19 March, 2024

Blog

Rohingya Crisis: Don’t Look Through Coloured Glasses!

By Mohamed Harees –

Lukman Harees

Facts, eye witness accounts and statistics are stubborn. It is a matter of conscience, the world leaders, Nobel Laureates, intellectuals, Media and also the human rights lobby groups have agreed upon( of course except some avowed anti Muslim sections). The Rohingya Crisis referred to as a human catastrophe of exceptional proportions; a text book case of  ethnic cleansing, a total genocide in the making, a clear case for being charged for crimes against humanity and the lowest level of barbarity, humans can stoop to!   

An estimated one million stateless Rohingyans who have been stripped of their citizenship in Myanmar and were forced to live in modern-day concentration camps, surrounded by government military checkpoints for a long time are now being reduced to a status of non-entity and their identity targeted for ultimate extinction, with scant regard to human dignity and rights. Every day seems to bring worse news about the spiralling conflict in Rakhine State in western Myanmar. Evidence cannot be clearer. As Lynsey Addario, in Time says, ‘I have seldom seen the systematic oppression and abuse of an entire population go almost entirely unaided and undocumented. The camps and settlements in Myanmar and Bangladesh are conspicuously bereft of the international aid community and, consequently, a countless number of Rohingya are dying undocumented. This is the invisible genocide’.

It is therefore a matter of extreme shame for the Myanmar military government, and Aung San Suu Kyi to be in a state of denial , say it is more misinformation or fake news, or put all the blame on a weak militant outfit ARSA and say that this wipe-out is unfinished business. Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader, has denied that ethnic cleansing is taking place and dismissed international criticism of her handling of the crisis. Myanmar has also gone further by asking China and Russia to shoot down any UN Security Council initiatives to force its hand to do justice to this most persecuted and single largest stateless community in the world.   

A shameful attempt is also being made to portray these Rohingyan victims of this ethnic cleansing as perpetrators by posting fake photos of them burning their own homes and villages. This assertion cannot be further from the truth. Aung San Suu Kyi’s spokesman, Zaw Htay, recently posted what he said were “photos of Bengalis setting fire to their houses”. The pictures of several sword-wielding women wearing headscarfs and men in Islamic prayer caps setting a house on fire, which were published in one of the country’s leading newspapers, were also shared widely by the military.

But the photographs were criticised on social media with some pointing to signs they said showed the photos had been staged. Also, it did not take long for Internet sleuths to raise questions: Why was one of the men putting on a prayer cap as he watched the house burn? Why did the two women who appeared in some of the photos have their heads covered in scarves that resembled table cloth? Also hours later, an eagle-eyed reader spotted one of the “Bengalis” in a photo published online by another media group, Mizzima. The photo accompanied a story about Hindu families who had fled the recent violence in Rakhine state. The man was wearing the same green plaid shirt. But after the images began stirring doubt. Zaw Htay said the following day that government was investigating the images and would take action against those who set the fires. He also said police were interrogating the Rakhine man who took the images; the man could not be reached by phone. It was unclear when those images were taken. But pictures recorded at the public school housing displaced Hindus clearly showed the same man and woman, in the same clothes.

While global attention has thus focused on the horrific tales of shooting, arson and rape emerging from the many hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya who have fled from western Myanmar to Bangladesh over the past few weeks, Burmese language media have been trying to divert attention by dwelling more on the threat posed by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which has declared war on the Myanmar military on behalf of the disenfranchised Muslim Rohingya minority. Myanmar has declared it a terrorist organisation. ARSA leader said in an interview that the attacks were carried out to “defend our civilian population who have lost their voice, identity and humane status to stand up in the face of an inhumane regime hell-bent on their extinction . UN in fact also blamed decades of persistent and systematic human rights violations against Rohingya as one prime reason which has almost certainly contributed to the nurturing of ‘violent extremism’, with everyone ultimately losing. UN Secretary General rightly said “Shuffling all the blame on insurgents doesn’t spare the Burmese [Myanmar] government from its international obligations to stop abuses and investigate alleged violations.”

Rohingyans are not ‘fly by nights’. The Rohingya trace their origins in the region to the fifteenth century, when thousands of Muslims came to the former Arakan Kingdom. Many others arrived during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Rakhine was governed by colonial rule as part of British India. Since independence in 1948, successive governments in Burma, renamed Myanmar in 1989, have refuted the Rohingya’s historical claims and denied the group recognition as one of the country’s 135 ethnic groups. The Rohingya are largely considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, even though many trace their roots in Myanmar back centuries.

The government refuses to grant the Rohingya citizenship, and as a result the vast majority of the group’s members have no legal documentation, effectively making them stateless. Myanmar’s 1948 citizenship law was already exclusionary, and the military junta, which seized power in 1962, introduced a law twenty years later stripping the Rohingya of access to full citizenship. In 2014 the government held a UN-backed national census, its first in thirty years. The Muslim minority group was initially permitted to identify as Rohingya, but after Buddhist nationalists led by dreaded Ven Wirathu of 969 movement, threatened to boycott the census, the government decided the Rohingya could only register if they identified as Bengali instead. Similarly, against under pressure from these Buddhist nationalists protesting the Rohingya’s right to vote in a 2015 constitutional referendum, then-President Thein Sein cancelled the temporary identity cards in February 2015, effectively revoking their newly gained right to vote. Ven. Wirathu is under a ban but his movement is very much lively spreading hatred.

