Christian Scott Smith

4/25/2019
English 2010

Author’s Note:

This paper’s subject was a very sad thing to witness, but I felt it appropriate for Political

Science. In it, I decided to study the rhetoric of hatred and bigotry, trying to find out the reasons

the Myanmar had for oppressing the Rohingya so. Bigotry in reality often has no real ‘reason’

behind it, as we would recognize it; it’s a more instinctual response of disgust, motivated reason

is used to justify it. As such, I felt it’s important to find the reasons for this and the particular

elements in play that sects such as the military of the Ma Ba Tha have used to justify their

actions to the Myanmarese people and to the world at large. As such I was drawing a great deal

from Political Science for this paper, particularly in how I wrote, structured, and analyzed

material. It is because of this that I decided to write it as I did, giving focus onto the situation at

large, and giving a brief angle of which to view the arguments, regarding the treatment and

history of the Rohingya, as to help shed light as to the lies pushed by the propaganda of groups

like the Ma Ba Tha. After receiving criticism, I went back through my paper, as it seemed the

flow of it was the largest problem people had with what I had accomplished at the time. I’ve also

brought in the annotated bibliography, where before I had simply brought in my bibliography

without my explanations as to the sources and why I use them. Finally, after further critique, I’ve

worked to ensure make the abstract smaller, and be more clear in my central ideas in the paper.

Throughout this paper, I’ve also become quite aware on a material level just why papers in

political science are written the way they are, as this set up has allowed me to very clearly

explain the situation with the Rohingya. I am hesitant to assume I have a full picture here, but I

do feel this paper is good as an introduction to the situation and rhetoric surrounding the

Rohingya in Myanmar, as well as explaining the reason for the explanation the anti-Rohingya

groups within Myanmar give for their treatment towards them.

 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
Abstract

The Rohingya are brutally oppressed within the country of Myanmar, the Rohingya are forced to

live in squalor and even made to flee for their lives. The Rohingya can historically trace their

origins to the 15th century, but the government has not recognized their claim. Since the military

junta took power in Myanmar, they’ve been subject to great oppression, facing health

emergencies and violence, and which the civilian government is unable to stop. This seems to

stem from a few factors. I’ve analyzed the 1982 citizenship law, and found it oriented heavily

towards Myanmarese ethnic groups, with ranging tiers of citizenship, and a system in which the

Rohingya are not recognized as one of these ethnic groups, often referred to as Bengalis. In

considering the context of Myanmar’s history after colonization, we also see a resistance against

the legacy of colonialism, trying to preserve their culture in the face of British interference. In

analyzing the words of the Ma Ba Tha, I’ve seen statements that e

choes anti-Muslim rhetoric in the west. In this, we see the effect of global communication

affecting the discourse even in faraway countries like this, as well as the effect of global conflicts

all over the globe. Interestingly, despite such hostile rhetoric towards the “Bengali” as they refer

to the Rohingya, they still engage in trade deals with the Bangladeshi government. This suggests

that the hatred seems to come first as a political tool used by the military and other groups inside

of Myanmar, rather than as a true belief towards the danger the Rohingya pose.

The purpose of this Paper

In the country of Myanmar, the Rohingya are brutally oppressed. It has been referred to

as crisis and even genocide perpetuated by the military. The Rohingya live in squalor, pushed to

the margins with many forced to leave, and unable to return. The topic is controversial within
 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
Myanmar, but this paper in specific seeks to inquire about the reasons behind the Rohingya.

What is the justification of the Myanmar people for this treatment of the Rohingya? Why are the

Myanmarese persecuting the Rohingya? It is likely to be a combination of several factors relating

to a resistance against British domination during the colonial period, Anti-Muslim sentiments

sweeping the world as a whole, and use that such treatment towards the Rohingya would have

for the elites.

Layout of this Paper

This paper will go into a brief explanation of the terms important to discussing the

situation with the Rohingya. At which point we will elaborate on the state and situation of the

Rohingya, and recent history relating to them. Then we will explore the current political climate,

particularly the military’s influence on the country. We will then analyze the 1982 Citizenship

Law, and finally the cultural backlash of the Buddhist majority against the Rohingya. Then the

conclusion will follow.

Important Terms

Rohingya: An ethnic Muslim minority, they practice a Sufi-inflected variation of Sunni

Islam. The majority of around one million live inside the Rakhine state, and differ from

Myanmar’s dominant Buddhist Groups ethnically, linguistically, and religiously (Albert &

Chatzky, 2018).

