Skip to main content

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani* 

A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.
However, the Beijing-mediated project could not start its work for the last three years for different reasons which include the covid pandemic of 2020 and military coup of 2021.
For a long time, Myanmar authorities “were going very slow” in verifying Rohingya refugees, leading to an extended delay of the repatriation process, the official said, adding that Myanmar officials now appeared “a little bit more willing than before” to start the project.
Now Myanmar's military junta's fresh move to take back the Rohingya who fled their homes in the Rakhine state in the face of a pogrom six years ago, should be taken with a pinch of salt. For this process actually started, thanks to the Chinese initiative in November 2017, three months after the exodus of the Rohingya population on a massive scale from Myanmar.
Bangladesh sent a list of nearly 900,000 Rohingya living in the refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to the Myanmar government for repatriation. But the Naypyidaw authority then sent back a shortened list that contained less than 8 percent of Rohingya names Bangladesh earlier handed over to it.
Out of that list, the names of 1,100 plus Rohingya-a drop in the ocean when compared with the actual number of refugees to be repatriated- were selected for family-wise repatriation to Myanmar. But the Myanmar junta objected to a few hundred names (429, to be precise). Then Bangladesh pointed to some mismatch in the list of Rohingya names objected to by the Naypyidaw government.
It is, in fact, a belated response to that last exchange between the two countries over the Rohingya repatriation issue. The present Myanmar team is in Cox's Bazar now for further verification of the refugees whose names were in the rejected list. Consider that this shuttling back and forth between Dhaka and Naypyidaw has been going on for years over the selection of a few hundred names of Rohingyas out of close to a million of them waiting for repatriation!
So, questions arise about the very feasibility of this approach to repatriate such a huge number of Rohingya refugees. Even so, seeing that the incumbent Myanmar government has at least begun to make a move on Rohingya repatriation is, of course, better than no move at all. That is more so against the backdrop of the international community's growing indifference towards the Rohingya issue.
Interestingly, as it could be learnt from media reports, before the current initiative was taken by the Myanmar junta over Rohingya repatriation, diplomats of eight countries including China, India and Bangladesh posted in Naypyidaw had been taken to the Rakhine state of Myanmar, to show them the preparations the Myanmar authorities have taken to resettle the displaced Rohingya refugees. 
It is a development unthinkable before. Some 11 ambassadors to Myanmar from different countries were thus allowed to see the interim camps set up for the purpose in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine state, and in Maungdaw, a town in that state. Internally Displaced People (IDP) such as the Rohingya still staying in Myanmar might thus have a chance to move to Sittwe. It could also be learnt that some healthcare services are also being extended to Rohingya people still staying in the Rakhine state.
It appears the Myanmar junta has finally been able to see reason perhaps under Chinese pressure. Meanwhile, the post-coup (of February 2021) Myanmar junta has been engaged in a war on many fronts including the different ethnic groups and that of the bloody, internecine one with the rebellious common people of Myanmar who are fighting for restoration of a democratic government following the overthrow of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Rakhine state is a corridor to the Indian Ocean that China wants to protect by all means
So, the Myanmar junta might be in need of some breathing space. Also, it might be that its close ally China wants repatriation of the Rohingya in their homeland so that its economic interest worth billions of dollars in the Rakhine state is not jeopardized by incessant war in the area.
Moreover, Rakhine state is a corridor to the Indian Ocean that China wants to protect by all means. Reports further have it that China is willing to train the local population of Rakhines including the Rohingya for their future employment in the Chinese infrastructure and other ongoing projects in that region. For this purpose, China has been pressuring the Myanmar government to stop war and restore stability in the strategically located Rakhine state.
There is also the urgency on the part of the incumbent Naypyidaw government to show the international community that it is after all doing something positive on the Rohingya issue. It may be recalled on this score that Myanmar is facing prosecution in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for having committed genocide against Rohingya people. Myanmar is to meet the deadline of producing its counterargument against genocide charge before ICJ by April 24 next.
These are only possible reasons behind Myanmar junta's sudden change of heart regarding the all but dead issue of Rohingya repatriation. Even so, it will be important to know what the Rohingya themselves are thinking about the present move to repatriate them. For there are the questions of their rights including their citizenship, safety, right to work and so on once they return to Myanmar.
But these issues were not reportedly part of the visited Myanmar team's responsibilities. their citizenship and basic rights must be guaranteed before returning to Myanmar, as the first step of a potential repatriation got underway. Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as an indigenous ethnic group.
Most were rendered stateless under the country’s 1982 citizenship law and had been excluded from the 2014 census. Many in the Buddhist-majority country refer to members of the community as Bengalis, suggesting they belong in Bangladesh. Myanmar must recognize the Rohingyas.
---
*Assistant professor, researcher, Southasian affairs, University of Calcutta