The Myanmar government has been effectively institutionalizing discrimination against the ethnic group through restrictions on marriage, family planning, employment, education, religious choice, and freedom of movement. Rakhine State is Myanmar’s least developed state, with a poverty rate of 78 percent, compared to the 37.5 percent national average, according to World Bank estimates. Widespread poverty, poor infrastructure, and a lack of employment opportunities in Rakhine have exacerbated the cleavage between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya. This tension is deepened by religious differences that have at times erupted into conflict.

Violence has been breaking out from time to time since 2012, when Buddhist nationalists then accused Muslim men of raping a Buddhist woman and responded by burning Rohingya homes, killing more than 280 people and displacing tens of thousands. Clashes in Rakhine broke out again in August 2017 after ARSA claimed responsibility for coordinated attacks on police and army posts. Fighting between the military and insurgents sent thousands of Rohingya to the country’s border with Bangladesh as government troops opened fire on civilians. Myanmar’s security forces have also allegedly planted land mines near border crossings used by Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. More than 370,000 Rohingya have reportedly left Myanmar, approximately a third of the estimated Rohingya population in the country.

Today, Aung San Suu Kyi stands accused of complicity in crimes against humanity. She cannot say that she is helpless as this Nobel Laureate was a leader who rose to power armed with only her words and  her moral authority and therefore she can and should use them in a cause – human rights – which she purported to champion. Thus, she should be able to shape Burmese public opinion, and to channel it towards curbing the military ,without violating the Nobel Prize principles ,based on which she was recognised. She should listen to world opinion.

Today, the whole world has risen to condemn this genocidal campaign, ethnic cleansing, commission of war crimes as well as Aung San Suu Kyi’s silence. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took the rare step of writing a letter to the Security Council urging members to send a message to Myanmar authorities to end the security operation, calling the killings “catastrophic” and “completely unacceptable. The UN High Commissioner of Human Rights called it a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and was clearly disproportionate and without regard for basic principles of international law and “very likely” amounted to crimes against humanity. Yanghee Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, has also noted that the humanitarian situation has been deteriorating rapidly and that many thousands of people are increasingly at risk of grave violations of their human rights. Rakhine Advisory Commission, led by its chairman, the former UN Chief Kofi Annan, has called this tragedy a worsening human rights crisis and called for urgent action to avoid further aggravation.

The Dalai Lama, the Buddhist spiritual leader of Tibet, said those carrying out the campaign “should remember Buddha,” adding: “I think in such circumstances Buddha would definitely give help to those poor Muslims.” Desmond Tutu has condemned his fellow Nobel laureate and old friend Aung San Suu Kyi over her silence on the treatment of the Rohingya Muslims. Twelve Nobel Prize laureates have written an open letter to the UN Security Council urging it to intervene in the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.

Human Rights Watch said “The deplorable actions of the military could be part of a widespread and systematic attack on a civilian population and may amount to crimes against humanity.” Amnesty International, described the current situation as an “ethnic cleansing on a large scale ”. They have also unearthed new evidence that security forces in Burma have been using scorched-earth tactics to drive out Rohingya Muslims. Fortify Rights said “These apartheid-like restrictions drive communities apart rather than together, eroding security and heightening the risk of mass killing”.

In this context, there is no reason for the UN and the international community to ignore this crisis anymore, or delay applying pressure on Myanmar to stop this aggression  and as requested by Nobel Laureates ! ‘Grant the Rohingya citizenship; invite international observers to visit vulnerable areas; invite back the Rohingya who have fled; build camps in Myanmar for the refugees with UN financing and supervision; and ensure political freedom’. More importantly, or at the least, all of us at the gross-root level, should view this for what it is – a humane catastrophe and therefore empathise with the victims and help them to recover, without insulting and hurting them further by making them the perpetrators instead.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Latest comments

  • 14
    3

    We don’t mind sympathazing Rohinga Muslims. Please keep them in Myanmar or any other country.We don’t need any more Muslims here .We have enough of them converting our cities and towns into their own paradise gradually.They are populating the country like rabbits and adding more to them like adding fuel to flames.We are very sorry about your plight and we empathise with the fellow Muslims who feel for you like this learned writer.If we can send something to help you we have no hesitation of doing that .But please please spare our country as we have enough problems to sort out already .

    • 2
      0

      Reading the comments here by Buddhists and Hindus, all unable to show one bit of concern for suffering fellow humans while the Muslims are selectively sympathetic, I think the Portuguese were quite right in trying to eradicate all three as practiced here.

  • 11
    2

    Dear Lukman, world always looked at such problems through coloured glasses. When 100,000 Tamils were killed and one million displaced, no one including the current vociferous Muslim countries took notice of it. This happened in Rwanda, South Sudan and other instances. So what makes you think that anything drastic will happen. UN is powerless to interfere into the affairs of a sovereign state. Even the security council could do nothing if any motion is vetoed by a permanent member. You have to understand this, just how Tamils have understood this in a painful manner. What you say about human catastrophe and ethnic cleansing is unquestionable and should be condemned, but this cannot be labelled as genocide, because despite losing several lives, what happened to Tamils in Srilanka does not qualify for genocide. In Rwanda and South Sudan more than one million lives were lost, and thereby they qualified to be called genocide. Already 400,000 Rohingyas have crossed over to Bangladesh, which means that even if the rest remaining in Myanmar are to be massacred, still it does not qualify. This is why UNHCR has carefully avoided that word. I can understand your anger and frustration about fellow Muslims in Bangladesh when you see the pictures, but did the world including Muslim countries shed a single tear when pictures of atrocities on Tamils were shown. You are giving in detail of the unfair treatment meted out to Rohingyas. If you are fair minded, you should see a parallel between what happened to them and how Tamils in Srilanka suffered. When you had failed to say anything about Tamils in Srilanka who are your fellow citizens. what is the reason that you are concerned about Rohingyas in a far away country, just because they are Muslims. When Srilanka did not care for Desmond Tutu and Dalai Lama, and are continuing to carry out atrocities, do you expect a stronger Myanmar to comply.

