Suu Kyi’s Toughest Challenge Ever
- In Foreign Policy
- 02:50 PM, Dec 14, 2016
- Kishor Narayan
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has seen it all. In the past, she has been a witness to military-led Myanmarese government being castigated internationally for human rights abuses. Lot of water has flown in the Irrawaddy since then. However, one thing seems to have remained a constant. Suu Kyi finds Myanmar being accused of human rights abuses yet again. This time, the democratic government of Myanmar is alleged to have employed ethnic cleansing as a tool to get rid of the minority Rohingya Muslims from the state of Rakhine. Oddly though, it is her own party National League for Democracy (NLD) at the helm of affairs in Naypyidaw and she cannot stay mum about it any more as she used to earlier. Unfortunately for her, she might find this current trouble to be her toughest challenge till date.
To state that Suu Kyi has endured hardships throughout her life would be an understatement. Her father Aung San, considered as ‘Father of modern-day Myanmar’ was shot dead when she was barely two years old. The military that ruled the nation, didn’t want Aung San’s widow to stay in the country and dispatched her to India as the Ambassador. Suu Kyi, as a result, did most of her schooling and college in the unfamiliar surroundings of New Delhi. Years later, in 1988, with an Oxford degree, she returned to Rangoon to look after her ailing mother during the nascent years of the fight for democracy. Staying away from her family, she inadvertently picked up the mantle of anti-junta protests and ended up being arrested in her own house. With her fight against the military getting severe, the world started to take note of her resolve. In 1991, she became a household name around the world when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Her fight against the military culminated much later when the military voluntarily gave up power and conducted nation-wide elections in 2016. Suu Kyi’s party “National League for Democracy” emerged victorious. Her appointment as the State Counselor appeared to be a culmination of her lifelong struggles. Things couldn’t go wrong any more. The people had voted for her overwhelmingly. The army had enabled a peaceful transition. The world capitals wished her good luck and wanted to help Myanmar in its path to growth and stability. Except there was one major unresolved issue which needed immediate attention and resolution.
Myanmar is home to numerous ethnic groups and has been plagued by internal conflicts since independence. The conflicts not only take place between the government forces and certain groups, but also between different ethnic and religious groups. Ever since 2011, the clashes in Rakhine state between Rohingya Muslims on one side and the Arakan Buddhists and the government forces on the other have created international headlines.
The Beginning
A controversial law was enacted by the government – referred to as Burma Citizenship Law, 1982 – intended to define and categorize the many ethnic communities and the general population into three different citizenship layers. However, the law was so enacted to leave out Rohingya Muslims found in the Rakhine state. Surprisingly, the Arakan Buddhists found in the same state were included in the law. The Myanmar government was of the opinion that the Rohingyas came from Bangladesh and should return back, whereas Bangladesh would not take them back. The Rohingyas were suddenly stateless in their own land where they had lived for many generations. In May 2012, a young Arakan Buddhist lady was raped and murdered by three Rohingya Muslim men. Arakan villagers had retaliated by killing Muslims and this led to Rohingyas killing an unknown number of Arakan people and also targeting Arakan property. What had resulted had been an inhuman destruction to life and property on both sides. Rohingya Muslims, on the account of being stateless had been accused of usurping the land that belonged to the rightful settlers of the land – the Arakan. With the government troops also persecuting the Rohingyas, they had their backs against the wall. Many Rohingyas fled to neighboring Bangladesh, while a few others fled to Thailand, India, Japan, and United Kingdom. Most other Rohingyas have been living in settlement camps in various parts of Rakhine ever since.
The conflict has now stretched beyond the boundaries of Myanmar. The displaced Rohingya have become a serious humanitarian problem in neighboring Bangladesh. The Bangladesh government wants to return the Rohingya back to Myanmar. The Rohingya has also become targets of human trafficking across the border in Thailand. Amidst all this, the Rohingya seem to be getting support of Muslims elsewhere. An investigation into the bomb attacks in Bodh Gaya in India, one of the holiest places in Buddhism, in 2013 had revealed it as a revenge for attacks against Rohingya Muslims.