Ma Ba Tha: Also known as the Patriotic Association of Myanmar as a group of Hardline

Buddhist Monks, they have put forward various “Protection of Race and Religion” bills, highly

discriminator against ethnic and religious minorities, as well as women (United Nations

Comission of Human Rights, 2015).

 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
Burma Citizenship Law: The law passed in 1982 that began the modern campaign of

discrimination against the Rohingya. Specifically section 8 allows the state to revoke the

citizenship of any person except a citizen by birth and in section 9, a person born in the state is

supposed to have their birth registered by the parent or guardian in a prescribed manner

(Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma, 1982). Most Rohingya are unable to attain this type

of registration, and thus are rendered effectively without citizenship.

Burma: The previous name for the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.

Elaboration on the current state and recent history of the Rohingya

The Rohingya can trace their origins to the 15th century, when thousands of Muslims

came to the Arakan Kingdom. However, Myanmar has not acknowledged their historical claims,

denying the group recognition, and are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. They are

ignored by local governments, and have suffered many injustices by the military junta in

Myanmar, many fleeing to neighboring countries like Bangladesh (Wekke, Hasbi, Mawardin,

Ladiqi, & Salleh, 2017). In particular, we have uneven application of the law regarding the

Rohingya compared to the other recognized ethnic groups of Myanmar (Arraiza & Vonk,

2017).Their property has been confiscated, and in 1994 forced labor policies for the children and

parents of the Rohingya have been imposed (Wekke, Hasbi, Mawardin, Ladiqi, & Salleh, 2017).

Currently the Rohingya people face a health emergency, with poor infant and child

health, malnutrition, waterborne illness, and a lack of obstetric care (Mahmood, Wroe, Fuller, &

Leaning, 2017). The UNHCR has also stated that the Rohingya refugees are unable to return to

the Rakhine state currently in “safety and dignity” (United Nations High Comissioner for

Refugees, 2018). Not helping the matter, is that of the 650000 Rohingya who fled to the
 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
neighboring Bangladesh, few of them have documents that can prove their prior residency,

further hampering their ability to return to the country in safety (Barany, 2018). As far as the

government of Myanmar sees it, none of this is their problem as the Rohingya are considered

foreigners, squatting in their country.

Current Political Situation

Myanmar may have transitioned to a democracy, but for much of its history it was a

military dictatorship. The military had eventually made way for democracy, as the National

League for Democracy (NLD) won the 1015 national elections in a landslide. Many had

concluded that Myanmar was democratizing, and Aung San Suu Kyi had won the 1992 Nobel

Peace Prize for her efforts. However, the democratic leadership has no real power over the army,

and can do little to control it, especially given the military has 56 guaranteed seats in the 224

member lower house of parliament, and 110 seats out of the 440 in the upper house, giving them

a great amount of power within Myanmar’s government (New Burma constitution published,

2008). While the world has been criticizing Suu Kyi and the democratic leadership of Myanmar

for not confronting the military publically, it should be remembered that not only does the

civilian-led government have no control over the armed forces with no means of reining them in.

The amount of seats votes required to amend the constitution and change the country to rein in

the military requires more than three thirds of the vote, more than 330, with the military holding

the last 110 seats. (Barany, 2018) Furthermore, there is a great deal of intense anti-Rohingya

sentiment in the country, wide spread and influenced by extremists Buddhist monks, particularly

the Ma Ba Tha, who accuse the Rohingya of destabilizing Myanmar, see them as a terrorist

threat.
 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
The Cultural Hatred of the Rohingya

At this point is must be stated that very often the stories and ideas that shape people’s

worldviews are often not necessarily the ones spoken. When analyzing their ideas, one has to not

only look at the words being spoken, but to look between the lines. After all, when trying to find

out the motivations behind bigotry, one cannot simply take the bigot’s word for it. When looking

at legislation, one must look at the focus it has and the effects that it imparts, as well as how it’s

used in practice. And of particular importance is not simply what they say, but what they don’t

say, and how they act towards other topics, which in of themselves can also reveal information.