    • 3
      5

      Dear Dr Gnana
      You are very critical about others fir ignoring the plight of Tamils.I dont kbow how you find this figure of one million.My understandi g was whole Twmil population.was no more than three million.Substantialnumber of them migrated to other countries.Siginficant amount persished duri g the 30 years war.According to your figures North and East must be empty of Tamils at present.This is hilarious.Though you point fingers at others for ignoring the plight of tour own Tamils the same finger is directed at you for ignoring the grave atrocities commited by your beloved Tamil Tigers.Bit hypocrite isnt it.

      • 2
        0

        Priyan, please do not distort truth to cover up atrocities committed by your people on Tamils. In 1983 riots over 3000 Tamils were but the government put the figure at 800 to cover up. The refugee figure of one million is not in one go, unlike in Myanmar, but over a period of several years of war. Due to 1983 riots, thousands mainly rich Indian Tamils took refuge in India while most of Ceylon Tamils took refuge in northern and eastern provinces. At that stage no one migrated to Western countries. But after that when government intensified the war, several Tamils living in Northern province and Trincomalee district, sought refuge in India, taking risk to their lives, making the dangerous sea journey. Some of them were drowned and some were shot dead by the merciless murderous navy. Still there are over 100,000 refugees in camps in India, unable to return as their lands are occupied by Security forces in the north and appropriated by Sinhalese and Muslims in the east. Due to political reasons government do not want them to return.

      • 2
        0

        Priyan, You seem knot to know the meaning of the word hypocrite. All fair minded Tamils including the political leaders have acknowledged atrocities committed by LTTE on civilians of all ethnic groups and have apologised for it. This is not so of Sinhala or Muslims bar a few who have refused to accept atrocities committed by Security forces and Sinhala and Muslim civilians on Tamils. I have worked as a medico-legal officer in the war zone, and I have documented impartially all atrocities committed by various parties including LTTE. If you take northern province the number of representatives to be elected to parliament has decreased from 11 in 1983 to 06 at present in Jaffna electorate signifying that there is a loss of 400,000 population than before. In Vanni electorate, Tamils used to elect 04 out of five members and now are able to elect only 03, signifying a loss of 80,000 people. In Eastern province, Tamils used to elect 02 members in Trincomalee out of 04, 04 members in Batticaloa out of 05 and 01 member out of 05 in Amparai. Now they are able to elect, 01 in Trincomalee, 03 in Batticaloa, and 01 out of 06 in Amparai, giving a loss of 160,000 Tamils in the province. This shows that 640,000 Tamils have been displaced from these two provinces only signifying ethnic cleansing.

        • 0
          1

          Thank you.Now you are expressing your views about LTTE since my prompting.Anyway that itself is great.I have no doubt some rogue elements of security forces commited various crimes during this heinous war.As a youngster I witnessed 83 july riots in Colombo and the bitterness of failing to ensure law and order of the country. I also experienced the JVP insurgency in South have first hand experience of how rogue individuals of armed forces treated their own kind when they could enforce jungle law on fellow citizens.I honestly sympathise with the people of North and East for the excruciate hards ships they had to go through and also the loss of civilian life due to indiscriminate war of 30 years.As you have rightly pointed out racist elements of both side hinder the true reconciliation .In a way North and East residents may be believing some relief with succumb of LTTE. When I read Niromi De Zoysa’s Tamil Tigress I could see through their sentiments as we have faced similar situation due to the madness of JVP in South.Tamil youth and Sinhala youth have both shed their blood and we should make something good out of it to the long term stabilty and prosperity of the country.Otherwise loss of their precious lives would be in vain. This is where the voice of fair minded people is important. To strike to balance when accusing of the atrocities of the other party please don’t hesitate to admit crimes commited by your own side also.Your voice will gain more credibility and acceptance for a wider community world wide. This is the need of the day and the only way to suppress the ugly noise of racist bigots who ask for pound of flesh and nothing else.We need fair minded learned people to come out and call ‘Spade a spade” to put things right.Isn’t that the task ahead of us.

          • 0
            0

            Priyan, I have always expressed the correct picture impartially and not just because you asked me. Your statement that only a few rogue elements of security forces committed various crimes is not correct. If you find out about crimes committed by security forces, you will find that it is norm and not exception. That is the reason why no government will ever hold an inquiry. You have witnessed only 1983 riots, but I have witnessed riots in 1958, 1977 and 1983, in which none of the Sinhala perpetrators were brought to justice nor any of the Tamil victims given compensation. So Tamils expecting any government to punish members of security forces going against the wish of majority of the Sinhalese is far fetched. If you see that admission of guilt and repentance has come mainly from fair minded Tamils and their politicians, while few Sinhalese have also done the same, but sadly no Muslim has done so. For final justice you have to stand up against extremists from all sides, and make them redundant.

          • 1
            0

            When Tamils are extending the hand of friendship by to find a honourable solution without division of the land, Sinhalese are not moving an inch forward. Despite supreme court giving a verdict that federalism is not division of the country, how many Sinhalese are prepared to share power and territory with Tamils on the basis of federalism. Do you not think that it is the Sinhalese who are the stumbling block on this. Further Sinhalese and Muslims are shouting about ethnic cleansing committed by LTTE, but are silent about the ethnic cleansing committed by Sinhalese in Eastern province and border areas on northern province and by Muslims in eastern province. At present there is no LTTE to commit ethnic cleansing, but Sinhala and Muslim forces are active in continuing to alter demographic pattern by settling outsiders in both north and east, at the same time preventing displaced Tamils to get back the lands vacated by them due to the war as they are occupied by Sinhalese and Muslims.

