Extreme condemnation of Bangkok Post's editorial about Myanmar

The Voice Weekly

EDITORIAL

Extreme condemnation of Bangkok Post's editorial about Myanmar

An editorial was found in the July 20th edition of the Bangkok Post, a Bangkok based newspaper published in English, that strongly criticized Myanmar and President U Thein Sein. The editorial is likely to be a bitter denunciation of Myanmar written on behalf of Thai citizens and government officials who are worried about the international community predicting that Myanmar will become the new Asian tiger following its democratic reforms, and of some Bangkok-based international organizations that are spending millions of dollars on projects in Myanmar.

Not only is the Bangkok Post's account of President U Thein Sein's cancellation of two Thai trips prior to his recent visit biased, but it also damages the relations between two long-standing oppositions working together on the country's move towards democracy. According to the account, the reason behind the President postponing the trip to Thailand was that popular opposition leader Daw Aung San Su Kyi received a warm invitation to address the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Bangkok. The Bangkok Post can note that this information will serve to create a misunderstanding between the President and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who have reached a certain level of understanding after their face-to-face discussion.

Historical records show that Thailand has exploited instabilities in certain countries to further the country's economic aims. The Vietnam and Korean Wars, the Cambodian Civil War, the half-century long civil war in Myanmar, and the weaknesses of Burmese dictatorship are the factors that have enabled Thailand to be the country it is today.

Thailand is especially worried that the country's interests, which stem from Myanmar's past problems, will be reduced by the democratization and development of present day Myanmar. For instance, Thailand is the center of the branches of Western non-governmental organizations, humanitarian organizations, foreign-based Myanmar organizations, foreign-based Myanmar media groups, and local and foreign non-governmental organzations, which were founded on the basis of Myanmar's human rights abuses, civil war, political issues, and environmental problems in the past 20 years. The expenditures of those branches and Thai-based non-governmental organizations enter Myanmar and the Thai market via the banks in Thailand.

At the same time, Thailand greatly benefits from the low income of Myanmar immigrant workers, both official and unofficial, in Thailand, the right to oppress them to any extent, and the low production costs of Thai factories and marine projects.

The Bangkok Post asserts that Thailand and its neighbours are well aware of the Rohingya conflict and that the Thai authorities will not accept immigrant Rohingyas for they view the ethnic group as a problem of Myanmar, showing that the newspaper has no precise knowledge of the history of Rohingya, Myanmar, Bengladesh, and Rakhine State. This also proves that the Bangkok Post is trying to point out the mistakes of the former Burmese government and that it is simply echoing the voices of the Western media, who have been spreading propaganda about the Rohingya conflict. Therefore, the Voice Weekly views the editorial as a personal insult on President U Thein Sein for implementing democratic reforms after having been a proponent of the old authoritarian government. The Bangkok Post, which claims itself to be a dignified publication, has never been in Myanmar, attended ASEAN summits, or officially interviewed the Myanmar President. Even the Washington Post of the United States, the Suddeutsche Zeitung of Germany, Channel NewsAsia of Singapore, have held a face-to-face interview with President U Thein Sein. Therefore, as the Bangkok Post has never conversed with the President, the newspaper's portrayal of religious violence on the basis of the Rohingya conflict can be seen as an inadequate criticism.

As the Bangkok Post uses subjective reasoning (without studying the history of Rakhine State and investigating the ongoing events in the region), to condemn the Myanmar President, it seems more like a media spreading propaganda than a professional media.

The Bangkok Post, which accuses President U Thein Sein's claim regarding the Rohingyas of being influenced by nationalism and ethnic hatred, should be questioned why it has always remained silent about the Thai authorities and media, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights neglecting such issues as Thai films on the historical background of Myanmar and Thailand, Thai newspaper coverage of the historical conquest of Thailand by Burmese Kings (which serves to promote Thai nationalism and animosity towards Burmese), the discrimination of Thai police, gangs, and citizens against immigrant Burmese workers (including blackmail, murder, and robbery), and the rape and trafficking of Burmese women to Malaysia and fishing industries. It is also questionable why the Bangkok Post emphasizes the affairs of Cambodia, Myanmar, and other countries who recently had border conflicts with Thailand, yet barely mentions such local topics as the long-standing tension and killings between Buddhists and Muslims who want to set up a separate Islamic state in Southern Thailand, the Thai military's violence during Thaksin's reign, and the Thai army's repression of 'red shirt' protestors.

Everyone needs to note that as the Bangkok Post has given a biased account of the easing Rakhine conflict, the newspaper will be held absolutely responsible should any dispute or misunderstanding revive between Myanmar's ethnic nationalities and between the Muslims and Buddhist Rakhines, who have been living in peace with each other for years.

