Reason behind violence and civilian attacks in Myanmar
SHIHARAN
Since becoming independent from British rule in 1948, Myanmar has faced persistent challenges in managing governance across its multiethnic society. Following a coup in 1962, Myanmar's military, known as the Tatmadaw, has frequently maintained control, clashing with ethnic minority groups seeking self-determination.
The Rohingya, a severely persecuted Muslim minority of over one million people, endure discrimination from both their neighbors and the state, and are denied citizenship by Myanmar's government. Buddhist nationalist groups, including the MaBaTha and the anti-Muslim 969 movement, regularly call for boycotts of Muslim shops, the expulsion of Muslims from Myanmar, and attacks on Muslim communities. In June and October 2012, two waves of violence, reprisals, and riots deepened the century-old conflict in the largely Buddhist country, resulting in the internal displacement of over one hundred thousand Muslim Rohingyas and the deaths of hundreds.
In August 2017, tensions between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Myanmar's Rakhine State sharply escalated. A series of attacks by a group of Rohingya militants calling itself the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on military and police outposts killed more than seventy people, including twelve Burmese security forces personnel. In response, the military launched a brutal crackdown on Rohingya villages, causing over seven hundred thousand people to flee across the border to Bangladesh since August 2017. Numerous reports have surfaced of indiscriminate killings and the burning of Rohingya villages, prompting the UN Human Rights Commissioner to describe the situation in Rakhine State as "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing."
This surge of military violence followed a similar attack on a security post near the Bangladeshi border in October 2016, where nine police officers were killed. The army responded to that attack with a month-long crackdown on unarmed Muslim civilians, causing more than one thousand civilian deaths and driving tens of thousands more to flee their homes in search of safety.
Following their victory in Myanmar's first competitive national election in more than twenty-five years and taking office in March 2016, the National League for Democracy, unofficially led by State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, failed to address the status of the Rohingya people, who were denied the right to vote.
A national peace conference was held in August 2016, aimed at ending decades of fighting between the military and a number of armed ethnic groups, but Rohingya representatives were not invited to attend. That same month, Aung San Suu Kyi announced the creation of a nine-person commission, headed by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to review and offer recommendations to address the tensions in Rakhine. The commission delivered its final report in late August 2017, just days before the outbreak of violence in Rakhine.The UN Secretary-General António Guterres is deeply concerned about escalating violence in Myanmar, he said in a statement released on Thursday. UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric stated that the Secretary-General "strongly condemns" the recent attacks by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State and Sagaing Region, which have reportedly resulted in numerous civilian deaths.
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the Secretary-General "strongly condemns" recent attacks by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State and Sagaing Region that have reportedly claimed the lives of many civilians.
"The Secretary-General is profoundly worried about the expanding regional impact of the worsening situation in Myanmar and reaffirms his call for a unified response," Mr. Dujarric stated.
Myanmar's Rakhine State has seen a spike in violence between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army that has left tens of thousands homeless.
Many of the attacks reportedly targeted the minority Muslim Rohingya community, who have been based in Rakhine for generations but denied full citizenship. Hundreds of thousands were forced to flee into Bangladesh from there in 2017 following persecution by government forces. Targeting ethnic Rakhine in Western Myanmar, and the ongoing persecution of the Rohingya, underlines the need for protection of all communities.
During the attacks, some members of this community experienced beheadings and burning of their homes. Recent data from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) revealed that about 226,000 people from this community have been uprooted due to the violence who are in need of resettlement.
Even further, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had previously reported cases of "shooting at unarmed fleeing villagers" and disappearances in Myanmar.
The country is now recognised as a hunger hotspot where "acute food insecurity is likely to deteriorate further in coming months." Mr. Dujarric, said that recent incidents "targeting ethnic Rakhine in Western Myanmar, and the ongoing persecution of the Rohingya, underlines the need for protection of all communities."
He said that aerial bombings and human rights violations are constantly reported in many parts of Myanmar and "those responsible must be held to account." Further, he said the Secretary-General "calls on all parties to the conflict to exercise maximum restraint, prioritise protection of civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law and prevent further incitement of communal tension and violence."
