Myanmar has a Buddhist majority. The Muslim minority in Myanmar mostly consists of the Rohingya people and the descendants of Muslim immigrants from India (including what is now Bangladesh) and China (the ancestors of Chinese Muslims in Myanmar came from the Yunnan province), as well as descendants of earlier Arab and Persian settlers. Indian Muslims were brought to Burma by the British to aid them in clerical work and business. After independence, many Muslims retained their previous positions and achieved prominence in business and politics.
The lives of Burmese Muslims are hanging on a delicate thread due to the injustices being committed against them. Burma’s new human rights commission has not played an effective role in monitoring abuses in the Arakan State. Assessment of the sectarian violence claimed all humanitarian needs were being met, and failed to address the issues of Rohingya citizenship and persecution. Since the June violence, thousands of Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh where they have faced pushbacks from the Bangladeshi government in violation of international law.
Bangladesh is obligated to open its borders and provide the Rohingya at least temporary refuge until it is safe for them to return. Human Rights Watch called on concerned governments to assist Bangladesh in doing so and press both Burma and Bangladesh to end abuses and ensure the safety of the Rohingya. In such a trying time, these people must be supported.
ZOHRA TAIYEB
Karachi
