The " Rohingya " Problem !

The misery of unwelcome minorities at war with their hosts is often a tragic leftover from the days of European nations establishing their colonial empires.   At a time when Britain ruled both India and Burma and they needed workers to establish a new industry they simply moved expatriates from one country to another.

How the world has changed.   India gained freedom in 1947 but divided into India and Pakistan to separate warring religions.  Part of Pakistan later hived off to form Bangladesh and Burma changed its name to Myanmar.  A Muslim minority stranded in Myanmar are now the "Rohingya " and they are persecuted by their Buddhist hosts.

There are about a million Rohingya in a remote coastal part of Myanmar bordering Bangladesh.  They have lived there for many generations under British rule but the relationship soured after that country's independence.  The Rohingya live in poverty and they are refused national identity. Now they are experiencing a campaign of terror inflicted by the Myanmar army.  Their villages are being burned and they are subjected to rape and extermination.  Hundreds of thousands have been fleeing to Bangladesh.

In effect, this is a classic example of  " ethnic cleansing ".  The Myanmar Buddhists want to drive them out - and Bangladesh is an overcrowded country - and doesn't want them.  The United Nations is calling for calm and trying to negotiate a settlement.

Myanmar is not a normal country.  For years it was ruled by a military junta and only recently has it emerged as a part democracy.  The military yielded some power to Aung San Suu  Kyi but they control the parliament and retain full control of law and order - and defence.

One of the problems is that hot heads amongst the Rohingya took up arms and attacked police posts. That has caused the military to launch a reign of terror on the entire population and Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal for calm is being ignored.  The military claim that this Muslim insurgency will attract freedom fighters from Islamic State and they intend to stamp out the insurrection before it gathers strength.   They seem intent on pushing the Rohingya over the border and not letting them return.

Aung San Suu Kyi is in a difficult position.  The Buddhist masses  support the Rohingya removal and if she speaks out in their favour she will lose their support.   She walks a delicate balance, imposing a small degree of conformity on the army and gently nudging Myanmar towards becoming a democratic country.  She is losing world support because of her silence on the Rohingya.

Most of the Rohingya are now living in squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh.  Their villages are burnt to the ground and the Myanmar army shows no sign of stopping its campaign.  It seems the Rohingya will shortly be entirely displaced and the people of Myanmar will have got their wish.  Unfortunately, the Rohingya may end up being an unwelcome Muslim minority imposed on a resentful Muslim majority country.   Their impoverishment is unlikely to improve.

The United Nations may impose sanctions on Myanmar, but that country is struggling to find its place in the world and sanctions may cause the army to reimpose the control it is only slowly yielding.  If force resulted in a Rohingya return, it would probably become a religious civil war as freedom fighters join what is fast becoming a religious jihad.

When religion is involved, sanity rarely prevails !