The Present
This dormant issue of the ‘stateless’ Rohingyas has now resurfaced in November of 2016 when there have been reports that the military, in response to an attack on its troops by Rohingya youth, has attacked Rohingya villages with disproportionate force. Myanmar forces have even used helicopters to fire at the attackers in a dense forest. Satellite pictures of Rohingya villages burned to ground have caused massive uproar. Media organizations like BBC have started reporting about the human suffering from the other bank of the river Naf, which acts as the natural border between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Rohingya refugees crossing the river to escape from the atrocities, narrating their tale of horror and destruction has been a daily occurrence since the violence broke out. Journalists have not been provided access to enter Rakhine. The only information available is from Myanmar-Bangladesh border that has now been officially shut.
So, what is different this time? Expectations from the democratically elected government have been high in finding a solution to the Rohingya problem. Unfortunately though, Suu Kyi hasn’t spoken out ever in favor of granting citizenship to the Rohingyas. Her silence in this matter has been deafening all along. Upon constantly prodded for a statement, she has only stated that both sides should give up violence and should search for a solution through peaceful means.
With most of Myanmar’s population being anti-Rohingya, it is a political minefield which none of the mainstream political parties and the government want to handle. So, the Rohingyas not only find themselves unable to vote but also none of the mainstream political parties or the government want to take up their cause in their political agenda or election manifestos. Any attempt by Suu Kyi to appease the Rohingya by conceding to provide citizenship will not be taken kindly by the other ethnic groups. And in a predominantly Buddhist nation, many Buddhist monks who wield considerable influence on the population are equally against any reconciliation efforts.
Spillover Effect
All these developments in Myanmar are being watched in the region with surprise and shock. Bangladesh finds its Cox’s Bazaar and Bandarban districts bordering Myanmar being overwhelmed by refugees. Despite the United Nations asking Bangladesh to not stop refugees from entering, there have been reports of Rohingyas being handed over to Myanmar’s Border Guard Police (BGP).
Muslim majority nations in South East Asia – Indonesia and Malaysia – have decided to throw their weight behind the Rohingya cause by conducting protest rallies. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has even urged the UN to take up the issue. All these open protests have a danger of turning radical as feared by Daniel Russel, the top US diplomat for East Asia. As things stand today, what was a little known domestic issue inside Myanmar has metamorphosed into a regional issue. And if unchecked, it might soon end up have international ramifications.
All this public finger-pointing, especially by the United Nations seems to have rattled Suu Kyi who has delayed her scheduled trip to Jakarta. Life seems to have come full circle for Suu Kyi who now seems to be fast losing all her international friends on account of this issue.
Myanmar’s constitution - amended just before the elections were conducted - had ensured that the military would retain a major presence in all the legislative bodies across the nation. It is interesting to see, how much of an influence Suu Kyi wields over the military in matters of internal security. The military might also want to see Suu Kyi and her party be shamed globally and thus get the general population to back another military takeover of the country’s reins. If that happens, Myanmar will plunge back into the abyss of dictatorship from which it took decades to come out.
The Choice Ahead
Suu Kyi has her task cut out. Her cherished ideals of non-violence and taking all ethnic groups along will be put to test if she wants to emerge successful in resolving this issue. For starters, she has to allow non-partisan international reporters, watch groups, medical staff to enter Rakhine state and provide all assistance to the persecuted groups. Even if it results in shaming and prosecution of people from the establishment for using excessive force, Suu Kyi will need to take that risk to show that she is unbiased in this whole issue. The accusation that Rohingyas are plotting insurgency against the Myanmar state should be properly investigated and appropriate measures should be taken to bring them to justice. In the long run though, no solution is complete unless the issue of citizenship of the Rohingyas is resolved. Suu Kyi will have to openly embrace the idea of providing citizenship to Rohingyas and hope that her brilliant oratorial skills will help her in prevailing over the common man on the streets of Yangon. Suu Kyi is up against the wall and she knows it very well. The world has admired her appetite for long fights against what she perceives as injustice. This one might be her next fight. What side will she stand on will determine how history will judge her. For now, the Nobel Peace Prize sits uneasy on her aging shoulders.
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