This post briefly explains my Long Form piece in Dhaka Tribune published today.
The Myanmar military's latest conscription drive, under the resurrected People’s Military Service Law, is causing much alarm. At the same time, for those who are not citizens like the Rohingya in Arakan, the junta has ordered village chairmen to round up youth and get them to sign up. And the junta has made it clear that this is aimed at beefing up its ranks against the Arakan Army.
For Rohingya diaspora spokespersons, this is nothing but a sinister plot to mobilise Rohingya men as cannon fodder. The junta's actions is the latest escalation in a regime of terror that seeks to subjugate the Rohingya further.
Enter the Arakan Army, lauded by some as freedom fighters, yet their tactics in Rakhine State tell a story not of liberation, but of opportunistic warfare that exacerbates the suffering of the Rohingya. This was pretty much the agreed position of the Rohingya diaspora. However something has changed and some spokespersons are taking a softly, softly approach.
The AA's strategic positioning within Rohingya villages, ostensibly to gain leverage over the Myanmar military, prompts a brutal response from the junta, leading to civilian casualties and the destruction of homes and livelihoods. With a sleight of hand, some Rohingya are not pointing this out as emphatically anymore despite having done so consistently over several years. The silence is deafening, a grim reminder of the adage that in war, truth is often the first casualty.
Enter Mr Twan Mrat Naing - the leader of the Arakan Army. His ambivalent stance on Rohingya rights and identity (translated for you in the last newsletter), coupled with the junta's relentless oppression, casts a long shadow over the prospects for peace and reconciliation. The AA and the junta's actions reflect a broader theme in the Rohingya saga: the instrumentalisation of an entire people for power and geopolitical gain.
The international community, meanwhile, watches from the sidelines, issuing condemnations that rarely translate into meaningful action. How many times have you heard or read “The Rohingya's struggle is a litmus test for the international community's commitment to human rights and justice.” This test has been done ad nauseam. And we know it has decisively indicated that there is no commitment to these things whatsoever.
This whole scenario begs the question: where do the Rohingya turn when the forces arrayed against them are as relentless as this? How to forge a future where the Rohingya are not mere pawns but active architects of their destiny. Does the answer lie in choosing sides? (Some Rohingya have said they will stand with the military if they are given citizenship). Or does it lie in the relentless pursuit of justice, dignity, and self-determination? And armed struggle?
Head over to Dhaka Tribune for a brief discussion of above. Or download the PDF “The Rohingya in the Shadow of the Arakan Army.”