Rohingya Power Struggles Before the UN Conference
Tun Khin & Nay San Lwin Roll Out a New Rohingya Banner
New Feature Article!
Tun Khin and Nay San Lwin touched down in Cox’s Bazar this week. Their big reveal? A brand-new “Arakan Rohingya National Council,” hailed in press releases as the historic umbrella the Rohingya have been waiting for. Yet as the banners went up, many refugees and activists looked on with a mix of déjà vu and disbelief.
Veteran leader Nurul Islam - one of the founders of the earlier Arakan Rohingya National Alliance (ARNA) - cut straight through the fanfare:
“The new council’s agenda is identical to ARNA’s - so why create another body? This isn’t unifying the Rohingya; it’s deepening divisions.”
That one sentence captures the mood amongst a variety of organisations. After decades of umbrella organisations, do Rohingya really need another set of initials, or are they being served recycled promises in fresh branding?
I’ve just published a deep dive that traces this latest shake-up back through two decades of splinter groups, drama and quiet state meddling. If you want to know how competing councils, congresses and “consultative roadmaps” shape real lives on less than $8 of food aid a month, then read the full feature here:
