Predominance of Collective Rights in Totalitarian Countries and the Act of Genocide

By Professor Dr.Abid Bahar>>>

Most of the events of genocides worldwide are committed in totalitarian countries from the fear in the majority population that they would lose their collective ownership over land. The case in point is present Burma, in former Yogoslavia, Nazi Germany, and Rwanda, These countries have similar history in common. These countries give predominance of collective rights over individual rights.

Whereas in democratic countries individual rights are guranteed through state machineries like police, army, and the court, However, in totalitarian countries the same institutions protect the majority by denying the minority's population's individual rights, to own property, right to education, right to movement etc. In Bangladesh Rakhines who migrated during the British period enjoy these individual rights.

Research shows the early signs of genocide begins when some of the leaders of the majority population starts fear mongering campaign about the minority,of the imaginary threat which are seen by its more radical section of the population as being real. The common populace as a collectivity turns into somewhat like mob and takes law into their hands. This is exactly what is happenning in Arakan of Burma at the instigation of its xenophobes..

Burma is so backward in per capita income and in the violation of human rights issues compared to Bangladesh that no Bangladeshi would be willingly opt for settling in Arakan or Burma. Due to the lack of democratic institutions, in Burma leaders of the hollighans,like Aye Chan, Aye Kyaw and others are sucessful in hate-mongers not just against a perceived Bangladeshi migrant threat but of a perceived threat from its own Burmese Rohingya citizens. They were so sucessful that they identified the Rohingyas as even "influx Viruses."

The point is if some people are identified as viruses, like viruses they are perceived as a threat thus requiresd to be extinguished. Not realizing that contrary to the xenophob's perceived threat Bangladesh continued to receive population from Arakan in its Chittagong and Chittagong Hill Tracts areas. Historically speaking, most of the tribes of Chittagong Hill Tracts were originally from Arakan and Burma so are the Rohingyas of Chittagong from Teknaf all the way upto Sanka River of Chittagong due to anarchy in Arakan migrated to Chittagong.. Due to its respect for individual rights all these people originally from Arakan are now considered as Bangladeshis. This is even true about the Rakhines of Bangladesh in Cox's Bazar and in Barisal.

Why then despite the reverse flow of population from Burma to Bangladesh there has been a strong perceived threat of Muslims in Arakan?It is because Arakan and Burma failed to develop democratic institutions and it shows the signs of genocide against its own population.It failed to develop democratic institutions due to the powerful presence of the so-called intellectals who pretends to be democrats but are truly anti democract, and also anti Rohingya.
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For more details on this issue and more, please read My Book Abid Bahar's Burma's Missing Dots, 2010.

(The author, Dr. Abid Bahar wrote his M. A. thesis, “Dynamics of Ethnic Relations in Burmese Society: A case Study of Inter Ethnic Relations between the Burmese and the Rohingyas in 1981 from Canada and Currently teaching at Dawson College, Montreal,Canada).