Originally published on the CGS blog on May 29, 2015.
Democracy is a process of becoming, of trying to create the more perfect union, and this is definitely true for Burma (also known as Myanmar). Right now, Burma has weak, rudimentary democratic institutions that are seeking to gain strength.
Burma’s military only allowed transition to democratic rule starting in 2010. The nation continues to suffer the scars of the Colonial Era from when it was owned by the British Indian Empire in the early 1820s.*
For the foreseeable future, Burma is going to have a lot of problems with ethnic, racial, and religious tensions, especially among groups that want to separate. One of these issues happens to be the treatment of Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state bordering Bangladesh. **
Many Rohingya have been fleeing Burma by boat to escape persecution and violence. This is not the first such exodus, but it’s currently getting lots of attention in the media.
Rakhine Buddhists also tend to see themselves as a different nationality from the rest of Burma. The Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslim populations in the Rahkine State haven’t been getting along well with each other in recent decades, especially when the military government stripped the Rohingya of many rights in 1982.*** This means that even if Rakhine were to become its own separate nation state, the Rohingya would still be persecuted.
For racial/ethnic reasons, the government of Burma sees the Rohingya as people of Bengali descent, but Bangladesh doesn’t want to accept the Rohingya either. In fact, the Rohingya have lived in what is now modern-day Burma for generations, and some sources even say for centuries.
Even many of Burma’s pro-democracy citizens have prejudicial attitudes toward the Rohingya and other ethnic and religious groups inside the country. This means that it’s going to take time for attitudes to improve so that the discriminatory institutions and practices in Burma subside, and this can’t happen all at once.
Right now the focus needs to be on stopping undue violence among different ethnic groups and making sure that everyone, regardless of ethnic or religious identity, has access to basic necessities. No one should be allowed commit acts of violence toward any particular ethnic or religious group with impunity. It needs to be made clear that neither the Rohingya nor any other group are to be hunted and treated like wild animals in acts of gratuitous, wanton violence.
Non-violence agreements need to be made between the various groups who make up the Burmese population, including the Rohingya. These agreements should be like those made between nation states not to militarily strike the other first. Agreements should also be made to ensure that security forces protect the Rohingya from harm, regardless of citizenship status, and to hold those who commit and/or conspire to commit harm accountable.
This is still going to be difficult because of how socially ingrained prejudice toward the Rohingya is in Burma. There has also been a history of resistance toward the international community’s and the South East Asian community’s efforts to address the problem.
When other countries discuss the issue of the Rohingya and other refugees from Burma, they to bring up the fact that Buddhism frowns on causing others suffering in the name of religion, race, or ethnicity.
The issue of hate-based violence must be addressed before the questions of citizenship are addressed. Once a certain degree of stability is achieved, the question of citizenship for the Rohingya can be addressed, as well as efforts for Burma to recognize itself as a multicultural and multi-religious nation.
It will be a long, multigenerational process for Burma to strengthen and build its democratic institutions and to overcome societal bigotry among its many ethnic groups. Outsiders can help, but they need to be patient and can’t expect to measure change within short time frames. Burma needs to overcome the social instability preventing overall prosperity that’s caused by needless prejudice.
*For more information about Burma during and after its status as a colony of the British Empire, go to http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/400119/Myanmar/52602/The-administration-of-dynastic-Myanmar starting on page 14.
**Note that the Rohingya have also stood against the persecution of other ethnic and religious groups in Burma, such as the Karen Christians who live in the Karen State bordering Thailand.
***For more information about the 1982 Burma Citizenship Law and its effects, see: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/burma/burm005-02.htm
