Going Global: Burma/Myanmar and the Rohingya

Burma/Myanmar and the Rohingya

Burma is a country with two names, calling it by one or the other can be a political statement in itself. Its other name is Myanmar, which it took after a military coup back in 1962. The military continues to rule the country to this day, but its grip may be loosening.

Burma has a troubled history. From the mid-1800’s to 1948, the country was a colony of Great Britain, and during WWII, the country was seized by the Japanese for its strategic position. Soon after the war, Burma gained its independence from the British, which was negotiated by Aung San, the founder of the modern Burmese military and father of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Burma’s real troubles began in 1962, when the Burmese army, led by Ne Win, seized the country’s parliament and dissolved it, as well as suspended the constitution. He claimed that Burma wasn’t yet suited to parliamentary democracy, and installed his own party, the Burma Socialist Program Party.

Many of the rules and laws enforced were bizarre. Ne Win and the other generals being superstitious, ordered the state mint to only make bank notes that were divisible by nine. This meant that bank notes with values of 50 and 100 kyat were rendered useless overnight, which ruined the savings of millions. New 45 and 90 kyat banknotes were introduced. This ruined the economy even further, culminating with a U.N. designation of Burma as a “least developed country.” Ne Win was so superstitious that he would trample on meat in the mirror, then shoot his reflection believing that it would prevent an assassination attempt.

These are minor issues, compared to the low standard of living and lack of civil liberties in the country, but this could be changing. Burma held an election in November, with Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, winning an outright majority. Unfortunately, due to the remaining paranoia of the military, they still retain 25 per cent of seats by law, and conveniently, a law passed by the military government bars Aung San from being the actual president, as she was once married to a non-Burmese man and has non-Burmese children.

Many of these issues are somewhat well known on the world stage. What many often forget is that an internal conflict has been taking place in Burma ever since the British left. And while the Syrian Civil War has produced millions of refugees, there are hundreds of thousands as a result of the various internal problems in Burma.

According to the CIA World Factbook, only 68 per cent of Burma’s population is ethnically Burmese. The remainder are Karen, Shan, Mon, and other ethnicities, and many of them are being persecuted by the military government at any given time.

As you might expect, many of these minority groups are culturally and linguistically unique and follow different religions. While the Burmese majority follow Theravada Buddhism, the Rohingya, for instance, are Muslim, and are also among the most persecuted by the Burmese military.

For them, trouble started in the 1940’s, as the Rohingya were loyal to the British, and this came back to bite them after Burma was granted independence from the British. Along with India splitting up, many Muslims fled India to Burma, which wasn’t liked by the new Burmese leadership.

The Burmese government doesn’t consider them to be citizens, and they’re forbidden by law from having more than two children, receiving an education, owning property, or travelling.

Some have described the Rohingya as the “world’s most unwanted people,” as some countries, such as Indonesia and Thailand, have turned their boats away.