Humanitarian vs. Legal deals

On the face of records of reality, Rohingya people are destined to be persecuted and suffer degrading treatment unabatedly. The ethnic minority people are struggling for survival and facing the threat of existence leading them to deprive basic human rights and dignity, demanding regional and global humanitarian deals.

Widespread controversy as to origin of this community is in flow both in Myanmar and Bangladesh. The haggling of the historians has added their sufferings like insult to injury. Historical exclusion and contemporary marginalization of them have been turned into an age old dichotomy piercing humanity. Myanmar branded them as Bangla speaking migrated Muslim workers community in the Arakan (now Rakhine) state because the term Rohingya was unknown to the country before 1950s and more specifically the term is not even used in the 1824 census, conducted by the British colonial regime. On the contrary, Bangladesh combed through the entire history of this community and found its existence since 8th century. The term Rohingya was in fact used in the late 18th century report published by the British Francis Buchanan-Hamilton and in his 1799 article “A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire”. He stated that three dialects were spoken in the Burma Empire, evidently derived from the Hindu Nation and among three dialects one was spoken by the Mohammedans, who have settled in Arakan, and who call themselves Rohingya or natives of Arakan.

The Rohingya community both at home and abroad constitutes some 3.5 million people and out of it, about 1.5 million have been uprooted from their motherland and those displaced Rohingya people are leading a gypsy life in different countries of the world mostly in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia and in Middle East. Now, the Rohingya people account for approximately 4% of Myanmar’s population although exact numbers cannot be cited owing to the regime’s refusal to allow independent observers and negligence of the community as well.

The first wave of Rohingya refugees fleeing from Arakan to the area of Cox’s Bazar occurred in 1784 when the Burmese King Bodawpaya invaded and annexed Arakan to the then Kingdom of Ava in central Burma. Apart from the inflow of 1942, two major influxes of Rohingya people took place in Bangladesh in 1978 and during 1991-92 to escape Myanmar governed backed systematic genocidal and ethnic cleaning. Now around 0.5 million documented and undocumented Rohingya people are living in Cox’s Bazaar, Bandarban and its adjacent areas under the generosity of Bangladesh for over 30 years.

Among them only around 30,000 are officially registered in two official refugee camps in the southern part of Cox’s Bazar while the rest of them are undocumented and leading a scattered life. However, in 2012 Bangladesh refused to accept any more Rohingya boat people and sent them back providing basic humanitarian support to them. The overpopulated, poverty stricken and natural disaster prone country is now embittered of the adverse economic, social and environmental consequences and their burden in the future because this issue is not likely to be ended soon.

If Bangladesh in spite of its manifold limitations is to observe the principle of non refoulement upon which the International Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951 is grounded, the country has done a lot despite not being a party to the Convention and its related Protocol, 1967. The principle of burden sharing is beyond the capacity of Bangladesh to obey.

Besides, to some extent as part of its Constitutional pledge the basic rights and minimum dignity of them are recognized and promoted by the country but due to its own vulnerability cannot take maximum protection measures. The country is a state party to eight human rights documents out of nine core international human rights documents and very respectful towards international law.

The track record of observing Constitutional commitment and basic human rights in Myanmar is very deplorable, though it became the UN member 26 years ahead of Bangladesh. Preamble of the Myanmar Constitution, 2008 envisages the principles of justice, liberty, equality, perpetuation of peace and prosperity of the National people with a pledge to uphold peaceful co-existence among the nations. The country is only state party to UNCRC, CEDAW and Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 under which it is duty bound to protect civilians ensuring basic rights. Ridiculously, the state has enacted a draconian Citizenship law in 1982 which excluded the Rohingya from list of 135 races entitled to citizenship. More than 200 Rohingya were killed by the radical Buddhists in 2012. They also injured thousands of them and torched around 10000 houses, businesses and mosques forcing them around 140000 displaced.

One of the moral precepts of the Buddhist philosophy is the ‘promise not to kill’ imbibed with the virtue of non violence but they have undermined such teachings treating the Rohingya as a threat to their life, liberty and religion branding them terrorists. It is puzzling because this Buddhist dominated country is not facing an Islamist militant threat as Muslims here a generally peaceful and ethnic minority.

In fact, mudslinging by the stakeholders cannot bring a durable solution rather can deepen the crisis. Simultaneously, the economic and geopolitical perspectives of the South Asian countries especially of Myanmar and Bangladesh may suit legal deals only after the matured end of humanitarian deals. To materialize humanitarian deals, these two nations in a joint effort should try to explore the avenue of transferring the Rohingya people staying in Bangladesh. Middle East Countries along with Canada, Australia and Europe as a safe destination to negotiate the crisis aptly.

Moreover, the universal 3R model i.e. repatriation, reintegration and resettlement for durable solution to the burgeoning crisis is not properly applied by the stakeholders. The diplomatic failure of Bangladesh to raise voice against Myanmar in International forums and arrogance of Myanmar is also responsible for its stagnated position. The non cooperation of Myanmar is also a major impediment resolve it. Only Nobel Laureate politician in the South Asia Aung San Suu Kyi’s role to advocate resolving the crisis is questionable. Adoption of regional legal instrument like Africa and Latin America understanding the nature of the refugee crisis in South Asia can help minimize the problem. World communities, human rights organizations and even pro-Rohingya regional and national NGOs to be lead by UNHCR should come up with consolidated measures casting neutral eyes to resolve the issue creating mounting pressure on Myanmar.

THE WRITER IS A SENIOR LECTURER IN LAW AT SOUTHEAST UNIVERSITY, DHAKA.