Written by Editor (25.7.2012)

Pakistani Taliban threatens Burma

 

The Pakistan Taliban has warned Islamabad to cut ties with Burma or face attacks in support of persecuted Muslims in the south-east Asian country.

In a statement released on Thursday, a spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), promised to take revenge for attacks on Burmese Muslims.

"We warn Pakistani government to halt all relations with Burmese government and close down their embassy in Islamabad otherwise we will not only attack the Burmese interests anywhere but will also attack the Pakistani fellows of Burma one by one," said Ehsanullah Ehsan.

"We appeal to media especially who call themselves representative of Muslims to broadcast the real situation in Burma and what's happening to Burmese Muslims."

Recent clashes in western Burma between Buddhist ethnic Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya have left dozens dead and tens of thousands homeless.

Decades of discrimination have left the Rohingya stateless, and they are viewed by the United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted minorities.

Last week Amnesty International said there were "credible reports" of abuses – including rape, destruction of property and unlawful killings – by both Rakhine Buddhists and by Burmese government forces.

Thousands have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh as a result.

A Pakistan government spokesman expressed concern for Muslims in Burma.

"Pakistan hopes that government of Burma would take effective measures to overcome the deteriorating law and order situation," he said.

The TTP has close ties to al-Qaeda but few analysts believe it has the capacity to launch attacks beyond Pakistan.

Muslim Mob Attempts Attack on Arakanese after Prayer

Narinjara

Maung Aye
Sittwe: Some groups of Muslims reportedly attempted to enter the residential wards in Mingan on the outskirts of Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, in the afternoon on Friday, just after the situation began to calm after a recent series of incidents of violent unrest in the region.

A resident from Mingan reported that groups of Muslims number around 200 or attempted to intrude and attack the residents in Mingan  after their prayers in an nearby mosque.

“The Bengali Muslims holding knifes and sticks marched toward our wards – Block 11 and 12 – in Mingan to attack after 1 pm. They came from a mosque nearby those blocks. They formed themselves into groups after taking their Friday prayers in the mosque and carried out the attempt on the residents living in those blocks,” said the resident.

Witnesses also reported there were three groups of Muslims – with nearly 100 in a group – that had attempted aggressive attacks on Blocks 10, 11, and 12 in Mingan.

“The attackers retreated from those blocks after the security forces arrived and fired several rounds of warning shots in to the air,” the resident said.

The Minister of Security and Border Affairs, Colonel Htin Lin, came to those blocks to investigate the incident just after the situation was brought under control.

Residents said some of the Muslims who allegedly tried to attack the wards were injured by rounds fired by security forces, but detailed information on such wounded is still unknown.

Police in at the Sittwe station also confirmed the attempted attack, but declined to provide further details. However, U Win Myint, press secretary for the Arakan State government confirmed the incident took place around 1:30 pm on Friday, but told Narinjara over the phone that there were no injuries.

The Media and I: Media, don’t twist stories

I remember one evening in 2004; I was walking back and forth on the street in front of our shop holding a radio close to my ear. People stared at me. “What is this kid doing?” A 13-year-old girl listening to the radio was definitely new for people during that time in Burma.

I got this habit from my Dad. Foreign exile news agencies like BBC (Burmese),VOA, RFA and DVB were what most people relied on for trustworthy news tackling issues on the government’s brutality, corruption and relations with foreign countries. People felt they were fully informed by them and they trusted it and not the national TV or newspaper.

When I enrolled in university, radio had already empowered me to be an informed citizen. It’s unsurprising that most kids in Burma do not have a reading culture due to a couple reasons. First, the parents themselves do not have a reading culture and books are much more accessible in the city towns like Rangoon. Poor education is another reason. Library often lack resources and so, students study by heart to what lecturers said and they teach the students in a very exam-oriented manner. No one will engage in critical questioning during the class and it causes us to be passive citizen. Most of the students won’t realize what “Passive citizen” is really.

Radio definitely was an alternative learning method in the evenings where I can access to international news, opinion pieces, gossip columnists and sometimes outstanding student studying in places such as London speaks of their experiences during radio broadcasts. So, people around the world can hear them and it has been my inspiration to study abroad. My mom didn’t like it at all for she is afraid that I am going to be politician.

During the university courses, I registered in private English library in where I encouraged my friends to do the same. I found new like-minded friends and it gave us an opportunity to gather and conduct conversation informally in teashop. Here, we started to share, among peers, books, poem and thoughts apart from social and politics conversation. We empowered ourselves to keep track of any updates about the ongoings of the country, and that’s how peer pressure works out in the civil society of Burma.

