THE ROHINGYA PEOPLE
The
Rohingya are a Muslim people who live in the state of Rakhine (Arakan) in
western Myanmar (Burma). As of 2012, 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar.
According to the UN, they are one of the most persecuted minorities in the
world. Many Rohingya have fled to ghettos and refugee camps in neighboring
Bangladesh, and to areas along the Thai-Myanmar border.
The
Rohingya people practice Sunni Islam with elements of Sufi worship. Because the
government restricts educational opportunities for them, many pursue
fundamental Islamic studies as their only educational option. Mosques and
religious schools are present in most villages. Traditionally, men pray in
congregations and women pray at home.
The
Rohingya people have been described as “among the world’s least wanted and “one
of the worlds’s most persecuted minorities. They have been stripped of their
citizenship since a 1982 citizenship law. They are not allowed to travel
without official permission, are banned from owning land and are required to
sign a commitment to have not more than two children.
Muslim
settlements have existed in Arakan since the arrival of Arabs there in the 8th
century CE. The direct descendants of Arab settlers are believed to live in
central Arakan near Mrauk-U and Kyauktaw townships, rather than the Mayu
frontier area (near Chittagong Division, Bangladesh), where the majority of
Rohingya are populated.
2012 Rakhine State riots
The
2012 Rakhine State riots are a series of ongoing conflicts between Rohingya
Muslims and ethnic Rakhine in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. The riots came
after weeks of sectarian disputes and have been condemned by most people on
both sides of the conflict. The immediate cause of the riots is unclear, with
many commentators citing the killing of ten Burmese Muslims by ethnic Rakhine
after the rape and murder of a Rakhine woman as the main cause. Whole villages
have been "decimated". Over three hundred houses and a number of
public buildings have been razed. According to Tun Khin, the President of the
Burmese Rohingya Organization UK (BROUK), as of 28 June, 650 Rohingyas have
been killed, 1,200 are missing, and more than 80,000 have been displaced
According to the Myanmar authorities, the violence, between ethnic Rakhine
Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, left 78 people dead, 87 injured, and thousands
of homes destroyed. It also displaced more than 52,000 people.
The
government has responded by imposing curfews and by deploying troops in the
regions. On June 10, state of emergency was declared in Rakhine, allowing
military to participate in administration of the region. The Burmese army and
police have been accused of targeting Rohingya Muslims through mass arrests and
arbitrary violence. A number of any humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya
community. In July 2012, the Myanmar Government did not include the Rohingya
minority group–-classified as stateless Bengali Muslims from Bangladesh since
1982—on the government's list of more than 130 ethnic races and therefore the
government says that they have no claim to Myanmar citizenship. (Taken from
many sources)
~EDISI 11/ NOVEMBER 2012~
~EDISI 11/ NOVEMBER 2012~
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