RSO and ARA Coercion: Fear and Uncertainty Among Rohingya Youths in the Refugee Camps

A portrait of fear

RSO and ARA recruitment meeting. Standing: Ayoub (of Camp 09) and seated to his right is Ko Ko Linn of RSO.

The messages pouring in from the Rohingya camps paint a grim picture of fear and uncertainty. Young refugees, frightened by the coercive tactics of the Arakan Rohingya Army (ARA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO), express their distress. "Sir, the camp situation is not good. So worried sir," reads one message, echoing the anxiety within the community.

The threat of forced recruitment is widespread, prompting youths to flee. According to one message, "Most of the youths from the camps are leaving for fear of being arrested by the RSO." Some resort to desperate measures, with reports of daring escapes from RSO custody in Camps 5 and 3.

The methods employed by the RSO and ARA to enforce recruitment are troubling, often involving threats of violence. Some youths have reportedly paid large sums to secure their release.

According to another Rohingya youth, there's a troubling alliance between the armed groups, Armed Police Battalion (APBn), and camp Majhis. A recent meeting saw a chilling ultimatum issued, demanding that each Majhi provide 5-10 youths to the RSO. Failure to comply would lead to house-to-house arrests, as bluntly stated by an RSO member, "If not, we will go from house to house and arrest people we meet."

Recent meetings convened by Ayoub of ARA and Ko Ko Linn of the RSO in Camps 9 and 11 were not clandestine, with APBn in attendance and directives from refugee camp authorities for Majhis to gather individuals.

Bangladesh's involvement behind the scenes becomes increasingly apparent, with some reports indicating their solicitation of ARA and RSO to align forces with the Arakan Army. This potential shift for the RSO will be further explored in my forthcoming article, where I interview the RSO Political Team about their relationship with the Arakan Army.

Meanwhile, in response to my previous reports on RSO's alleged forced recruitment, the organisation vehemently denied such claims. In a direct retort to an earlier post, they dismissed the accusations as "baseless propaganda." Emphasising their core principle of voluntary enlistment, they asserted that individuals join their ranks out of choice, with a substantial pool of eager youth awaiting to bolster their numbers. The RSO's stance maintains that coercion is antithetical to their ethos, adamantly stating, "Rest assured, we will never need to force anyone to join us, Insha-Allah."

This is their response in full:

"It’s baseless propaganda. RSO’s core policy is built on self-contribution. People join us because they choose to, with tens of thousands of youth eagerly waiting to strengthen our ranks. We receive hundreds of requests daily. Rest assured, we will never need to force anyone to join us, Insha-Allah. These are baseless, false allegations that will have zero effect. Our people know who we are, what we do, and why we do it. They are fully aware of our strategies and values. We are not disconnected from our community."