I studied abroad in later years and online reading is one of the resources that we are adapting into media more than the past. In our country, most of us do not possess computers, so the internet café is the only one place we can search news and do other communication. So, I tried to browse the news website I noted by heart in my mind. Of course, as long as we take time to use internet, it charges per hours. Television was not really a part of my life because some strict parents thought letting children television will harm their study time and it is regarded as misbehavior if we visit our neighbor’s house to watch television. My life was so closed to media in this way until I studied abroad in Bangkok. It gave me an opportunity to discover how I love to read the stories around and develop analytical, critical thinking skills. Discussion in classroom also helps me and I help my classmates in return.

Members of a Rakhine family sit at a monastery on June 13, 2012.

Foreign Policy, The Diplomat, Newsmandala, Guardian, Bangkok Post, The Nation, Aljazeera are my favorites which I no longer need to memorize as trusted news resources. However, at once they twisted stories to me already. I have been reading the featured stories in the above news website in regards to riots in Rakhine state. It is totally a violent attack by Bengali Migrants who are illegally draining from Border of Myanmar and Bangladesh. However, the reporters describe the conflict as clash between Buddhism and Muslim. I think it is very dangerous when international media spread out the wrong information and misinform the whole community in the world. It harms the society and victims who are innocent.

How could they know the real stories without reaching out to the conflicts? Many questions come up and their writings really frustrate me. What could bring me again to trust the news media then? What should we have done to stop the reporters not to duplicate the same mistake? One more doubt left is who is behind them because I still need to survive with news and information for my daily life and they themselves need to prove that they are benefiting the citizen with their profession.

Written by Su Mwan

http://seayouthsayso.com/the-media-and-i-media-dont-twist-stories

Analysis on the answer of Mark Farmanero

Won Thar Nu

Analysis on the answer of Mark Farmaner

By Mg Mike Mike on Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at 4:21am

This writing is followed by the article I recently read and in which some comments I liked to point out and discuss, by Mark Farmaner the director of Burma Campaign UK about the explanation to the people’s misunderstanding and criticism to his organization’s operations of Rohingyas’ human rights.

Is the Burma Campaign UK really working to protect the Human Rights in Myanmar?   

There is no doubt on their efforts of campaigning for the human right violations in Myanmar. Their movements however has been objective to human rights only for Rohingyas in a way of claiming this certain group of people are belonged to the nationalities of Myanmar which is quite controversial, but not involved in other significant human right problems in Myanmar.                                                       
                            
His Organization mission is to subside the Human Rights violation for the welfare of Myanmar people. So their efforts is not supposed to only focus on Rohingyas who is only known as the Stateless People and also partially regarded as Nationalities of Myanmar, which the latter is also not assured. Instead they are more expected on other significant human rights problems like, to one of the most persecuted Myanmar natives who are displaced in the refugee camps on the border of Thai-Myanmar, in the area of Myanmar East. Those Myanmar natives are living on the edge with inadequate support from organizations including the United Nations and private institutions whereas Rohingyas are receiving the funds of approximately US$ Ten to hundreds millions annually under the names of various funds generating projects and that of other NGOs.

The Helpless Children in Thai-Myanmar border

Then, is Burma Campaign UK really doing well for Rohingyas welfare?                                
In this case, what is questionable is why the problems of Rohingyas in some country like Saudi in where the national religion is same to theirs being treated in way of breaching human rights and lack of fundamental freedoms is not brought up to the world. For instance, BC UK did not make prominent to the world about the cases of residential/citizenship laws legislated by Saudi court in 2009 and the Rohingyas children not being eligible for public schools.                                                     
   
In the article of “The 300,000 Rohingyas in Saudi are in limbo”, it said

“Mr Abdul Majid’s family moved to Saudi in 1954, two years after he was born, and was granted legal resident status as it was among the first Burmese groups to arrive. But a decree issued two decades later forced Rohingya older than 18 who were not born in the kingdom to obtain a non-Saudi passport.  Without residency permits, their children cannot enrol in public schools. Mr Abdul Majid said Burmese children attend charity schools created for the community by Saudi donors and wealthy Burmese”                                                                                  

So it would be interesting to hear the explanation and excuses of Mark Farmaner why BC UK is silent and not shouting out for the Rohingyas’ rights in Saudi. And it does raise the question of whether their human rights movements are based on the country.

On what source of funding does his organization live?                                   

Mark Farmaner never explains about his organization and how it generates to receive funding. From what he said, BC UK is NGO that means the organization is heavily dependent on either internal or external sources or both. Even the United Nations relies on the contribution from the government and private donors. Also unlike other NGOs with many various projects in the impoverished countries, scope of activities of BC UK is only in Myanmar, so it is certain the organization would face the difficulties to seek and secure the funding. That also brings up the curiosity and concern of from what sources and patterns of funding do the organization relies on.   

