Some Holes in Professor Mannan's work on Myanmar
Abid Bahar
Professor Mannan these days writes on any topic including about history without any in depth knowledge on the subjects of his choice and he writes anything as history. The problem is he doesn't care to mention the source of his information which a scholar or a historian in particular uses to establish his credibility. Instead, he goes with his crediantial, the former Vice Chancellor of Chittagong University. In all his historian like writings, we see holes and the undertone of a hardcore Awami Leaguer. This obviously makes him lose credibility as an educationist and his works becoming propaganda materials at best.
Let's see where are the holes:
(1) Prof says in his article:"The first exodus of Rohingyas after the Second World War happened in 1962 when thousands were uprooted from their home and forced to flee. Some went to Thailand and some came to Chittagong. Subsequently they melted away amongst the local population. The second wave came in 1978 and 1979 when the Myanmar army launched operation 'Nagamin' (Dragon King). Over two lakh Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh." (1)
So far so good. But when he comes to deal with Ziaur Rahman he makes a historically wrong assertion. He says:
"The then President Zia of Bangladesh believed all political solutions lied in military action and sent couple of Navy ships towards the Naf river and amassed some troops along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. Diplomacy was never given a chance. Myanmar retaliated and the situation just aggravated. A second influx happened in 1991-92 when over a quarter of a million Rohingyas were forced to enter Bangladesh. Unofficially the number is much higher."
From my personal experience ( then in 1978 I was a NAP Muzaffer party follower) but a researcher, I saw Ziaur Rahman was actually successful in a political settlement and was able to to return back most refugees by involving the international community.
Please read the following observation by Imtiaz Ahamed, Professor at the University of Dhaka:
"The pushing-in of the Rohingyas came as a rude shock to Bangladesh, for less than a yearbefore, in July 1977, Ziaur Rahman, then President of Bangladesh, paid an official visit toMyanmar, and no one was then expecting that such a crisis would unfold. To tackle this problem, the Bangladesh government first began to pursue quiet diplomacy, refraining from making the refugee issue international. But not finding any positive response from Yangon, and faced with an unprecedented task of feeding the refugees, the Bangladesh government took the matter to various world bodies, including the UNHCR. At the end,international pressure, particularly those provided by the Muslim countries, forced Myanmar to sign an agreement with Bangladesh in July 1978 to repatriate all the refugees."(2)
link: http://www.scribd.com/cbro50/d/75094723-The-Rohingyas-From-Stateless-to-Refugee-by-Imtiaz-Ahmed-Professor-of-International-RelationsUniversity-of-Dhaka
(Continues...)
End notes:
(1)http://www.daily-sun.com/index.php?view=details&archiev=yes&arch_date=23-06-2012&type=Let-sanity-prevail-in-Myanmar&pub_no=183&cat_id=1&menu_id=5&news_type_id=1&index=0
(2) link: http://www.scribd.com/cbro50/d/75094723-The-Rohingyas-From-Stateless-to-Refugee-by-Imtiaz-Ahmed-Professor-of-International-RelationsUniversity-of-Dhaka, JOSEPH ALLCHIN, The Rohingya, myths and misinformation,Abid Bahar, "Dynamics of Ethnic Relations in Burmese Society." An unpublished thesis, 1982. Book: Abid Bahar's Burma's Missing Dots, 2010,
http://www.dvb.no/analysis/the-rohingya-myths-and-misinformation/22597
On Sun, Jun 24, 2012 at 11:26 PM, Muhammad Ali <manik195709@yahoo.com> wrote:
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From: SyedAslam <syed.aslam3@gmail.com>
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Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2012 9:38 PM
Subject: Let sanity prevail in Myanmar
Straight TalkLet sanity prevail in Myanmarশনিবার, ২৩ জুন ২০১২ Abdul Mannan
Ethnic cleansing in our neighbouring country Myanmar, what we usually know as Burma, when the country is coming out of the shadows of fifty years of military rule is unexpected. However, the practice of ethnic cleansing is not new to this country and it has been practised there for about one hundred years. The Burmese government and its people believe anyone who is not a Buddhist is a foreigner in Burma and must be treated with contempt and relegated to the position of second class citizen where hatred towards people of other belief and faith still remains as the motto of the state. The hatred towards Rohingya Muslims stands over all others and the international community surprisingly decided to keep silent in all cases of human rights violations in recent times involving the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar. After about a half a century of military rule Myanmar is inching towards democracy, at least that is what everyone believes. Any intervention for violation of human rights may stall this coveted development, so it is better to turn a blind eye for whatever happens in Myanmar, be it murder, rape, wanton arson and destruction of the Rohingya community! To some any community is spendable in the name of democracy. The Western world has different definition of democracy for different countries and region. However, the big question is how can a country march towards democracy when state sponsored terrorism is rampant and lawlessness in certain parts of the country is encouraged and sponsored while ethnic cleansing encouraged?
Rohingya Muslims mostly inhabit in the Northern state of Arakan, adjacent to Bangladesh. Historians differ as to about the advent of Rohingyas in Arakan. Some believe their ancestors came from Arabia in eighth century while according to others they migrated from Afghanistan and India. Some may have been taken over there by the British as indentured labourers for farming. As Arakan State borders Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar, for hundreds of years the Rohingyas and people from Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar intermingled among themselves and the Rohingyas picked up many habits from their neighbours, including the local dialect. Only the picturesque Naf river separates both. Rohingyas were never accepted by the successive governments of Myanmar as their own people. Even though 135 communities were accepted as ethnic minorities by the Constitution of Myanmar, unfortunately, there was no room for the Rohingya Muslims. Muslims constitute only 4% of total population of Myanmar. Not only Rohingya Muslims but also about three million people of Indian origin, Chinese and Malay Muslims also are denied the right to citizenship of Myanmar. Those recognised as citizens of Myanmar are issued a red identity card while others receive a white one. A Rohingya's card mentions the holder is a non-Burmese, a 'Muslim Rohingya', an enactment of Hitler's policy in Nazi Germany.
