Ryan Smith Blog No. 8 - Myanmar Violence Displacing thousands

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/10/201210276502242958.html

An estimated 22,587 people have been displaced in recent months from the Western border camps of Myanmar due to long existing tensions between Rohingya Muslims and native Burmese Buddhists.  Making up the vast majority (21,000) of refugees are the Rohingya people, a Muslim group considered by the UN to be one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.  The Rohingya are considered a homeless group who have suffered severe human rights violations since the inception of the Burmese junta in 1978.  Since then nearly one million have fled to neighboring Bangladesh where they still face outright violence, forced labour, and summary executions.

Fighting began between the two groups in June this year after the stateless Muslims were blamed for the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman.  Since then violence has spread among the region, destroying over 5,000 homes, killing hundreds, and laying waste to several communities.  From Sunday to Thursday alone over 2,000 homes were burned to the ground.   One freelance journalist told Al-Jazeera that much of the violence has bled into regions affecting Burmese Muslims not even associated with the Rohingya people, but may instead resemble them in skin tone and languages spoken.

Amidst all of the discrimination and violence, organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are taking note of the Burmese government's response and handling of the matter.  In a country experiencing a slow and arduous transition to democracy, this kind of publicity will have a severe impact on Burma's national image.  Tarnished already by the junta's years of martial law and oppression, Burma is trying to project the resemblance of a transformational state, but in order to do so they have to posit themselves as a legitimate protecter of human rights, even in the case of their displaced ethnic minorities.  An estimated 800,000 Rohingya people live within Burma and yet they are not recognized as one of the countries 135 ethnic groups. They are therefore denied citizenship despite their long standing history as residents.  The Rohingya people will forever live in a no-man's land of alienation and discrimination unless the Buddhist-majority of Burma can accept them into their society.  If not, aggressive sanctions by international organizations that have historically shown to be feeble and insufficient will need to be set to prevent further violence and displacement.