But widespread photos of stuff of BC UK with other Rohingya organizations such as Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and ့္ Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO) which are believed to be in connection with OIC with the prominent evidence of news and photos does give a little insight of its funding source. (Note: RSO and ARNO have been alleged as the radical and terrorist Islamic organizations in the wikileak and other websites of classifying the organizations to security threats)

Is he sure or is it true that BC UK had never heard of the statement of claiming Arakan to be the Muslim autonomous state from other Rohingyas organizations?

What he said introduces the questions to ask him. Homeland and International Security watch also categorized rohingyas organizations as the Islamic fundamentalist and terrorist organizations. Foreign minister of Bangladesh also addressed the violent involvement of the Radical Islamic terrorist groups in the late unrest.                 
                             
Rohingyas in attempts to gain the autonomous region was cited by the author Thanawat Pimoljinda in the article named Ethno-Religious Movements As a Barrier to an ASEAN Community in the website http://www.globalasia.org, in March 2010. 

“The Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and the Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO) in Burma have been fighting to liberate Arakan from Buddhist rule, with the aim of establishing an Islamic state.   “        

“The Mujahid party was founded by Rohingya elders who supported jihad movement in northern Arakan in 1947.[28] The aim of Mujihid party was to create a Muslim Autonomous state in Arakan” …. cited in Wikipedia about rohingas after post war. 

“The group also aimed to establish an Islamic autonomous Rakhine (Arakan) state, uniting the Rohingya people of Myanmar and Bangladesh” written in Jane’s World Insurgency and Terrosim about rohingas organizations 

Many also can be seen in articles about Myanmar affairs by Barti Latherer. So it proves that what mark Farnamer said – “ we have never even heard any Rohingya organization saying they want their own state” – is the outright lie.

Objecting Wai hnin Pwint Thon is because whether she is Islamic or she works for Rohingyas rights. ?


Since Mark Farmaner made the comment as cause of provoking religious conflict  by writing “attacking her because she is Muslim” , it called us to explain and point out some facts although it is not initially required to do so.  Remember, when she made the vigorous speech in the England parliament, the majority of people who cheerfully supported her were Buddhist Burmese, and that same group of supporters also encouraged her when she did the parachute jump. Her efforts and attempt of fighting against the Junta brutal oppression in Myanmar were also widely acknowledged and appreciated, with the evidences.   
          
Burmese however found difficult to accept the compliment to her as in the equal status of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi who is the democracy icon representing the majority of Burmese democracy lovers. The matter of acceptance would be quite common for everyone that people will not easily place any person in their hearts as equal to their idols. So it is obvious the cause is not her being Islamic.                                                                     

Myanmar people have always been against and also held the massive protests to the acts and matters which are soundly unfavourable to the majority regardless of religion. The same happened to Ngae Min Swe who is known to be in good connection with the government authority was also opposed and criticized by the people for his doings contradictory to the majority’s common conceptions can be observed.  So people turning their backs to her is that only because of the different perspectives they are of to what she is actually doing, not because of her religious status. And Myanmar people are always ready to forgive and welcome to those who choose the right path from wrong. Since her father Mr Mya Aye had also firmly spoken out Rohingya is not Myanmar nationality, she is expected to be in same boat with Myanmar people.

Why do the local Arakanese organizations not communicate with BC UK?

No further and complicated explanation to it! No-one or no organization would like to be in contact with their complete oppositions, even when the globalized organization like the United Nations group was objected in some cases, Mr Mark Farmaner should have easily realized his national private sector BC UK would be under the situation of being against.

Why did Mark Farmaner compose that explaining article?

He must have already calculated and set eyes on the national funding might come from the religious and private institutions and allocations from government budget since he would have figured out the difficulties of the foreign based NGOs on Myanmar affairs to get external funding from non-national sources in which the situation could have implied by Myanmar recent political reform to Democracy. He also visited Myanmar secretly and tried to conciliate Myanmar government he opposes to. He was surprised of being asked by senior democracy leaders about Rohingyas, which he later said “On my recent trip to Burma, even very senior democracy leaders in Rangoon talked about it.” But his attempt and the meeting with Myanmar senior leaders were only discovered by his own late coverage which raise the questions of why his credible trip was not made public and there was no transparency in their meeting.
To conclude Mark Farmaner already realized it is impossible to base the BC UK only in UK, hence he is trying to base his BC UK in Myanmar. At the same time, the questions and shout-outs of Myanmar people mainly from online networking websites becomes louder and louder, so his article was to merely put the explanation on seemingly misunderstanding between BC UK and Myanmar people upon their campaigning and cover the actual purposes of their works. With this article Myanmar people are kindly warned not to fall into their play of political trap to our beloved country.
Mg Mike Mike
Translated by THS

Bengali-Muslims’ Mujahid Insurgency (1948-1954)

Bengali-Muslims’ Mujahid Insurgency (1948-1954)

(This is the direct translation of part of the book Civil Insurgency In Burma.)