My father in his young age went to Burma in the thirties in search of fortune, a common practice in his days. Burma was a land of plenty. He ran a small business but even in his days the Burmese society was sharply divided ethnically. He hardly had any local client in his small restaurant. When Japanese army occupied Burma in 1942, the local Burmese teamed up with the occupation forces to start a bloodletting riot in Rangoon. My father and thousands like him had to flee penniless for home on foot — one of the greatest exoduses of last century. Hundreds died on their way due to cholera and malaria while others were attacked by the locals. They were the casualties of war. The universal belief is Buddhism is a religion of peace, but perhaps not in Myanmar.
The first exodus of Rohingyas after the Second World War happened in 1962 when thousands were uprooted from their home and forced to flee. Some went to Thailand and some came to Chittagong. Subsequently they melted away amongst the local population. The second wave came in 1978 and 1979 when the Myanmar army launched operation 'Nagamin' (Dragon King). Over two lakh Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh. The then President Zia of Bangladesh believed all political solutions lied in military action and sent couple of Navy ships towards the Naf river and amassed some troops along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. Diplomacy was never given a chance. Myanmar retaliated and the situation just aggravated. A second influx happened in 1991-92 when over a quarter of a million Rohingyas were forced to enter Bangladesh. Unofficially the number is much higher.
When Bangladesh was reeling under the pressure of Rohingya refugees no one stood besides this country, except the UNHCR and that too with limited resources. The refugees were huddled into makeshift camps in Teknaf, Kutupalang, Ukhia and Cox's Bazaar. Later, the refugees were moved to two official camps. The refugees camps are no concentration camps and many of the inmates just fled these camps and about half a million melted away into the local populace. Today only about thirty thousand Rohingyas are accounted for in the camps. Thousands managed to get Bangladeshi passports through some unscrupulous middleman and corrupt officials in the government and left the country for Middle East and many of them subsequently got involved into criminal activities hurting the reputation of Bangladesh in those countries. Many got involved in drug and human trafficking and other crimes locally. But what became a matter of grave concern was the fact that some of these camps became breeding grounds for home grown militants from where some religious fundamentalist parties recruited their foot soldiers.
A new ethnic cleansing operation is currently on in the Arakan state and a new wave of Rohingyas are fleeing their homes and trying to enter Bangladesh through Teknaf and Chittagong Hill districts. Based on the previous experience this time the Bangladesh government has been more pragmatic in their approach. The border security forces, the BGB, intercepted most of those trying to enter Bangladesh, fed them, gave them some emergency rations and supplied fuel for their boats and pushed them back into Myanmar. However, this action by the government did not go well with some of our civil society groups who termed that the government should address the problem with more humane approach. The UN and HRW requested Bangladesh to open its doors to let in the unwanted refugees. So was the opinion of the BNP and Jamaat. The later's stand is understandable as earlier during the rule of the four party alliance many of the Rohingyas were enlisted as voters with the condition and expectation that they will offer unconditional support to the alliance. Jamaat also looks at the Rohingya refugees as a rich source for their militant activists. The civil society members though may have taken a different stand other than that of the government should realise that Bangladesh did take in more than half a million Rohingyas earlier but only managed to convince Myanmar to take back only a few thousands in 2005. Myanmar refused to acknowledge that the remaining of the refugees are their citizens and their problem. As a continuation of the earlier stand of the global community, currently all of them have kept silent and failed to put pressure on Myanmar to stop this ethnic cleansing. Jamaat and their allies are capitalising on the issue and have started using doctored photographs and video clippings in the Internet to arouse public sentiment and voice support for allowing Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh. Their intention is anything but holy.
The role of Aung San Suu Kyi vis-à-vis the Rohingya issue is very frustrating. While receiving her Noble Peace Prize after 21 years in Oslo recently she said 'Burma's exiles abroad could play a greater role in healing the divisions between different ethnic groups including the Muslims and the Buddhists.' This is no more than just a lip service. In politics she needs the support of the Buddhists and not the Muslims, though millions of Muslims in Bangladesh voiced their concern for her safety while she was in captivity and demanded her unconditional release.
The solution of Rohingya refugee problem does not lie with Bangladesh but with Myanmar. Myanmar is an important neighbour of Bangladesh and we need to maintain a good relationship with them. The problem should be addressed through strong diplomatic moves in the international arena. Different human rights organistions must be sensitisd. The pesident of Myanmar is expected to visit Bangladesh soon. The Rohingya issue must be given a top priority during all the bilateral talks. No meaningful cooperation is possible when one country creates problems for another. As pragmatic Bangladeshis, we need to support the stand taken by the government in relations to the new influx of refugees. Those advocating letting the Rohingyas to come in should appreciate the ground reality. A country with 147,570 sq km and 160 million people of its own cannot afford the luxury of allowing some more people from another country. During our War of Liberation ten million people entered India as refugees from Bangladesh and all returned once the war was over. Nothing such is going to happen in the case of Rohingyas. At least that is what experience says.
The write is a former Vice-chancellor, University of Chittagong.
http://www.daily-sun.com/index.php?view=details&archiev=yes&arch_date=23-06-2012&type=Let-sanity-prevail-in-Myanmar&pub_no=183&cat_id=1&menu_id=5&news_type_id=1&index=0
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