Statement made by Dr Syed Hamid Albar
OIC Special Envoy for Myanmar to the Contact Meeting on
29 September 2015
I
would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to OIC for inviting me to
give an update of my activities as OIC Special Envoy for Myanmar.
As
we know, there is a humanitarian crisis taking place nearly every day in
Myanmar.
Muslim
in Burma are dispersed geographically and are highly diverse in ethnicity;
Rohingya in Arakan, Putonghua (Mandarin) speaking Panthay or Chinese Muslim in
north-eastern Burma, Malay speaking Pashu in Kaw-thaung in southern Tenansarin,
and Burmese speaking Bama Muslim or Burmese Muslim (sometimes called Pathi). The
Rohingya speak a language similar to what is spoken in Chittagong region in
Bangladesh, mixed with words from Urdu, Persian and others. The
"traditional home land" of Rohingya, in North Arakan is the largest
Muslim concentration. Today, the Rohingya population is estimated to be 3.5mil,
including Rohingya diaspora of around 1.6 million.
And
in fact, Rohingya in specific are the most prosecuted minority in the world.
Their problem is an ethnic, religious and political prosecution to rid Arakan
of the Muslim population. More than 1.6mil Rohingya were either expelled or
have had to leave the country for their lives. Most of them are living in
Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia
etc with the hope, to return to their homeland.
The
reality on the ground is - xenophobia against the Muslims.
There is a popular slogan in the country; "to be Burmese is to be
called Buddhist". Islam
is insulted, comparing the Muslims to animal doctrines. The Rohingya are
despised and called influx viruses, ugly ogres and dogs by Rakhine academics
and Buddhist extremists. This is systematic racism and Islamophobia.
On
July 30th this year, four Rohingya men were released for the second time under
a Presidential Amnesty. For two years, Mr Ba Thar, Mr Kyaw Khin, Mr Kyaw Myint
and his son Hla Myint had been in a revolving door of arrest, detention,
pardon, re-arrest, re-sentence and re-pardon. All this, because they had
peacefully insisted on their Rohingya identity. We hope they will not be put on
a third round of arrest, detention and pardon.
In
many ways, this case is symbolic of our efforts to halt the persecution of the
Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar. We have all, in our own way,
suggested, begged, and even pressured, the authorities in Myanmar to restore
citizenship to the Rohingya, to comply with international norms, and to allow
the delivery of urgently-needed life-saving humanitarian aid. We have been
successful in gaining commitments and assurances, however we have also suffered
setbacks after each step forward.
Much
of what I am about to raise is already known to many of you, although not
everyone is willing to admit the severity of the problems we face. As OIC’s
Special Envoy to Myanmar, it is my duty to raise these issues.
Since
my visit to New York City last year, Myanmar has yet to fulfil key commitments.
In some aspects, it has gone backwards, particularly in the context of the
upcoming general elections which are scheduled on November 8.
In
June, it was confirmed by the Myanmar government that 666,831 “White Card” or
Temporary Registration Card holders in Rakhine state were disenfranchised.
These "white card" holders, who were allowed to vote in previous
elections, are now excluded, making this the first general elections in Myanmar’s
history to exclude Rohingya. The “green cards” offered by the authorities have
not addressed this problem.
Meanwhile,
the incumbent Member of Parliament Shwe Maung, a Rohingya, has been barred from
the elections. 15 out of 18 Muslim candidates of the Democracy and Human Rights
Party were also disqualified. While I estimate that a million Muslim voters
will be excluded from this election, I am also mindful that hundreds of
thousands of voters from other minorities will also suffer the same fate. This
is a grave concern to those of us who have been working to achieve a durable,
political solution.
The
citizenship verification process, designed to give the Rohingya and other
minorities the chance to apply for a lower form of citizenship, is creeping at
a slow rate. Previously, we were assured that this would be a flexible process
that would bestow legal protection on most applicants; however the success rate
for applicants has been less than 10 per cent. In Buthidaung township, it was
10 percent, in Myebon Township, it was only seven percent.
In
2015, the government of Myanmar fast-tracked a set of four controversial bills,
known as the ‘National Race and Religion Protection’ package. The Religious
Conversion Bill, the Interfaith Marriage Bill, the Monogamy Bill, and the
Population Control Bill are openly racist, anti-Muslim, compromising freedom of
religion, women’s rights, freedom to marry, and reproductive rights. Despite
domestic and international criticism, all four bills have all been passed by
the end of August, and signed into law by the President.
Myanmar
has played on religious differences and exploited people’s fears to foster
division. I echo the UN Special Rapporteur to Myanmar’s concern about selective
use of the charge of “insulting religion.” A politician who spoke out against
religious extremism was handed two years in prison with hard labour, while
another politician inciting people to “kill, shoot and bury” the Rohingya has
yet to experience any consequences, let alone legal action.
