Rohingya atrocity and concern for regional security

Md Mahbubul, Haque (2018) Rohingya atrocity and concern for regional security. In: International Conferenference on Global Humanitarianism and Human Rights (ICGHR), 22 Sep 2018, Gong Badak, UNISZA.

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Abstract

The Rohingya people of Myanmar are an ethnic group existing in a state of limbo. Due to their different ethnic and religious identity, their ancestors in Arakan (present Rakhine State) were victimized. It is commonly alleged that the Rohingya are involved with separatist movements that threaten to destabilize Myanmar. From the end of 1950’s ethnic minorities such as the Kachin, Karen, Shan even Rakhine armed groups often clashed with the Myanmar army. The Myanmar government has launched a major military operation against Rohingya civilians using the pretext of hunting down militants who attacked government buildings, including police stations on Aug. 25, 2017. Since the operation, more than half a million Rohingya have fled the country because of well- founded fears of persecution. Various sources have witnessed that five thousand people have been killed including children, women and old men. The international community has warned that if the situation of Rohingya Muslims is not addressed quickly, with an emphasis on justice and rights, then these displaced persons will become a serious concern for this whole region. Geo-politically the Rohingya residential area is very sensitive for Bangladesh, Myanmar and India. Various Bangladesh security and intelligence agents have ascertained that some separatists from Myanmar and North-East India are living in no-men’s land between these three countries. Exclusion, poverty and discrimination are thought to be some of the conditions that create an environment that is conducive to the breeding of terrorism and militancy. It is not unlikely that people will take up arms to protect themselves from a tyrannical rule if they as a community have been tortured for decades. All these conditions are prevalent in the Rohingya communities. The same issue was raised by the Malaysian Prime Minister in ASEAN-Australia special summit on March 2018. He also mentioned that “suffering of the Rohingya people and their displacement could no longer be considered a domestic issue. The problem should not be looked through the humanitarian prism alone as it could potentially develop into a serious security threat to the region.” This paper is based predominantly on documentary analysis. The nature of this research demanded theoretical discussion on various forms of security. In the first phase, security and its global phenomenon related relevant literature will be reviewed to understand the theoretical framework of this paper. In the second phase, the paper will explore how the Rohingya became a security concern for South and Southeast Asian countries.

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