The 1982 Citizenship law is couched very clearly in ethnic lines, with a clear intent to

keep Burma, now Myanmar, ethnically Burmese, and to avoid intersecting their culture with that

of other peoples, likely including colonizers. This is most clear the various tiers, including

“Citizen,” “Associate Citizen,” “Naturalized Citizen,” and “Foreigner,” each with different sets

of rights within Myanmar. In particular, in Chapter 1-8 section b we see that the council of State

can revoke citizenship, associate citizenship, or naturalized citizenship of any person, except a

citizen by birth. They also state in Chapter 1-9 that the child must have their birth registered in a

specific manner, within one year from the date they become ten years old (Socialist Republic of

the Union of Burma, 1982). This in many ways continues to play into the attitude against the

Rohingya, for while they do claim that ancestry, many of them also came about during the period

of British colonization, in which the British colonial authorities encouraged them to emigrate

from contemporary Bangladesh to the sparsely populated regions to what was at the time, Burma

(Barany, 2018). This also helped play into the suspicion the military Junta had that these people

were in fact new people from Bangladesh (Wekke, Hasbi, Mawardin, Ladiqi, & Salleh, 2017). In

addition, under the 1982 Burma Citizenship Law, being a naturalized citizen of one country
 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
automatically causes them to lose their Myanmar citizenship, so if they are believed to be

Bengalis, then there is no lawful way for them to be citizens of Myanmar. Taken into account

with Myanmar’s history at the hands of British colonization, this document encapsulates the

original intent behind the persecution and the difference in treatment. Myanmar like many other

nations suffered under colonialism as the British tried to mold their nation into what they wanted,

often against the wishes of the locals. It is in this that Myanmar like puts as much emphasis on

ethnic Burmese/Myanmarese as it does. This is the crux of their argument, Muslims coming in

without permits, without respect to the law, not recognizing their origins, neither in the colonial

period, nor in the Arakan Kingdom. U Nyi Nyi’s opinion piece does not even address any

historical claims they make into this, instead focusing the repatriation of many of them into

Bangladesh. They have only considered them temporary citizens, or even worse invaders.

Not all of the history between the Myanmarese people and the Rohingya come from the

colonial history or statements about the law, there is also the current worldwide panic about

Islamist terrorism that helps fuel it. They portray the Rohingya akin to the terrorists, even saying,

“You cannot sleep next to a mad dog” in the words of Ashin Wirathu in a 2013 sermon (Ives,

2017). There is a great amount of paranoia, and even a feeling of persecution among the

Buddhist majority. They’ve stated that the government has not done its part to respect the rights

of the Buddhist citizens, that Muslims outbreed the Buddhist majority, plot terror attacks, and

steal Buddhist women (McPherson, 2017). What makes this different however is the shape the

rhetoric takes. In the interviews with the Ma Ba Tha, the way the Rohingya are consistently

discussed in mirrors much of the western rhetoric against Muslims when compared. Some even

restate the belief that the Muslims will out-breed the native people, much in the same way alt-

right talking points can include the idea of black people and Muslims outbreeding the native
 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
white population. This suggests that at least part of the reaction against the Rohingya is part of a

more widespread world spanning discrimination and bigotry against the Muslim population in

general.

Another core feature that should be noted regarding the works is not merely what they

bring up, but what they do not. From the words used to describe the Rohingya, one forgets a

great deal about what is actually being done to the Rohingya. This is often glossed over rather, if

addressed at all, that the Rohingya live in poverty, even destitution. That many of them have

effectively been left without a state to call their own, called Bangladeshi by the Myanmarese,

and treated as foreign refugees by Bangladesh. And yet despite such hostile rhetoric towards the

Muslims and the Bangladeshi, they are opening trade ports to facilitate trade inside the Rakhine

State (Mya Htwe, 2018). The paper itself is seemingly unrelated, but it is in this that it reveals its

own connection to the issue, or rather the suspicious lack of a connection given the participants

involved. The Rohingya are called Bengalis and are treated as “Mad dogs” but the country they

originate from is going through trade deals as if nothing of the sort was happening between the

two nations. That is because nothing of the sort is happening between the two nations, because

the Rohingya are ultimately from Myanmar. The matter of the Rohingya and the talk about how

dangerous the Muslims are seems to fall away when dealing in matters economic, because

despite the rhetoric surrounding them, this is a strictly internal matter for Myanmar. This in of

itself does highlight a strange duality also seen in other countries (such as the United States

towards Central and South American immigrants), in which they are at once demonized, but also

contacted for trade and labor, before being disposed again.