          • 0
            0

            Whatever government comes to power they will not do anything to bring about true reconciliation, as the primary criteria for it is justice, which large section of Sinhalese are not willing to consider. Therefore it is the duty of the civil society consisting of fair minded members of all communities to get together and initiate this process similar to the South African one. You can take the example of how settlements were reached in other countries like Bosnia, where all lands appropriated by Serbs were returned to Muslims even to the extent of evicting the Serbs who had done so. Will this happen in Srilanka where majority of the victims whose lands were appropriated by others are Tamils, while almost all the perpetrators are Sinhalese and Muslims.. Another factor is the territory concerning merger of north and east. If merger is unfair to Sinhalese, majority of whom are setters within last 100 years and to Mulsims who were settled as refugees only 400 years ago, then to keep them separate is unfair for the Tamils who are living in east for 2000 years. If you take the census done in the past you could see how the demographic pattern has been changed deliberately over the years to deny Tamils their land.by Sinhalese and Muslims. I have explained how north-east merger be effected on the basis of natural justice and international norms which will be a win-win solution for all. You will find that it is Sinhalese and now joined by Muslims who are not willing for any reasonable solution.

      • 1
        1

        Priyan, if you are a fair minded and honest person, please go ahead and mend fences with the Tamils in Srilanka, now that they have extended the hand of friendship, Do you knot agree that people like you who are the stumbling block for permanent peace where all could live in equality and justice. In UK we are having problem of bringing both communities together due to Sinhala racists obstructing it and the same thing is happening in Srilanka. Please stop disseminating lies and half truths about suffering of Tamils and if you visit western countries, you can see them prospering. In Canada there are 400,00 Tamils almost all went there as refugees, who had a recent road show with 200,000 visitors including the Prime Minister. In UK there are 200,000 Tamils about half of them refugees and the rest migrated as professionals. In France, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Norway and Denmark, there are over 2000,000 Tamils arriving as refugees. With those in other countries like Australia, New Zealand, USA and India the total number of Tamil refugees reach one million and corroborates with my figure. Myanmar is foolish to expel them in one go and is facing the brickbat, while Srilanka did it over several years which seems to be unnoticeable for hypocrites like you.

      • 1
        0

        Dear Priyan,
        One million or one hundred, charity begins at home mind you. You don’t care what happens in your country but you are very conscious what happens in neighboring countries. If every country is mindful of their own backyard, this crisis is unlikely to have been initiated in the first place. Therefore don’t be hypocritical . You never want to admit your faults. If you in first place think there is no faults in the country’s administration allow the UN and its mechanisms to confirm that is the case.

    • 0
      0

      Actually I think you missed what he said: “what happened to Tamils in Srilanka does not qualify for genocide”

    • 0
      0

      I have to disagree with your idea of what genocide is. If a community has only 100 members and efforts are made to eradicate them, then it is genocide. There has been a long time effort to wipe out Tamil in Sri Lanka. The interesting part is the recent revelation by some scholars in Tamil Nadu, is that the mastermind behind it is New Delhi, using the upper caste Sinhala political classes as tools to achieve it

      • 0
        0

        Stupid Sinhala mental politics dogged their grave trusting US geo polity later by foolish ltte

  • 6
    1

    Continuing further, Turkey who is one of those in the forefront of attack on Myanmar, is guilty of genocide on one million Armenians, and are still refusing to apologise for it. Also Turkey invaded northern Cyprus and have committed ethnic cleansing of Greeks form that area. Do you not consider the behaviour of Bangladesh which initially refused to permit the refugees fleeing to save their lives to enter their country a inhuman act. Bangladesh is not entirely innocent as it harbours the Rohingya terrorists in its territory to carry out acts of terror. It is an open secret that these terrorists were financed by Saudi Arabia and armed and trained by Pakistan to commit counter border terrorism. What you are saying of Bengali migration to Arkan state was true, but you are conveniently hiding what they did to Buddhists during the second world war joining with British. If you think that Myanmar is a push over, then you are unaware that China is fully behind Myanmar and will not anyone to interfere even in the security council of UN. Myanmar had been subjected to economic sanctions before and it failed and to expect any new economic sanction will work is far fetched. Srilanka government by its silence does not want to go against Buddhist sentiments. For your information Malaysia despite having 10% Tamil population refused to take any action against Srilanka. Also a group of Buddhist visited Myanmar embassy in Colombo and assured their support.

  • 6
    1

    Continuing further, I have a Burmese classmate of mine in school, who now lives in Burma told me that Army is all powerful and are behind these attacks. He says army carefully gets their civilians to attack and burn the houses of Rohingyas to paint a picture of natural uprising, the same way JR government tried to portray the 1983 riots despite organising and carrying it out. He says Aung Saun Syi Chi can do nothing about it, as a large section of Buddhists are approving of driving Rohingyas out of the country, similar to what happened to Tamils in Srilanka. Today Bangladesh has complained of violation of its air space by Myanmar plane and threatened to take action. North Korea is violating Japanese air space and Japan could do nothing other than issue warning. As long as China is behind Myanmar even if all the Muslim countries get together and launch an attack, it will finally end up detrimental to Bangladesh. Israel has refused to stop arms supply to Myanmar which will receive all modern arms against which joint Islamic power is no match. The only way out is a political solution, and any war mongering by Muslims world over will only aggravate it. You can follow how statelessness in Srilanka was resolved and in a similar way Bangladesh could take in 50% of Rohingyas and the remaining 50% be given Myanmar citizenship. Bangladesh should assure Myanmar that it will not interfere especially not to sponsor terrorists against Myanmar.

