated mass exodus of approximately 87,000 Rohingya, mostly to countries like Malaysia and Bangladesh. These crackdowns involved numerous cases of brutal torture, rape, murder and the razing of villages, though the Military described the situation as a series of ‘clearance operations’. Although Suu Kyi had condemned the violation of human rights, Myanmar’s military had repeatedly denied conducting atrocities against the Rohingya.
Chapter 5 addresses the question of why the international community and civilian sections of the Myanmar government largely refused to help and support the people against the brutal ethnic cleansing in 2012. Here, the book really stands out by explaining the pros and cons of genocide in Myanmar. The Rohingyas helps us to understand the challenges involved in the political participation, the role of media and freedom of the press reporting of human rights violations as well as the issue of corruption in the government. Ibrahim also helped us understand the politics behind the curtain of democracy in Burma and explain that a state-controlled election would not be able to provide a remedy for political, economic and social predicaments. Finally, chapters 6 and 7 portray the current situation and explains what should be done to control the situation in Myanmar. Ibrahim did a fantastic job by examining how the international community could play an important role in the reconciliation process in Myanmar.
The Rohingyas at its core is a rigorous chronical of one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time. Ibrahim also addresses the important question of why, despite numerous reports of human rights abuses and a refugee crisis, the issues at the heart of the Rohingya’s plight have not been resolved by the government yet. Besides, there had been several failed attempts both by Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to provide justice to the people persecuted in the Rakhine state. Ibrahim concludes by making the argument that, as Myanmar makes a slow transition to democracy, it needs to keep in mind that the success of democracy depends on the inclusive mindset of its people and their genuine participation in the new political system. However, with the military and corrupt demagogues holding most of the power, it seems that the precarious situation in which the Rohingya are living today and the troubles they are undergoing is just the beginning.
Ultimately, despite its grim topic, The Rohingyas: Inside Myanmar’s Hidden Genocide is a delight to read in every way. No doubt, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in the persecution of the Rohingyas in Burma or simply contemporary Asian politics more generally. It will be particularly valuable to students across the social science disciplines that are eager to know more about the Rohingya and genocide in Burma. Ibrahim’s work is a truly special and unique work that leaves the audience awestruck with the harsh reality that the Rohingyas endure.