Al Jazeera Documentary Tells Story of Rohingya Genocide in Burma

The targeted persecution of the Rohingya is similar to that of other regime unwanted minorities in Burma, which has been instigated by the national military and any local allies.

Rohingya child

(RANGOON, Burma Mizzima News) - A brand-new documentary by Al Jazeera traces the history of ethnic cleansing in Burma, now known as Myanmar. It is important that a major network invested time in the subject, however beware of pre-attack historical inaccuracies that absolve the central Burman authoritarian rulers of responsibility.

Al Jazeera should be held accountable for this serious and obvious misinformation.  The accurate history, not in long form, but refuting their claims, with references, needs to be submitted and published in response.

There is inaccurate historical information that inaccurately and wholly lays the historical origin and instigation Rohingya's persecution and ethnic cleansing on the Rakhine since the 1980's. General Ne Win's leadership sent orders for Rohingya movement to be restricted in 1964. Only Rakhine were allowed into the newly formed only solely allowed post-1962 coup political party.

The targeted persecution of the Rohingya is similar to that of other regime unwanted minorities in Burma, which has been instigated by the national military and any local allies. In 1978, it was the central government military that attacked Rohingya driving off ~400,00 in addition to the 10,000's killed.

It was the central military that refused repatriation of Rohingya from Bangladesh stating they were not legal Burmese citizens then refuted this attempt to absolve themselves of responsibility by agreeing to take Rohingya back.

(Special thanks to Dr. Nora Rawl)

The ruling military's Rohingya's citizenship denial, marriage and birth restrictions were unofficially ordered and acted upon for decades before official laws and contracts were written.

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/aljazeerainvestigates/2012/12/2012125122215836351.html

In spite of some gross historical inaccuracies pointed by her, I am glad to see that a major network like al Jazeera viewed around the globe has the wisdom to bring up the case for all to see. (For Rohingya identity and demography controversy, see, e.g., http://drhabibsiddiqui.blogspot.com/2011/10/analysis-of-muslim-identity-and.html
http://drhabibsiddiqui.blogspot.com/2011/10/muslim-factor-in-arakan-burma.html
http://drhabibsiddiqui.blogspot.com/2011/10/muslim-identity-and-demography-in.html
or some other websites like Asian Tribune, Ovi Magazine, Media Monitors Network; and also my latest series of articles on Rohingya Question - serialized in the Asian Tribune.)

This video needs to be shared with others so that we can stop this on-going genocide before it is too late. In my writings and speeches, I have used the term lately after serious readings on the subject.

http://drhabibsiddiqui.blogspot.com/2012/11/genocide-of-rohingyas-of-myanmar.html

There is no shying from such a conclusion that was also reached by Professor William Schabas, the former president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars.

He says: "When you see measures preventing births, trying to deny the identity of the people, hoping to see that they really are eventually, that they no longer exist; denying their history, denying the legitimacy of their right to live where they live, these are all warning signs that mean it's not frivolous to envisage the use of the term genocide."

Regards,
Habib Siddiqui