While this is very likely a very real issue for those on the ground, in their minds if

nowhere else, this shows to a great extent one of two things. Either the civilian government in
 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
trade disagrees with the military regarding the “Bangladeshi,” or just as possible, the rich and

elite within the government, do not see the Rohingya, or the Muslims who make up less than 5%

of the population, so much as a problem, but as a political tool to use. A prop to excite the

populace and make them more amiable towards policies of their own that they may not consider

otherwise or even just towards simple nationalism. Inside this particular framework, the

Rohingya are not only the victims of oppression in Myanmar, and seen as enemies of Myanmar,

but are even being used by the ruling class of Myanmar to direct their tension towards a

relatively small and weak portion of the population, rather than potentially each other, or even

the government. This can also explain why the civilian government has been so silent on this, the

people seem to support the military’s actions here, and to go against it, would likely endanger

their already precarious position regarding the balance between the military and civilian

government.
 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010

Bibliography
Arraiza, J. M., & Vonk, O. (2017, October). Report on Citizenship Law: Myanmar. Retrieved

from Cadmus European University Institute:

http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/48284/RSCAS_GLOBALCIT_CR_2017_14.

pdf?sequence=1. Arrraiza is an ICLA Specialist at the Norwegian Refugee council, and

has focused on Myanmar for much of their career, Olivier Vonk has contributed greatly

to developing the EUDO Citizenship/ UNHCR Database on Protection Against

Statelessness in Europe, and works in the Institute for the Study of International

Migration. The Report on Citizenship Law: Myanmar is a largely critical look at the

legislation and implementation of the 1982 citizenship law. Explaining how the law was

put into affect and how this affects various peoples.

Albert, E., & Chatzky, A. (2018, December 5). The Rohingya Crisis. Retrieved from Council on

Foreign Relations: https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/rohingya-crisis. Eleanor Albert is

considered an expert in Chinese foreign and domestic policy, international security in

East Asia, and U.S.-China relations, with a major in International Relations and a Minor

in Comparative politics. China has taken interest in the Rohingya Crisis, stating that it

should not be "internationalized." Andrew Chatzky worked in the French Consulate in

Flodira, and the U.S. Consulate in Strasbourg France. This webpage is more or less a

primer on the Rohingya Crisis, giving background on the situation itsel, briefly

explaining the legal status of the Rohingya, why they're fleeing Myanmar, what caused
 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
the recent migration, where they're moving, how civilian leadereship have changed

Myanmar government policies, and how the region, and rest of the world, is responding.

Barany, Z. (2018). Where Myanmar Went Wrong. Retrieved from Salt Lake Community College

Library:

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=128950341&site=eds-

live. Zoltan Barany is the Frank C. Erwin Jr. Centennial Professor of Government at the

University of Texas, and has taught since 1991. He has particular expertise on Southeast

Asia, particularly in regards to military politics and democratization globally and

ethnopolitics, all three of which are factors in play regarding Myanmar and the Rohingya.

This article is an examination of political and social factors in Myanmar that led to the

military's systematic killing of the Muslim Rohingya population, in particular how they

differ from the other (already oppressed) Muslim minority. They also offer advice in the

future as to how to deal with this crisis in the future.

France Diplomatie. (n.d.). Myanmar/Burma - Situation of the Rohingya. Retrieved from France

Diplomatie: https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-

files/myanmar/events/article/myanmar-burma-situation-of-the-rohingya. This is an

official document on the Rohingya situation from the French Government.

Ives, M. (2017, May 26). Ultranationalist Monks in Myanmar, Facing Crackdown, Say They’re

Unrepentant. Retrieved from New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/world/asia/myanmar-buddhist-yangon.html. Mike Ives is a

Hong Kong based journalist who previously lived in Vietnam and covered the country for the
 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
Economist and the New York Times. This particular paper does not focus on his words however,

but on the words of the various Ma Ba Tha, to get their view on the Rohingya.

Mahmood, S. S., Wroe, E., Fuller, A., & Leaning, J. (2017, May 6-12). The Rohingya people of

Myanmar: health, human rights, and identity. Retrieved from The Lancet:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)00646-2/fulltext.

Mahmood is a Doctor, specializing in internal medicine, and with expertise in physicals,

vaccination, and immunization, all of which play a large part in the health of the

Rohingya minority. Wroe is an Instructor in Medicine and Department of Global Health

and Social Medicine Affiliate, and Chief medical Officer for Partners in Health in

Malawi (A small country in East Africa, between Zambia and Mozambique. She has

worked extensively in sub-Saharan Africa on models of care for HIV and Non-

Communicable disease, as well as working on medicine distribution in places such as

rural Malawi, this also plays a part in the Rohingya within the Rakhine State. Fuller is an

executive director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard

University, with a research associate at the Harvard School of Public Health. Among his

central focuses is human rights law and international development. Considering the

international predicament the Rohingya are in, this expertise is relevant to their paper.