Comments

TRENDING

Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan raises concerns over Jharkhand Adivasis' plight in Assam, BJP policies

By Our Representative  The Loktantra Bachao Abhiyan (Save Democracy Campaign) has issued a pressing call to protect Adivasi rights in Jharkhand, highlighting serious concerns over the treatment of Jharkhandi Adivasis in Assam. During a press conference in Ranchi on November 9, representatives from Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh criticized the current approach of BJP-led governments in these states, arguing it has exacerbated Adivasi struggles for rights, land, and cultural preservation.

Promoting love or instilling hate and fear: Why is RSS seeking a meeting with Rahul Gandhi?

By Ram Puniyani*  India's anti-colonial struggle was marked by a diverse range of social movements, one of the most significant being Hindu-Muslim unity and the emergence of a unified Indian identity among people of all religions. The nationalist, anti-colonial movement championed this unity, best embodied by Mahatma Gandhi, who ultimately gave his life for this cause. Gandhi once wrote, “The union that we want is not a patched-up thing but a union of hearts... Swaraj (self-rule) for India must be an impossible dream without an indissoluble union between the Hindus and Muslims of India. It must not be a mere truce... It must be a partnership between equals, each respecting the religion of the other.”

Right-arm fast bowler who helped West Indies shape arguably greatest Test team in cricket history

By Harsh Thakor*  Malcolm Marshall redefined what it meant to be a right-arm fast bowler, challenging the traditional laws of biomechanics with his unique skill. As we remember his 25th death anniversary on November 4th, we reflect on the legacy he left behind after his untimely death from colon cancer. For a significant part of his career, Marshall was considered one of the fastest and most formidable bowlers in the world, helping to shape the West Indies into arguably the greatest Test team in cricket history.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah  The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Andhra team joins Gandhians to protest against 'bulldozer action' in Varanasi

By Rosamma Thomas*  November 1 marked the 52nd day of the 100-day relay fast at the satyagraha site of Rajghat in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of the 12 acres of land to the Sarva Seva Sangh, the Gandhian organization that was evicted from the banks of the river. Twelve buildings were demolished as the site was abruptly taken over by the government after “bulldozer” action in August 2023, even as the matter was pending in court.  

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad*  The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Will Left victory in Sri Lanka deliver economic sovereignty plan, go beyond 'tired' IMF agenda?

By Atul Chandra, Vijay Prashad*  On September 22, 2024, the Sri Lankan election authority announced that Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) alliance won the presidential election. Dissanayake, who has been the leader of the left-wing JVP since 2014, defeated 37 other candidates, including the incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe of the United National Party (UNP) and his closest challenger Sajith Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

Green Revolution’s reliance on chemical fertilizers, pesticides contributing to Punjab's health crisis

By Bharat Dogra, Jagmohan Singh*  Punjab was once synonymous with robust health, particularly in its rural areas, where farmers were known for their strength and vitality. However, in recent years, reports from these villages tell a different story, with rising cases of serious health issues, including cancer. What led to this decline? The answer lies largely in the erosion of good nutrition, once a hallmark of Punjabi village life. The health of a population is closely tied to its nutrition, and Punjab's reputation as a provider of high-quality nutrition has suffered greatly. The loss of biodiversity in agriculture has led to a decrease in the variety and quality of crops, resulting in poorer nutrition. Pulses, a key source of protein, have seen a steep decline in cultivation due to the disruption of traditional farming practices by the Green Revolution. This has had a detrimental effect on both soil and human health. Although pulses are still available in the market, they are exp

Tributes paid to pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, who 'dodged' police for 60 yrs

By Harsh Thakor*  Jagjit Singh Sohal, known as Comrade Sharma, a pioneer of Naxalism in Punjab, passed away on October 20 at the age of 96. Committed to the Naxalite cause and a prominent Maoist leader, Sohal, who succeeded Charu Majumdar, played hide and seek with the police for almost six decades. He was cremated in Patiala.