    • 1
      0

      Army and the bigots are behind these attacks and Angu Saun has no power,she is just a puppet.

  • 0
    0

    [Edited out] Comments should not exceed 300 words. Please read our Comments Policy for further details.

  • 7
    4

    There is no such thing as Rohingya crisis. How did these Bengali – Muslims get money to stage mass protests ?, How did these poor muslims are that rich and who is funding it ? Why there are no photos of ARAS atrocitiers on Myanmar buddhists.

  • 6
    3

    Harees,
    didn’t you write the same article few days ago? or has one person written the article and shared with other so called writers to put their name on it and publish it as their own, just to show the world that all these writers are concerned (actually crocodile tears for money)about Rohingyas? Since, you people could not find any fault to demonize Sinhala-Buddhist, so you’ve found another Buddhist country to attack.

    Far worse atrocities are taking place in Muslim countries, but you NGO people are more concerned about minor issues in Myanmar. Rohingyas are Bengali, they must go back to Bangladesh and Muslim countries must help Rohingyas to rebuild their new lives in Bangladesh.

    Myanmar is only taking precautionary measures. Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc were Buddhist countries. Over the last 30 years, Sri Lanka have been muslimized aggressively, Buddhist archeological sites have been bulldozed, Buddhist places such as; Kuragala, Devanagala, Degawapiya, Muhudumaha Viharaya, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dabulla are under Muslim invasion. Willpattuwa is a Muslim colony. Muslims run the drug empire.

    • 5
      4

      Once you are able to put aside your hatred for Muslims, and spew the anti Muslim propaganda that is the talking points for organized anti Muslim websites, you MAY be able to gauge that this is a humanitarian crisis, and that 4 percent minority Rohingya, who are powerless, have not rights, and DEFINITELY NO WEAPONS, are being PERSECUTED by the majority 80 percents, who control the country, and whose brutal military fully armed with Israeli weapons, are killing, raping, and burning these homes. You MAY also realize the 4 percent of any ethnic minority cannot take over 80 percent of the Majority. Do the Arithmetic.

      • 2
        2

        MODA dhakshi: What evidenc you have to prove what you wrote. Read my comments written arabic and western journalists about.——————– what does your DIPlomatic channels say about it ?

      • 1
        2

        Dhaksi,
        There is no hatred for Muslims. But people hate the dangerous verses in their “book”.

      • 1
        1

        “. Over the last 30 years, Sri Lanka have been muslimized aggressively, Buddhist archeological sites have been bulldozed, Buddhist places such as; “
        The usual bullshit by bogus John. According to the last census, the Buddhist percentage has increased, and the Christian percentage is down. So you are saying the Christians have become Muslims?
        When your genocidal Sinhalese make refugees out o fa million Tamils, naturally the percentage of Muslims goes up. Are you really that stupid that you can’t see this?
        Do you and your friends like Dumb Jimmy have no compassion? What is this great culture you are trying to defend if you cannot see other people as human first and Muslims or whatever second? Definitely you are not Buddhists. Even animals don’t behave like the lot of you.
        The same goes for Dr Gnana Sankaralingam, who is unable to sympathise because Muslims did not help his community.
        John, you will only realize what you are doing when somebody kills YOUR babies, rapes YOUR women, and burns YOUR house.
        There will be nobody left to save you.

        • 1
          0

          Old Codger, you have come to a wrong assessment to say that I am unable to sympathise with Rohingyas. What I have been emphasising is that everyone should be treated equally without double standards. All the articles are giving in detail about the treatment meted out to Rohingyas, but see the denials that have been made when it was pointed out of the similarities in what Tamils received. Did you hear what the former Chief Minister of Kashmir Umar Abdullah said. If India is to extradite Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh due to security concerns, they must deport Tamil refugees to Srilaanka, without knowing the fact that Tamil refugees are unable to return home due to their lands being occupied, no jobs to pursue and more importantly continuing atrocities of security forces. Please impress upon the government to settle the Tamil problem by sharing of power and territory and make the lands of those who left be available for living.

          • 1
            0

            Dr. GS,
            Maybe I was a little harsh on you. I know you have personally witnessed atrocities. I get really pissed off by these idiots sitting safely in foreign countries still waving their tribal flags.

            • 0
              0

              Dr. Gnana Sankaralingam’s job is always inflating even a minor incident and cry on top of the voice ‘ethnic cleansing and genocide’. What is really happening in Rakhine state now, he find fault with Rohinghas. Sri Lanka’s Tamil-Sinhala conflict is past now. Today the most educated minority are Tamils and they are monopolizing in the every sphere of business and there are more millionaires of Tamils than Muslim. 3/4th of Wellawatte is theirs. In time to come it want be a surprise half of Colombo city is theirs. This is including the Tamils of estate labour origin. Government is calling with both their hand stretched the Tamil Diasporas to come and invest in Sri Lanka. So why write about the past and rekindle passion in the Tamils youth’s minds. Let these be in history book and go forward with peace and progress. Whom we have to fight now is racist.

  • 0
    0

    [Edited out] Comments should not exceed 300 words. Please read our Comments Policy for further details.

  • 6
    7

    Lukman Hurries: this so-called rohingya crisis is a time in which both the Muslims and christians have ganged to beat some muslims and to accuse buiddhists because, those countries need a war against China, to exploite oil and mineral resources in that region and possibly establish a military port for the west in that new state.

  • 6
    4

    This is the western plan unfolding for Myanmar to contain China. Bengali – muslims are the pawns.

