Rohingya take up arms
ETHNIC GROUP IS BEING CAST AS THE ‘PALESTINIANS OF SOUTHEAST’
Armed resistance is one of many developments for Myanmar’s persecuted Muslim minority |
The insurgent group announced its existence with a predawn attack on three Myanmar border guard posts. Hundreds of Rohingya militants, armed mainly with knives and slingshots, killed nine police officers and seized weapons and ammunition.
It was about time, Naing Lin, 28, said of the October attack near his village, Kyee Kan Pyin.
“The government is torturing us,” he said by phone last week. “The aim of the group is to protect our rights. That’s all. They are doing what they should do.”
The beginning of an armed resistance is just one of several developments that are shifting the landscape for the Rohingya, Myanmar’s persecuted Muslim minority, with potentially farreaching consequences.
The group that attacked the border posts, Harakah Al Yaqin, is believed to have several hundred recruits, substantial popular support and ties to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, according to a report by the International Crisis Group. Separately, there has been a surge of international humanitarian and political support for the Rohingya cause, mainly from Muslim countries that have cast the Rohingya as the Palestinians of Southeast Asia.
The combination threatens to internationalise and escalate a long-simmering conflict. The Myanmar government has responded to the attacks with a sweeping counter-insurgency campaign that witnesses and human rights groups say has included the killing of hundreds of civilians, the burning of villages and the systematic rape of women and girls.
In addition, some analysts fear that turning the Rohingya into a transnational Muslim cause could draw foreign militants of varying stripes to Myanmar, adding terrorism to an already combustible mix and giving the Myanmar military a convenient excuse for a draconian response.
Overdue
But after decades of persecution and violence, to which the rest of the world largely responded with a shrug, some Rohingya say an armed response is overdue.
“They are doing good things,” Naing Lin said of the insurgents. “They are protecting our rights. If it’s needed, I might join them.”
The attack on the border posts in Rakhine state was a “game changer,” according to the International Crisis Group’s report.
Harakah Al Yaqin, Arabic for “Faith Movement,” is directed by about 20 Rohingya emigres in Saudi Arabia and led in the field by another 20 or so Rohingya with international training and experience in guerrilla warfare, the report said. It is well connected in Pakistan and Bangladesh and appears to be attracting
All this clearly demonstrates Daesh slowly and steadily making inroads to influence the Rohingya issue. You can even say it’s an attempt to hijack the Rohingya agenda.” Rohan Gunaratna | Professor of security studies
financial backing from the Rohingya diaspora, the report said.
The militia enjoys growing support from many Rohingya in Myanmar who see it as the only alternative to government repression, the International Crisis Group said.
The organisation warned that a continued heavy-handed approach by the military would backfire, attracting stronger backing from the Rohingya and possibly inspiring foreign groups to join the conflict.
There have already been signs of interest by Daesh. In November, Indonesian authorities arrested three men who claimed allegiance to the Daesh and were accused of planning to bomb prominent sites across Jakarta, including the Myanmar embassy.
This month, Malaysian authorities detained a man who the government said was a Daesh follower heading to Myanmar to carry out attacks.