Armed Bengalis receiving military training.

Who and what exactly are the so-called Muslim Rohingyas the Buddhist Burmese and Yakines really love to hate? The term Rohingya was invented or coined only after the failed Bengali-Muslim insurgency widely known in Burma as the Mujahid from 1948 to 1954 in the north-western region of Arrakan in Burma.

Historically there had been constant warfare between ethnic Yakhines and Burmese going on in the Arrakan since Burmese King Anawrahta’s reign of Pagan in the 11^th century. In 1404 Burmese king Min Khaung Yaza invaded Le Mro (Le Myo) and occupied Arrakan for more than two decades.

Le Myo King Min Saw Mon fled to the Gaur in today’s Bangladesh and took refuge at the court of Bengal Sultan Azam Shah. With the help of new Bengal  Sultan Jalal Udin Khan he regained Arakan back from the Burmese 24 years later and in 1433 he established the city of Mrauk-U (Myauk-U) as the capital of unified Yakhin kingdom (the last one unfortunately for the proud Yakhines). His successors gave trade and territorial concessions to Portuguese, receiving in return, Portuguese military support.

In 1784 Arrakan fell again into Burmese hands. The famous Mahamuni Buddha statue now in Mandalay was taken away to Burma as a war trophy. The Burmese, after conquering Arrakan, came directly into contact with British already in India and finally Burma itself had fallen into the British hands after three Anglo-Burmese Wars.   

Cross-border invasion of Illegal Bengali-Muslims

Since 1824 the year of First Anglo-Burmese War large number of Bengali-Muslims, known as Chittagonians since they came from the Chittagong region in then India, had moved into the North-west Arrakan without any restriction at all. According to the old Burma Gazettes they established many Bengali-Muslim villages in Butheetaung, Maungdaw, Kyauktaw, Minbyar, and Myebone.

That mass settlement had alarmingly increased the total population of Arrakan the British Sittwe District. In 1832 the population in Sittwe District was just over 100,000 but the population increased to over 600,000 in 1931 and by 1941 it was over 750,000. By 1942 the Bengali-Muslims population in the region of Butheetaung and Maungdaw alone was over 300,000.

Dead on the streets during 1943 Bengal Famine.

The massive Bengali population starving from frequently occurring famines in India was one of the main reasons for that relentless tide of Bengali Muslims into the Arrakan. 

In 1939 the British colonial government established a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the rapid increase of Bengali-Muslims in the Arrakan from 30,000 in 1825 to 217,800 in 1930. That Commission reported back that there would be racial strife between the Yakhine-Buddhists and Bengali-Muslims in a very near future if the relentless Muslim tide across the border wasn’t stopped or restricted at least.

And the racial troubles between the Buddhist natives and the Muslim newcomers were simmering and finally blew up as the Second World War had reached Burma and the Arrakan became a dangerous no-man land between the Imperial Japanese army and massive British 14^th army facing off on the India-Burma border.

First Bengali-Muslim Riots (1942)

During sudden British withdrawal from Burma in 1942 there were many war weapons and ammunitions left by the withdrawing British forces in the Arrakan. The arms from Burmese and Karen troops of British army were left with the Buddhist Yakhines (Arrakanese) and the Indian soldiers’ into the hands of Bengali-Muslim crowd in the Maungdaw-Butheetaung area.

A starving child in East-Pakistan (Bangladesh).

That abundance of war weapons eventually ignited the first Buddhist-Muslim race riots in the Arrakan in mid 1942. The disturbances started from the cases of violent robbery committed by the armed Buddhist Yakhines against the Indian refugees fleeing from the Japanese army in Burma through the Taunggup Pass.

The armed Yakhine Buddhists were also attacking and lootings the neighboring Bengali-Muslim villages and the hostilities broke out into a full scale riots as foreseen by the British Commission of Inquiry as the armed Bengali-Muslims retaliated by attacking and looting the Buddhist Yakhine villages.

Even the Yakhine District administrator ICS (Indian Civil Service) U Kyaw Khine was killed by the Bengalis and countless number of Yakhines had to flee into either the British-controlled Chitagong territory or deep down into the Southern Arrakan as the genocidal Bengali Muslims there cleansed the Yakhines and destroyed all the remaining Buddhist villages in their predominantly-Muslim are of Maungdaw and Butheetaung.

By late 1942 the whole Maungdaw-Butheetauung territory was firmly in the hands of armed Bengali-Muslims.

BIA Attempts to Reclaim Burma's Lost Territory

Bo Yan Aung (front-left) and BIA officers (1942).