  • 2
    1

    There are millions of refugees from African countries and West Asian have been war victims of that nations an invaded and initiated by of USA, UK and EU countries of against Right of sovereignty of nations. In fact war victims are created by USA led policies of many types of intervention of different objectives .
    The major refugees crisis are man made creation of policies of western “Democracy”. that has later turn into “Human Rights of world.”. ….It gradually approach Geneva?
    The West name as “projects of crisis management of refugees “of seek solution form of power of that replace many puppets regime in favors of western-oriented “regimes change” treatments of ‘ Democracy’ of that Doctors by White house or Pentagon? These are never-ending political -crisis giveit gave new-life out put that reoriented New Regimes as different form has seems to no connections past US and UK set of policies of aggression.
    Maymmer is new move by Western political road map of that suppressed Muslims in their land by Buddhist are the majority of citizens ?
    What is that West want to do? They urgent task is to be dismantle central govt.of Burma by become “liberators of Muslim” in Burma of way of Western notion of Democracy>
    The world of Muslims are crying for the Rights of Islam religion has been that suppressing by Buddhist majority in Maymmer!> On the other side millions of refugees are exhausted in world-wide is that the hypocrisy politics of Islamism by Terrorism?
    The War and Terrorism has products of Refugees in World -wide.

  • 8
    2

    The moment you wrote 1000 words on Rohingya crisis whih I beleive an internal problem of a totally irrelevant country you wore that colored glass. Every country has issues. Americans killing blacks and hispanics. ISIS killing christians. Boko haram killing christians. Did you write anything on their behalf. No because you only care when people from your faith is in trouble. We as a country is facing heavy issues even we cannot resolve. So why drag some other external issues to this. Or else go to burma and start your humanitarian activities without crying.

  • 5
    6

    A fantastic article by a great humanitarian who challenges bigotry and intolerance wherever it is found.

    Sri Lanka as a predominantly Buddhist country has a duty to speak out against the genocidal behaviour that is a daily occurrence in Myanmar.

    Love and Compassion is the only solution to Hatred!

  • 7
    1

    Religion has been and will continue to be a major player in most of the conflicts that afflict the world.

    • 2
      0

      We can do without religion that can be exploited by politicians and other trouble makers.Burma must face crimes against humanity.

  • 6
    4

    When ISIS in Iraq committed atrocities against christians these south indian , tamil or telugu or karnataka muslim writers lived here thank to colonial masters like portuguese,Dutch and english who brought them here to commit atrocities against sinhalese rebellions and sinhalese civilians and work for them were very silence but suddenly waken up when their fellow muslims are in trouble . why ? can anybody answer this question. I think like colonial masters did they want their pet president and prime minister to bring some of those unwanted people here in the guise of political refugees and latter get them to be citizen of lanka in order to carry out or achieve their hidden agenda stated in their so called holy book koran. kill all non believers and make everywhere paradise of muslims. that is what every muslims live here planing for. make lanka yet another Islamic republic. All the other people of the other faiths live here should be aware of this danger and work against it. some buddhist organizations realised the danger and already protesting against president recent statement. if president and prime minister become foolish enough. we will have same situation like in southern Thailand where Buddhist monks were brutally killed without any reason. only reason is being buddhist monk and begging for alms. Islam is such brutal religion and teach no tolerance for other religions but state non believers are wild animals..as such muslim can consume their flesh if they are killed in halal manner. As such people of this country should be very careful. should not go with propaganda of muslims. ultimately they will consume your children flesh at your presence.killing them in halal manner.

    /

    • 5
      4

      Islamaphobia at it’s worst. Here we have women raped, babies killed, and ALL humanitarian agencies, including the UN, and Amnesty International, confirming and condemning the majority in Myanmar for these crimes, and you blame ALL Muslims for the suffering. To think people are paid to write this drivel.

    • 3
      3

      ranjith(sprrw), what a low class, dirty, rotten human being you are. Why so much hatred toward Muslim? Are you donkey blindly following the anti-Muslim websites and media or a paid servant of Zionist. You are talking about Halal but you don’t realise 80% nation blood still running with push of Halal money.

      • 1
        1

        Ralli,
        Explain: ” 80% nation blood still running with push of Halal money.” There are 4 million Muslims in Sri Lanka, what have they done to Sri Lanka? Even Muslim countries don’t want Muslims.

        • 0
          1

          Dear John,

          I cannot possibly read everything carefully, so pardon me if I’m wrong. However, the fact is that I have begun to regard you as a racist.

          Can we get facts right, please. There surely aren’t 4 million Muslims in Sri Lanka.

          *

          World Population growth must be controlled, unless the Environment is to turn on us and exact revenge. In Sri Lanka, population growth is indeed greatest among Muslims. This could be countered through education and the empowerment of women. What has happened to the call for the reform of Muslim Marriage and Divorce laws, which was spearheaded by Muslim women themselves ten months ago?

          I must confess that I haven’t studied either this article or the comments carefully before posting this. Where’s the time?

        • 0
          0

          If you do not know from where the nation main foreign coming you are fool. It is from Muslim countries, export, expatriate earnings, non-interest loans and free funds. Why don’t you approach relevant Government’s department and verify this. So it is Halal money.

      • 1
        1

        Explain What the low class is. Killing or making voice against killing. Yes Muslims can not live with others. There should be places like Saudi for them.Freedom is not their concern. Can make ralli Ameen president of that Muslim country. Atrocities but justified blaming others. just like their messenger Mohamed.

        • 0
          0

          sprrw, if I am made a president of any country I would put my heart and soul to make that country prosperous and the people to live happily and peacefully. Look what your kind had done. Start to finish robbery and cheating the masses and made it a poor third world country. Saudi Arabia is 100% Muslim and very rich country so why should you bother about them instead making your country prosperous and to stop over one million slaving for them. Over two million are following Muhammed. He did not preach to be lazy and go and sleep but to be dynamic people for the betterment whole humanity.

