I read both eastwatch's posted article and the article from roybot's posted link. The first one shows historic links between Arakan and Muslim Bengal, which I have read also in our history and literature books growing up in Bangladesh. There is probably some bias in both articles as they represent the Rohingya and Burman point of view respectively. Even if we accept the Burman view, it clearly acknowledge's that many of these people have migrated from Chittagong since 1824, after British occupation of Burma. So in effect they have all the rights of citizenship in a post 1947 independent Burma/Myanmar. It would have been wiser for the British to partition off Rakhine state between Muslim and Buddhist populations, as the Muslims did want to join Pakistan, but why the British did not do that, may be someone can focus on that issue. Regardless of those issues, they have every right to Myanmar citizenship, Myanmar govt. should not choose an arbitrary date of 1824 and decide that citizenship is based on that date. But if they do in a democracy, they will be laughing stocks of the world, although they get away with this under Army rule. They can be challenged in International Court and probably should be reported to International Criminal Court for this inhuman ethnic cleansing act.
But as a country and neighbor, Bangladesh will have to deal with this issue with care. As I said, we can help them as much as possible as we are already doing:
- giving them shelter and helping them to migrate to other Muslim lands
- raising this humanitarian issue in international body's like UN and OIC
But I believe we should under no circumstances support any form of armed insurgency against the state of Myanmar because of persecution of the Muslim Rohingya minorities of Myanmar. That is out of the question. We have no legal right to do it, nor any moral right. That will be an act of war against Myanmar and its people.
So again eastwatch, I ask you, what is your home district in Bangladesh, why are you avoiding answering this question?