At the beginning of Japanese occupation of Burma Bo Yan Aung-led BIA (Burmese Independence Army) units in Arrakan tried unsuccessfully to recapture the lost territory from the Muslims.

Two senior BIA officers Bo Yan Naung and Bo Myo Nyunt were killed in Maungdaw by the Bengali-Muslims and BIA attempts for reconciliation between Yakhine-Buddhists and Bengali-Muslims had failed miserably.

From 1942 till the British recapture of Burma in 1945 Bengali-Muslims had completely controlled the Maungdaw-Butheetaung region and the illegal mass immigration continued unabated.

Beginning of the Mujahidin Insurgency (1947)

During the British Military Administration period after the British re-occupation of Burma the Yakhine refugees from both Chitagong area and other parts of Arrakan were resettled back into their old villages with the help of British army.

But the Bengali-Muslims now occupying the old Yakhine villages had refused to accept the original native Yakhins and by violent means created a hostile environment for the returnees as they now believed in their make-believe dream of creating a strict Muslim enclave ruled by the Sharia Law in the Maungdaw-Butheetaung region as a part of the newly-established East-Pakistan (Now Bangladesh).

An Islamic militant party Jami-a-tul Ulema-e Islam led by the Chairman Omra Meah was formed. And with the material support of Ulnar Mohammad Muzahid Khan and Molnar Ibrahim from Pakistan the Mujahidin insurgency was initiated to invade Arrakan and absorb the land into the East-Pakistan.

The Mujahid armed insurgents began their subversive activities in the Maungdaw-North area and later expanded into the Maungdaw-South region. A long-term criminal and major rice-smuggler named Abdul Kasim was the leader of Mujahid in Maungdaw-South.

Bengali-Muslims’ Bloody Jihad on Burma

(Following is excerpt from Dr. Aye Chan’s Paper “On the Mujahid Rebellion in Arrakan” read in the International Conference of Southeast Asian Studies at Pusan University of Foreign Studies, Republic  of Korea  on June 2 -3, 2011.)

Dr. Aye Chan of Kanda University in Japan.

The Mujahids of Chittagonian Muslims from North Arakan declared jihad on Burma after the central government refused to grant a separate Muslim state in the two townships, Buthidaung and Maungdaw that lie along the East Pakistani (present-day Bangladeshi) border.

The Mujahid movement launched before Burma gained independence and hassled the resettlement program for the refugees in the Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships. During the war, the Arakanese inhabitants of Buthidaung and Maungdaw were forced to leave their homes.

The people of Buthidaung fled to Kyauktaw and Minbya where the Arakanese were the majority. The Arakanese from Maungdaw were evacuated to Dinajpur in East Bengal by the British officials. Even though the British administration was reestablished after the war, the Arakanese were unable to return to their homes. 

Following excerpt is from the Report of the Commissioner’s Office of Arakan, dated the 18^th April, 1947 (The National Archives, London, FO 643/74.

“For want of funds only 277 out of about 2400 indigenous Arakanese, who were displaced from Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships after the British evacuation in 1942, could be resettled on the sites of their original homes. There are also two thousand Arakanese Buddhist refuges brought for fear of Muslims’ threatening and frightening them by firing machine guns near the villages at night. While our hands are full with internally displaced refugees we cannot take the responsibility for repatriation of the Muslim refugees from the Sabirnagar camp which the government of India is pressing.”

 

The Muslim refugees from the camp at Subirnagar were also unable to resettle in the interior part of Akyab District at Alegyun, Apaukwa and Gobedaung. All 3,000 of them were first sent to Akyab Island. Two Muslim Relief Committees were formed in Akyab and Buthidaung in order to give assistance possible to refugees. The proposal to send about 1,500 refugees in small batches to the Muslim villages in Buthidaung Township for the time being was accepted. The District Welfare Officer was instructed to work out the expense for transport and supporting building materials.

In August 1947, the Sub-Divisional Officer of Maungdaw, U Tun Oo, was brutally murdered by the Muslims. The Commissioner of Arakan reports:

“I have no doubt that this is a result of a long fostered communal feeling by the Muslims. The assassins who committed the murder were suspected to be employed by the Muslim Police Officers and have been organizing strong Muslim feelings and dominating the whole areas. This is a direct affront and open challenge to the lawful authority of the Burma Government by the Muslim Community of Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships whose economic invasion of this country was fostered during the British regime. Unless this most dastardly flouting of the government is firmly and severely dealt with, this alien community will try to annex this territory or instigate Pakistan to annex it.”