      • 0
        0

        Hi Ralli Balli my fake Arab converted Australoid Tamil crow. Can you now dance to this song performed by an Indian school during the ancient Tamil festival called Onam now only celebrated by all Malayalees Hindu Christian and Muslim. Just like Thai Pongal is celebrated in Tamil Nadu by Hindu Christian and Muslim Tamils. You can see a Kerala Muslim female also dancing the Jimmiki Kammal Dance
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtKeZ68CDZY

        Dance Ralli baby

        • 1
          0

          You fake Arab, Tamil Sri Lankan Muslims danced on the streets of Colombo and many other towns and also held victory parades, when around 145000 Tamils were deliberately killed by the then Sri Lankan government and armed forces and a further 300000 incarcerated in horrible Nazi like boot camps, where many were raped , starved humiliated and tortured by the Sri Lankan armed forces. It was a source of joy and fun for you low caste Tamil converted from Indian, and you were dancing on the streets , now coming here and crying about what is happening in a far off country to Bengali Muslim Rohingyas, just because they are Muslims. Charity first begins at home and to your own citizens and your own ethnicity not to others. Now Dance you fake Arab low caste Tamil Australoid crow( Your own words not mine). Just like you danced on the dead bodies of the Tamils

          • 0
            0

            Pandi Kutti the piglet, again you are using my words to point out to me. Use better words if you want to override my words. Australoid Tamil Crows was a chop I had given to low caste, low class you and your kind here. You do not have a worst words for me because you know I am very much better than you. Of course Caucasoid you cannot use because I don’t belongs to them. Some use Negroid it is okay or use Mongoloid or mixed mongaloid or negroid mixed. Anything is okay but not the chop Australoid low caste, low class Tamil crow I had given you. Nearly half million Tamils killed, bullshit. I do not condone the racial riots or actions of racist but the killing field started by you Tamils the LTTE. the reaction was the army’s actions. Not only we the whole world condemn the murderous Myanmar. We know many of you or the racist Sinhalese won’t because you all belongs to same category. Actually you Australoid crows are dancing like you danced on the dead bodies of Sinhalese and Muslim during your bombing and ethnic cleansing campaigns.

        • 0
          0

          Pandi Kutti the piglet, yes I went to your link. 99% seems to be Hindu Keralite. Onam is a national festival of Kerala not Tamilnadu. Pongal is harvest festival celeberated by Hindus in India with different names. Tamils calls it Pongal. Look at those women dancing, very beautiful because they were not Australoids like you. They are more than 50% mixed that is why they are beautiful. Do you know in Tamilnadu most of the beautiful actresses are from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Your most loving past actor MG Ramachandran was from Kerala and former Tamilnadu lady CM was from Bangalore. I have been to those places and they discount any comparison with Tamils. So you piglet study the history thoroughly before you make a comment. I am Ralli, I only called you all Australoid Tamil Crow (not all Tamil). So you must not use the term I used for you, of course you do not have because being a Moor I am far better than you Australoid low caste, low class Tamil crows.

    • 2
      4

      Clueless Islamaphobe who cannot make sense.

  • 0
    0

    [Edited out] Comments should not exceed 300 words. Please read our Comments Policy for further details.

    • 4
      3

      We have to ask why nations like the US, UK, EU, and many others are looking the other way, when there are variations of an arms embargo against Myanmar, and WHY ISRAEL KEEPS SELLING THESE DEADLY WEAPONS TO THE BRUTAL MYANMAR MILITARY.
      Where there is
      violence and bloodshed, and the killing of innocent civilians, you will find Israel’s dirty finger prints all over. Israel defies the world and keeps providing the arms for civilians to be killed in Myanmar, with 60 years of experience treating the Palestinians badly, and killing them without cause, during the decades long occupation, they are experts at training military forces to be ruthless and violent, like themselves.

      “Israel has refused to stop supplying arms to the Myanmar army, which human rights groups say is involved in the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims+ , saying, “the matter is clearly diplomatic”, reported online news portal Middle East Eye (MEE).
      Not just that, Israeli arms companies like TAR Ideal Concepts have even trained Myanmar’s special forces in Rakhine state where most of the violence against the Rohingya has taken place, added MEE.”
      Another excerpt:
      “”It is surprising that the State of Israel, while struggling for continued sanctions against Iran, has no qualms about ignoring the US and EU sanctions against Burma for the most severe crimes being committed there,” read the letter.
      In January this year, following visits by Israeli officials to Myanmar and vice versa, to discuss arms deals, activists in Israel filed a petition urging their government to stop arms exports to Myanmar.” IndiaTimes

      The Sri Lanka BBS seems to be following the Wirathu model, who do you think is behind that as well?

      • 2
        1

        Dakshi – Were you born in Palestine ? Or are you u Shia ?

      • 1
        0

        Dhakshi
        I don’t get any sense out of this Arms Embargo issue. You don’t need sophiscated arms from Israel or Lockheed Martin to set fire to thatched roof, ramshackle houses of poor helpless people.
        Soma

  • 3
    4

    Harees, do not look at ISIS WAHABI ISLAMIC MUSLIM terrorist savages and their barbarity; rape of innocent girls, boiling people alive; beheading them; banning freedom of movement and education for girls; and their global evil spread from Boko Haram in Nigeria to Taleban and of course Wahabi SUNNI ISLAMIC ISIS with your ignorant willfully spiteful Muslim green colored lenses either.

    • 1
      3

      A dog with a Muslim name.

