Week 11 Discussion
Pe0512
Week11HRPASIA.pptxWeek 11 Human rights Challenges & Asia
INR 4075
Myanamar
400,000 Rohingya Muslims
Do not recognize 1.1 Million Rohingya’s in Burma
ARSA—Opposition Faction
Is this ethnic cleansing?
“Rendering an area ethnically homogeneous by using force or intimidation to remove persons of given groups from the area.”
Should ”ethnic cleansing,” be a stand alone international human rights law ?
Live in the Rakhine Region—the West on the Border of Bangladesh
Myanmar cont’d
“Crimes against humanity and genocide could be taking place even in the absence of war, but, under U.N. definitions, there would need to be proof of other conditions such as broader, systematic attacks against the Rohingyas.”
Who should we hold responsible?
Aung San Suu Kyi? –No Direct control over the military.
Part of the UN
Refugee Protection in Asia-–Cheung 2010
Looks at refugee integration/outcomes in Regional Context (during the 1990s)
Lack of signatories of the 1951 Convention and domestic legal frameworks.
Refugee policies in South/SE Asia are likely to be directed by punitive rather than formal legal famework.
Superior economic conditions to not produce greater success rates of integration (Malaysia vis-à-vis Bangladesh).
Refugees in the region are likely to continue to cross borders in search of greater economic opportunities, regardless of concerns for their own safety.
Informal economy.
De-facto Integration?
Ethnic Cleansing
Rohingya—Effectively Stateless.
Denied basic rights, which include citizenship and access to education.
Displacement 33.3 mil to 48 mil (2013-2014)
2015—25,000 smuggled, 8,000 estimated stranded at sea.
Indonesia, and Malaysia have a greed to provide refuge for one year
Thailand offered aid but no shelter.
EC CONT’d
Revoked temp res cards,. These allowed them to vote.
Also, rejected as Bangladeshi citizens as well.
Seems to be a “text book” example of ethnic cleansing.
Military have been launching attacks.
Most ended up in Bangladesh.
1962 was taken over in a coup-–promoted fierce nationalism
Rohingya singled out as the threat.
Second world war…
EC Cont’d
1978—Operation Dragon King 200,000 Fled to Bang.
170k returned
1982 the citizenship act—Rohingya not recognized
1991 Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation
2000s –2012 RHW an ethnic cleansing campaign.
Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army 2016
400 deaths and 400,000
210 villages have been burned to the ground.
Follow up questions
Following the UN”s definition, is growing crisis in Burma ethnic cleansing? Or, is it more closely aligned with sectarian violence?
Given the atrocities experienced by the Rohingya ppl, who is to blame? Can/should the international community hold Aung Sun Suu Kyi accountable?
How should the international community respond to the ongoing crisis?
According to the readings, do country specific modalities dictate integration?