The newly independent republic had to cope with the insurgency of Karen ethnic group and the communists in the country after gaining independence in 1948. Major cities were captured by the Communists and Karen rebels. Two battalions of its regular army went underground to join the communists. The Capital City, Rangoon, was surrounded by the Karen rebels. The Union government was scrawled in the international newspapers with the epithet of “Rangoon Government.” In such a situation only a few hundreds troops from the Battalion (5) were sent to the western front to fight the Mujahids. About the objective and strength of the Mujahids, the British Embassy in Rangoon reports to the Foreign Office in London on February 12, 1949.

“It is hard to say whether the ultimate object of the Muslims is that their separate state should remain within the Union or not, but it seems likely that even an autonomous state within the Union would  necessarily be drawn towards Pakistan. The Mujahids seem also to have taken arms in about October last, although this does not exclude the possibility that some have not gone underground and are still trying to obtain their objective by agitation only. There are perhaps 500 Muslims under arms, although the total number of supporters of the movement is greater.”

Buthidaung and Maungdaw were under the control of the government forces but the countryside around the town was out of control.

One report gives a detailed account of the visit of Prime Minister U Nu and the Supreme Commander of the Burmese Army, Lieutenant General Smith Dun to Akyab in October of 1948.

It says that the local officials in East Pakistan provided information and aid to the insurgents from across the border. The Sub-Divisional Officer and the Township Officer from Cox’s Bazaar were reported to have supplied the Muslim guerrillas with arms and ammunition. The wounded rebels were apparently able to obtain treatment from the hospital in Cox’s Bazaar.

According to the report of the Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong Hill Tracts, both the commissioner and the Burmese officials were informed that the two Mujahid leaders, Jaffar Meah and Omra Meah, were hiding in Balukhali village in East Pakistan, near to the Burmese border.

The British Embassy in Rangoon sent a confidential letter to the High Commissioner for the United Kingdom in Pakistan on February 28, 1949; this letter dealt with the probability of provocation and interference from local Pakistani officials on the other side of the border. It reads:

“In spite of the correct attitude of the Pakistan Central Government there have been fairly reliable reports that their local officials in, for instance, Cox’s Bazaar have actively helped Muslim guerrillas. You yourselves are well aware of the pro-guerrilla attitude in this affair of the Pakistan district officers. The Pakistan Government must also be aware of it, and we feel that if they do not curb these officials they may run the risks of provoking Anti-Muslim riots in Akyab district as bad as those which occurred during the war.” 

The main financial source of the Mujahid Party was the smuggling of rice from Arakan to East Pakistan. Their actions were all part of an overall strategy to prevent the government forces from enforcing the prohibition rice export. It has been reported that even the Muslim leaders, Sultan Ahmed and Omra Meah were involved in this illegal border trade.

To solve the problem of this rice shortage in the Chittagong District of East Pakistan, regional officials seem to have sought cooperation with the Mujahid leaders. For many years the Mujahid Party leaders monopolized the smuggling of rice across the border.

The main objective of the Mujahid rebellion was to absorb the western frontier of Burma into East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh).

Burma's Yakhine State (Arrakan).

The newspaper, On May 18, 1949, The Hindustan Standard newspaper, reported about the following about the Mujahids.

“A dangerous aspect of this fighting is its international aspect: the Moslem insurgents have been carrying the Pakistani flag, and many of them clamor for the incorporation of this end of Arakan with Pakistan. It was suspected that they drew arms from across the border; the Government, however, is now satisfied that their rifles and ammunition are old stocks, left behind by the Japanese and British…. The great majority of Arakan Moslems are said to be really Pakistanis from Chittagong, even if they have been settled here for a generation. Out of the 130,000 here, 80,000 are still Pakistani citizens.”

When India, Pakistan and Burma gained independence, the immigrants from British India were granted the choice of citizenship in either India or Pakistan. They could also choose Burmese citizenship if they were so inclined.  The Pakistani Government was very anxious that the Burmese Government would use brutal tactics to suppress the rebellion.

Pakistan feared that the atrocities in the Burmese border regions would lead to anti-Burma demonstrations in Pakistan, which might in turn instigate Anti-Pakistan riots in Burma. Such situation would be very dangerous for the Pakistani residing in Burma. It was reported that 6,000 to 7,000 refugees had arrived in East Pakistan. The authorities in Karachi were also concerned about the communists infiltrating into Pakistan with the refugees.

In the Akyab District of Arakan it was reported that only the town and island of Akyab were firmly in the hands of the Burmese government. Conditions had deteriorated following the withdrawal of the only Burmese Army battalion (Burma Rifle 5). The CPB (Communist Party of Burma) went underground in March 1948, and its followers in Arakan reached an agreement with the Mujahid Party to fight the government forces jointly. 

