A Video in Praise of RSO
A praise video emerges focusing on the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation
A very interesting video has emerged. I am uncertain about its origins or creator. The narration is in standard Bengali, not Chittagonian. The quality resembles the typical output seen on various channels with cobbled-together footage. It is clearly intended for a Bangladeshi audience. The video appeared a day after the visit of ex-Foreign Minister A K Momen and ex-Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid from the Standing Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the refugee camps.
(Most significantly, Ko Ko Linn, leader of the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), and his associates were present at the meeting, beaming with happiness at their newfound status. It’s notable that only in February 2023 – just a little over a year ago – the RSO was described as a criminal gang, one of ten, in a report by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Defence. Yet these days, they are sitting with powerful Bangladeshi politicians and getting their images posted on Bangladesh government web sites!)

Back to the video. Some say the creator of this video is the Myanmar junta. Some say it is a rehabilitation effort by Bangladesh. You will see why below. The content is partially reported in this news item in Ukhiya News
The video effusively praises the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) as a beacon of hope and advocacy for the Rohingya people. It showcases the RSO as a group dedicated to peace, employing diplomatic strategies to champion the rights of the Rohingya and facilitate their dignified return to Myanmar. Through thoughtful negotiations with the military junta, it claims, the RSO has successfully orchestrated the reopening of key community establishments, including a significant mosque in Maungdaw town, which had been inaccessible since 2012. This action is portrayed as a monumental victory for the Rohingya community, allowing them to reconnect with their faith and culture, which had been long denied. The narrative positions the RSO as a crucial player in the region, tirelessly working to restore normalcy and uphold the fundamental rights of the Rohingya in the ongoing turmoil.
In stark contrast, the Arakan Army is vehemently criticised - depicted as a malign force that exploits the Rohingya population to fuel regional instability. The video accuses the Arakan Army of conscripting Rohingyas against their will and using these coerced individuals to exacerbate tensions within Arakan. It portrays the group as engaging in actions that are both destructive and deceitful, with the intent to provoke conflict that mirrors the devastating events of 2017, potentially leading to further displacement of the Rohingya. It casts the Arakan Army as a perpetrator of continued violence and suffering….
Other interesting points in the video
Dr Zubair of Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights ( ARSPH) - the organisation that the assasinated Rohingya leader Mohibullah led - gives Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) his thumbs up.
The voiceover speaks of a high level RSO team visiting Maungdaw to conduct negotiations with the junta forces on 12 and 13th May.
The video does not mention, unsurprisingly, anything about the forced conscription of Rohingya in the camps of Bangladesh by the RSO, who are then handed over to fight for the junta (see my forthcoming feature article in the Dhaka Tribune).
Here is the full translation of the video:
Narration: In the Arakan State, Myanmar, RSO has emerged as the saviour of the Rohingyas.
(Dr Zubair of ARSPH speaks:)
“If the RSO is Rohingya and fights for the rights of the Rohingya that have been taken away - that is what I hope.”
Narration: RSO has been playing a significant role in securing the fundamental rights of the Rohingyas and ensuring their repatriation by taking part in movements and struggles on behalf of the Rohingyas, and conducting peaceful negotiations with the Myanmar’s military junta and employing diplomatic strategies.
A conflict has been going on along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border between the Arakan Army and the military junta. In the conflict, military junta has shut down a large number of mosques and other establishments in Arakan for a long time. The mosques and other establishments that were closed down as a result of the conflict in the Arakan are now being open to the public by the military junta on account of the RSO’s political strategies and requests.
The Rohingyas living in the largest refugee camp of the world established in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar are also dreaming of their dignified return to their homeland.
A high-level RSO team visited Myanmar between the last 12-13 May, when they requested the Regional Commander of the military junta to make the big mosque of Maungdaw town in Arakan State accessible to the Rohingyas so that they are able to perform prayers there. Then the commander of the military junta agreed to open the mosque to the public.
One day afterwards, on Tuesday 14 May, the military junta allowed the Rohingyas to enter the big mosque of Maungdaw town during morning prayers. The mosque had been closed since 2012.
Through such decisive actions, the path for securing the rights of the Rohingyas and ensuring their repatriation is becoming smooth day by day. Being able to pray in the mosque after more than 12 years, the devout Rohingyas of the locality have expressed their gratitude to Almighty Allah and acknowledged role of the RSO.
By forcefully conscripting the ordinary Rohingyas as members of the Arakan Army in the name of liberating Arakan, the terrorist Arakan Army has been waging a war at these people’s expense.
By inciting the Rakhine community through the ordinary Rohingya population, the Arakan Army has been making a malicious effort to intensify the conflict. By employing various malicious strategies, they are inciting ordinary Rohingyas to become involved in the conflict.
By instigating a conflict in Arakan similar to that of 2017, the Arakan Army has been orchestrating a deep conspiracy to force the Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh once again.
In contrast, RSO has been striving for the peaceful repatriation of the Rohingyas and ensuring their fundamental rights.
I reached out to RSO for information about the video but have not received a reply yet. Thanks to R for the quick translation.
It is too late to establish RSO plan. Now ruin the international support and trust for Rohingya community. People know that someone play game behind the scenes. Proven the forcibly recruiting Rohingya youths...