Electronic Fingerprint Crisis
Maha Min Khant
RB Article
April 18, 2013
For the last six months ago, district and township level authorities, comprising multi departments from Rakhine state, have been annoying to take fingerprints from Rohingya people on computer along Rakhine state by the help of the Union Ministries’ directions.
In fact, the program, under the headline of “ the list of illegal Bengali intruders into Rakhine state from Bangladesh” as a first test step which was started from Pauk-Taw township, the people from that town did not agree to follow the ideas task of the authorities to cooperate in this computer system program, because people believed that --the authorities might have secretly restored some ‘villain’ DATA, that worrying to Rohingya, and which has not been seen clearly to public -- and believed those secretly kept DATA should have been unacceptable and fatally concerned in the next time as a whole.
Nevertheless they (multi comprised authorities) only wanted collective fingerprints from local people on computer as “Bengali intruders” in the column of national identification-- which the Rohingya people, at this time strongly stand on to identify themselves as Rohingya only, strongly denied and disgusted to cooperate with authorities and since then the plan had been stopped by the Union government in some townships of the central Rakhine state in the past six months ago.
After having kept quiet for some time (6-7) months, that notorious ILLEGAL BENGALI INTRUDERS tasks have been started by NASAKA, border security forces, in Maung daw and Buthidaung Townships where there are more than (33) military stations since 1994.
The said electronic fingerprint operation has not been systematic in region-wise to be inclusive all groups but that has been sporadically targeting only on Rohingya Muslims and very few people, who are unaware of the fake data collection or totally inexperienced to guess the degree of the nasty piece of work by the authorities, were being ensnared to seize the mass fingerprints on computer.
Right now such kind of “Fingerprint dishonest operation” on local people in the region got totally unhappy to the residents after having been suffered multi sufferings particularly since 1990 by the colorful discriminatory policies --which the consecutive Myanmar governments simply adopted against helpless and innocent Rohingya people who the world community regards as the most persecuted people in the world.
To be able to crush the entire Rohingya community in the region, the then Saw Maung and Than Shwe military government have stationed at least thirty more than military regiments and some Buddhists from mainland were being implanted among Rohingya villages in the region to coordinate with military forces and border guard forces, NASAKA, in need of operation against Rohingya native people.
Every nation of the world whether small or big, no nation has ministry of attack, but there are ministry of defense to protect the homeland from enemies. But without having any strong intimidating reason or state to state hostilities between Bangladesh and Myanmar border, Myanmar government has stationed such a big sum of military forces since 1994 and so far maintains those forces– that only because to crush against Rohingya people without any reason. Nearly two decades station of the United Nations in the region may well better know and it has had experiences the magnitude of the sorts of oppressive cruelty magnitude against innocent Rohingya by the authorities and the UN may have contributed to the regional and international political arenas to have a lasting solution to the problem.
Such a guerrilla style fingerprint collecting operation threatens the local Rohingya people at this turmoil situation – meaning turbulent situation all around the country against collective punishment on Muslims which resulted many more fatality, and government could not and cannot handle interestingly to save minority Muslims’ lives, property, livelihoods, religious buildings such as mosques and teaching schools.
As more, there have been the consecutive governments’ inner schemes to make Rohingya people --as temporary, naturalized, associated and then at last full citizens’ status –after having been examined step by step as if a foreigner has to experience over the issue to become citizen, though Rohingya have never been foreigners in this country in accord to historical background.
At this point in time, under the pressure of international & regional governments and United Nations bodies which have been asking the government of Myanmar to repeal the 1982 citizenship law, which has been drafted by Ne Win with the help of some Rakhine obstinate educated scholars such as the then U Aye Kyaw and others with the intention of expelling Rohingya of today or to make aliens in their land, has been strictly ‘blocking stone’ particularly for Rohingya to become citizens of the nation and to enjoy that of the citizens rights from legal standpoint.
Inevitably, the 1982 citizenship law which has been depriving the basic rights of Rohingya people should be reconstructed as per the standard of international level to saving the vanished face of Myanmar democratic government, which has been earning the very bad profile through crisis after crisis, in the sight of world community --and equally the 2008 constitution, which was drafted by the military regime aiming to stop the rightful candidate to become president of the state, be redrafted by the hefty survey of the nationwide for the right man in the right place in the right time whether or not he or she from military background or public figure like Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Su Kyi or anyone else, I don’t care.
Rohingya are the sons of the soil from time immemorial in this country or in their native land. They have been in the state of inhumane oppressive rule with iron hands of Myanmar consecutive governments with the help of ultra-nationalists Rakhine leaders and that of their followers – whom (Rohingya) to be eliminating, annihilating, depriving, frustrating, and at last leaving their native places to everywhere else whichever country they find in this universe.
Right now, the above-mentioned Fingerprint movement clearly exhibits that under the directions of Rakhine bigoted leaders such as Aye Maung, Aye Thar Aung and Aye Chan from Japan have been conducting to show up the thoughtless prove to international survey team which coming soon in Rakhine region-- and they have been restless to find some Rohingya scapegoats to reserve in electronic fingerprint as people of aliens and intruders by the combination of Rakhine people local staff from respective departments in the course of union government assistance so that the scheme can reduce a lot Rohingyas as aliens as per their belief.
Rohingya people after having perceived the real aim and object of the Fingerprint operation, which was handled by NASAKA, the local Rohingya decided not to participate in this obscure activities --feeling that the following clauses are being put and unseen by the individuals Rohingya under the headline of the “list of illegal Bengali intruders into Rakhine state from Bangladesh” --The local people are afraid of in cooperating with the team suspecting that the following clauses are included as “trap definition”. All individual Rohingya are afraid of Fingerprint that the following sentences and words are might have included in the Electronic Signature Screen Page.
- If they are illegal intruders from Bangladesh to Myanmar
- If they are illegal immigrants into Myanmar
- If they are currently applying for naturalized citizens and associated citizens of Myanmar
- If they are willingly leaving the country and going to third countries
- If they are willingly relinquishing the firms, cultivable lands, livelihoods, properties, buildings and houses so on.
- With own volition, if they are agreeing to live in Internally Displaced Camps which built by the local government and so on.
Rohingya have been afraid of being trapped in this opaque Fingerprint operation. Unless the operation is transparent with members of stratus, Fingerprint activities should not be conducted by one-sided because it hurts again and again on the most oppressed community of the world of seven billion people and they have no more get-up-and-go to bear the burden of operation after operation.
If the union government needs for such a census or sort of operation, the first-rate combined staffers inclusively Rohingyas local people and those honest ones, who are law abiding in line principal of national, regional and international community, be involved and typically surveyed to accomplish the operation instead of the exclusive staffers, such as Rakhine school teachers, students, immigration departments, and volunteers who are the members of RNDP, ALD and Arakan Liberation forces members. All Rakhine mass and class are in a good dream of annihilation of Rohingya people from our ancestral land.