The government of Pakistan was informed that the Communist Party of East Bengal had instructed its members to establish contacts with the Muslim communists in Arakan and  persuade them to infiltrate  the Cox’s Bazaar subdivision to organize Muslim cultivators for a revolt against the government of Burma had fallen to the communists, as evidenced by the following record (of communications between British Embassies in Rangoon and Karachi):

“This is borne out by a conversation which the Commissioner of Chittagong Division recently with one of the Mujahid leaders who said that the early agreement with the communists was that when the Burmese Government was overthrown, the Communists will leave Mujahid territory to become an independent state.”

Northern Arrakan by the Bangladeshi border.

On June 17, 1949 the British Embassy in Rangoon sent a telegram to the Foreign Office in London  about the fall of two district headquarters into communist hands. Sandoway fell on June 9, and Kyaupyu on June 10, as the result of a mutiny by the Union Military Police and levy garrisons in collusion with the local communists. The situation in Akyab was uncertain, and all air services were suspended

A climate of mistrust and fear between the Buddhist Arakanese and Muslim Chittagonians was growing, despite a peace mission sent by the Union government to North Arakan. Muslim leaders, carrying a credential from Premier Nu, were in contact with the insurgent Muslims and persuaded them to lay down their arms and drop their demand for autonomy.

The mission was not successful because it was more of a communal violence than a rebellion.  The prestigious newspaper of India, The Hindustan Standard, on May 18, 1949 reported:

“These guerrilla operations are less a Muslim insurrection against the government than “communal action” against the Arakanese – a prolongation of the Muslim-Buddhist riots of 1942.The Moslems, natives of Chittagong in what is now part of Pakistan  – fear oppression by the Arakanese. The Arakanese, the intensely clannish community less than a million strong, hate their Buddhist Kith and kin, and are afraid of losing their identity in the growing Chittagongese population. Neither trusts the either.”

The cooperation between the two countries improved the situation at the border after the instructions from Karachi were strictly enforced. In order to advance their joint operation and communications an agreement was reached for the establishment of a Pakistani Consulate in Akyab and a Burmese Consulate in Chittagong. Mohamed Ali, Pakistan’s High Commissioner designated to Canada, after relinquishing his post as ambassador to Burma, sent a statement to the press. He said that the impact of communist infiltration into Pakistan was being weakened by the joint operation of the two countries.

At the same time the Pakistani government was persuading the refugees from Arakan to lay down their arms and to arrange for their repatriation when the conditions in Burma became more settled.  Reuters reported that the governments of Burma and Pakistan were cooperating to restore peace in Arakan. Their cooperation was further displayed with units of East Pakistan Rifles being stationed along the border to cooperate with their Burmese counterparts.

However, since the middle of 1949, the Burmese Army’s offensive warfare was successful. As a result all the towns and major cities under the control of the rebels were recaptured.  Sadar Aurengzeb Khan, Pakistani ambassador to Burma, who visited the East Bengal (East Pakistan), expressed confidence that the position of the Burmese Government was improving and that the power of the insurgents was on the decline.

The rebellion lasted one more decade until the Mujahid Party surrendered in 1960.

Military Operations against Bengali-Muslims’ Mujahid

Fifth Burma Rifles Battalion in Arrakan.

Once the Mujadi rebellion started the armed Bengali-Muslims killed most of the Yakhine Buddhists and destroyed all the Yakhin villages in the Maungdaw-North region. Martial Law was declared in 1948 November as the rebellion greatly intensified and the rebels even surrounded the towns of Butheetaung and Baw-li-bazar.

Only when the Fifth Battalion Burma Rifles was sent into the region and the Fifth’s devastating campaign against the rebels the Mujahid insurgency collapsed and the Muslim insurgents fled to the jungles of northern Yakhine.

But the Burmese civil war had started in Proper-Burma and the Fifth Burma was brought back to fight the Karens digging in at Insein in Rangoon. Once the regular Burmese army was absent in the Arrakan the Mujahids came back in and the insurgency flared up again as the irregular Sitwundan armed-police battalions were unable to fight them.

The Second Chin Rifles was formed as an emergency measure to fight the Muslim Mujahid and again the Mujahid had collapsed and disappeared back into the East Pakistan and the northern jungles as the valiant Chins chased them all over Arrakan.

End of the Mujahid Insurgency

Burmese army had launched three major military operations against the Mujahid in Northern Arrakan. First operation was in March 1950, the second was the May-yu Operation in October 1952, and the last one was Moat-thone Operation in October 1954.

After the total collapse the Mujahids ended up on the borderline as rice smugglers and dacoits still terrorizing the Yakhine Buddhist population for many years to come till they reinvented themselves as the Rohingyas and started the internation-media and political and so-called human rights campaigns to re-establish their Bengali-Muslim enclave again in Burma.

http://hlaoo1980.blogspot.com/2012/06/bengali-muslims-mujahid-insurgency-1948.html