Leaning is a Professor of the Practice of Health and Human Rights at Harvard. Their

research and policy interest include issues of public health, medical ethics, early warning

in repsonse to war and disastser, human rights and international humanitarian law in

crisis settings, and the problems of human scurity in the context of forced migration and

conflict. The Rohingya here fit that situation rather well, given they face conflict in the

Rakhine, and many have been forced to migrate in fear for their lives. This Volume is
 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
written with the intent of covering briefly the crisis, the historical debate around the

Rohingya people, a timeline of events leading to this crisis, the number of Rohingya, the

human rights status, and to a great extent the health status regarding malnutrition,

children and infants, waterborne illness, obsteric care, and the actions needed to address

this.

McPherson, P. (2017, May 8). ‘We must protect our country’: extremist Buddhists target

Mandalay’s Muslims. Retrieved from The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/may/08/buddhist-extremists-anti-muslim-mandalay-

ma-ba-tha. McPherson is a journalist that has been studying the The Rohingya and Myanmar

exclusively for years, and is based in southeast Asia, being published be The Guardian, Guardian

Cities, Foreign Policy, The Economist, TIME, Vice, Buzzfeed, BBC, IRIN, and more. The paper

itself is a news story that focuses on the Ma Ba Tha, examining them and their rhetoric towards

the Rohingya.

Mya Htwe, C. (2018, August 29). New Sittwe port proposed to facilitate Myanmar-Bangladesh

trade. Retrieved from Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/new-sittwe-port-

proposed-facilitate-myanmar-bangladesh-trade.html. This is a primary source, meant to show

attempts at trade between the two countries, and in particular, how it never even once brings up

the Rohingya.

Motlagh, J. (2018). Myanmar's Imagined Jihadis. New Republic, 24-31. Retrieved from Salt

Lake Community College Library. Motlagh is a writer, broadcast journalist, and film

maker who focuses on conflict and human rights. He was formerly TIME magazines’

Afghanistan correspondent, working in multiple conflicts spanning from West Africa to

 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
Southeast Asia. This article focuses on the military persecution of ethnic minorities in the

Rakhine State, which include nighttime attacks launched by militent Arakan Rohingya

Salvation Army, the Rohingya mass exodus due to violence, and the life of the Rohingya

Muslims at the refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Nyi Nyi, U. (2014, February 9). The case against Rohingya citizenship. Retrieved from

Myanmar Times: https://www.mmtimes.com/opinion/9519-why-the-government-is-right-

to-deny-rohingya-citizenship.html. This is a primary source, of a Myanmar stating their

reasoning towards the Rohingya not being citizens of Myanmar. This meant to gauge the

opinion towards the Rohingya, rather than as a source meant for fact and research.

Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma. (1982, October 15). Burma Citizenship Law.

Retrieved from Refworld: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b4f71b.html. The Official

Burmese statement that arguably begun the persecution of the Rohingya.

United Nations High Comissioner for Refugees. (2018, November 11). Statement by UN High

Commissioner for Refugees on the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

Retrieved from United Nations High Comissioner for Refugees The UN Refugee

Agency: https://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2018/11/5be7c4b64/statement-un-high-

commissioner-refugees-repatriation-rohingya-refugees.html. United Nations Statement

regarding the Rohingya refugees and the comparative situation in Myanmar.

Wekke, I. S., Hasbi, Mawardin, M., Ladiqi, S., & Salleh, M. A. (2017). Muslim Minority in

Myanmar: A Case Study of Myanmar Government and Rohingya Muslims. Walisongo:

Jurnal Penelitian Sosial Keagamaan, Vol. 25 Issue 2, 22, 303-324. Wekke is a Doctor of
 Christian Scott Smith
4/25/2019
English 2010
Philosophy, focusing in Islamic studies, Muslim education, and the focus on Muslim

minorities in other countries.

Ladiqi works at the faculty of Law and International Relations, doing research in state politics

and policy, political economy, and international relations, with expertise in international politics,

international relations theory, and global governance.

The work in question focuses on the discrimination suffered by the Rohingya Muslims, the

unavailability of the government to the Rohingya, and details the fate of the Rohingya who are

not granted citizenship rights by the Myanmar government.