These
challenges have not slowed down our efforts to change the situation, and to
offer aid to as many people as possible. While relief and education efforts
have continued for the Rohingya and Muslim displaced people in Rakhine state,
we have also been reaching out to displaced communities now located in regional
states such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
In
April this year, we brought together representatives from the interfaith
community and the human rights community in Myanmar and the region for a
roundtable in Kuala Lumpur. This was an innovative effort to take an
inter-sectoral approach to our work, and we are beginning to see some of these
linkages take root. I have been inspired by the cooperation and coordination
between women activists of the Rohingya and non-Rohingya background. These
committed and capable women have held on to their solidarity despite verbal
attacks and vilification.
In
addition, we were able to convince several former ASEAN leaders to send an
unprecedented letter to the ASEAN Summit to raise the alarm on the growing
intolerance in Myanmar and the serious implications on the reform process. We
worked with regional civil society to call for a review of the ASEAN's
non-interference policy, which has been misused to block diplomatic
interventions to address the Rohingya crisis.
The
combination of these advocacy and relief efforts have helped lay the groundwork
for community and government responses to the Rohingya boat crisis just weeks
later, in May.
In
past years, many have warned of the growing scale of the Rohingya refugee
exodus, and the increased vulnerability of the Rohingya to human trafficking.
This situation hit crisis level in the Andaman Sea in May of this year, with
thousands of desperate children, women and men left adrift. We cannot deny the
link with the Rohingya’s recent disenfranchisement, the forced collection of
the ‘white cards’ and the offer of a ‘green card’ that does not give them the
right to vote in the upcoming election. The barriers to livelihood, healthcare,
education, the restrictions on freedom of movement and right to family life
have all driven the Rohingya to desperation, to risk their lives on fragile rafts.
I
am proud to note that some of the roundtable participants were able to
contribute in small ways, to persuade regional governments to adopt a new
approach of search-and-rescue and welcoming boat people, instead of preventing
them from landing. However, this is only a stopgap measure, and I am concerned
that we still urgently need to shift the Myanmar government's policies and
practices. Otherwise, we will see another wave of the Rohingya boat people at
sea in the upcoming sailing season, before we can even resolve the situation of
boatpeople already in our care.
Recent
floods severely damaged camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the Rakhine
State, which were never meant to last one, let alone three years. I note that
unlike the disaster of Cyclone Nargis in 2007, when Myanmar refused
international humanitarian operations in country, this time the government
acted promptly and facilitated relief agencies’ work. This is a notable
development and demonstrates that our engagement can and will bring change.
At
the same time, it is undeniable that the international community has not had
the influence it should. We need to be much more united and coordinated in our
work, to shield ourselves from the divide-and-rule strategies that have
undermined our effectiveness for years.
OIC
needs to be assertive and cohesive in tackling these issues, and must work with
communities to encourage reconciliation and peaceful dialogue countering the
climate of fear and hatred. Furthermore, we must not compromise on the need to
restore the Rohingya’s right to citizenship. This element has been flagged time
and time again, yet the Rohingya remain without full citizenship and the
necessary rights to guarantee safety for themselves and their families.
Conclusion
and recommendations:
Some
of my audience may think that I am prescribing a hard and uncompromising stance
that will cause problems for ASEAN or the international community. However, it
is ASEAN that has most to lose if we let the sores fester: refugees are already
on the shores and more will board boats as soon as this monsoon ends. It is not
only about losing face, it is also a question of building a strong and safe
ASEAN community, that is of benefit to the OIC and global community. The UN and
the OIC must work with ASEAN member states to resolve this human rights crisis.
If not, we will find ourselves doomed to the same situation as our four
Rohingya brothers mentioned earlier, stuck in a cycle of small success and big
setbacks.
As
such, I would like to suggest the following appropriate measures:
Immediate
term:
OIC
to invest and allocate humanitarian aid for the Rohingya people inside Myanmar;
and
OIC
to cooperate with organizations that specialize in genocide prevention
Short
term:
organize
more international events on human rights advocacy. Human rights experts and
academicians should work together in finding out amicable solutions to tackle
issue of genocide and mass killings in Myanmar.
Medium
term:
seek
channel to reconcile the existing local Rakhine community and the Rakhine living
in exile.
Long
term:
encourage
and support the exiled Rohingya to return to Myanmar on education and talent
development;
provide
funding and techniques to the activist inside and outside Myanmar; and
intellectual
discourses and academic discussions on issues related to the Rohingya community.
Finally,
given the complexities of the ongoing problem in Myanmar, it is only natural
that we weigh all options carefully and in a pragmatic manner to achieve a
desirable outcome. On this respect, a deeper collaboration with state and non-state
actors is definitely necessary.
Thank
you.