      • 5
        2

        If he is a dog you are a pig, a real muslim

        • 2
          0

          Ralli Bin Balli. I warned you not to insult others. See what you received, worse than what you asked for. Now go and commit suicide if you have any sense of respect.

          • 0
            0

            Al-fuk, when did you warn? What I have received? Just comments from pigs, dogs and Australoid. Today only I am seeing those comment. I will good replies. Keep on reading.

        • 0
          0

          Dan, no it is other way about. He is dog with a fake Muslim name and you are a pig having pig’s pedigree.

  • 6
    1

    To answer Mr. Mohamed Harees, firstly I think it is useful to consider the ‘pathetic plight’ Islamic extremists all over the world. ‘Islam conquered the world’ through a ‘series of caliphates’ which history bears strong evidence. Anyone could define this catastrophe in Myanmar as ‘ethnic cleansing’ or in whatever suitable name. I remind Mr. Harees to look back at ‘history’ and see what happened to countries ‘Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Afghanistan. What happened to ‘Buddhist civilizations’ in these countries are just ‘mere resemblances’ any Buddhist would rather forget. Many Muslims including Mr. Mohamed Harees have the tendency to ignore ‘the garbage in their own backyard’ and cry for sympathy on ‘human rights’. Anyone who has visited ‘Saudi Arabia’ need no explanation to understand ‘the intolerance and hatred’ levelled at other religions, especially Buddhism. A person caught in possession of ‘a Buddha statue’ in Saudi Arabia would face dreadful punishments. Such similar punishment is ‘public caning’ on orders by ‘religious police’. To sum up, “Allah has very clearly said in the Quran, how to treat non-believers of Islam”. Therefore, Muslims living in Myanmar as non-believers of ‘Buddhism’ should face the ‘same fate’.

  • 3
    0

    Lukman Harees ~ “Rohingya Crisis: Don’t Look Through Coloured Glasses!”.
    The world is looking at the genocide of Rohingyas through very dark glasses AND WITH EYES CLOSED.
    The article is aimed at educating the public. It is factual and can lead to further analysis of the problem.
    The Burmese Junta is clearly going for a military solution which even the street dogs know will be temporary.The only viable solution is political.
    India can do something constructive here. But Modi is interested in constructing/reinforcing the bigoted BJP vote bank. Recently he was in Myanmar. The man did not mention Rohingyas at all. Why? Because his extreme bigoted vote bank actually increased.
    Lanka is quiet. Surely you know why. The Lankan Muslim MPs always look the other way on contentious issues.
    Aung San Suu Kyi is willing to descend from an angelic pedestal down to a filthy dirty slum hut. Has she got something up her sleeve?
    The Burmese Junta very cleverly manipulated Aung into a leadership without any power. The world can see through this. Human rights activists will take the Junta on.
    Thank you for the article Lukman.

  • 3
    2

    Hey Harees,
    why we the Sri Lankans should worry about Rohingyas. Where ever your dirty fellows land create problems. You have admitted that Rohingyas are not natives of Myanmar by stating

    ” The Rohingya trace their origins in the region to the fifteenth century, when thousands of Muslims came to the former Arakan Kingdom. Many others arrived during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries”.

    They are fortune hunters like yourself , looking for greener pastures. You also landed in Swarna Lanka established by SINHALA (hybrid of SINHA and HELA clans)in 543 BC. You and other Muslim extremists have been making coward effort to dispute our SINHALA roots and instigating ethnic conflicts in Swarna Lanka for for some time. We can definitely draw parallel between Muslim extremist in Myanmar and Muslim Extremists in present day Sri Lanka.
    Most likely you do not understand Why I have introduced our beloved country as “SWARNA LANKA”.

  • 3
    0

    I am yet to see any of these self appointed Mullahs from Ceylon condemn ISIS and Al Qaeda and the backward opium poppy growing Taleban Muslim savages. There is a porcine man here who goes as Ralli Ameen who defends all ISIS Wahabi Islamic savage deed. Harees has never written about the humanitarian crisis created by ISIS, Boko Haram etc nor about the destruction of universally valued old statues in Bamiyan. Darfur? How about Darfur where Arab African Muslims slaughtered Black Muslims africans?

    he “Darfur Genocide” refers to the current mass slaughter and rape of Darfuri men, women, and children in Western Sudan. The killings began in 2003, as the first genocide in the 21st century. Unrest and violence persist today.

    The genocide is being carried out by a group of government-armed and funded Arab militias known as the Janjaweed (which loosely translates to ‘devils on horseback’). The Janjaweed systematically destroy Darfurians by burning villages, looting economic resources, polluting water sources, and murdering, raping, and torturing civilians. These militias are historic rivals of the main rebel groups, the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM), and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). As of today, over 480,000 people have been killed, and over 2.8 million people are displaced.

    Why is Saudi Arabia silent? Are you all Wahabi porcine or canine lovers?

    • 0
      0

      Thanggamma, may be a porcine woman, don’t prostitute here. I am writing in my own name here because I am writing the truth. You rotten devil, may be an Australoid writing with pseudo name because writing shit here. Don’t follow Islamaphobia and Muslim haters news and write here. What do you know about Sudan. The War in Darfur region started in 2003 by SLM and JEM rebel group like you Tamil rebel groups did. They begin fighting the government accusing them of oppression of non-Arab population like you Tamils did. The mastermind are of course West and Zionist, the more conflicts they create in the world more money they make by arm sales. Zionist are doing that now in Myanmar. The Sudanese government responded to attacks like the Sri Lanka army did. Now the Sudan is broken into North and South Sudan. The majority in South Sudan are Christians. There are so much killing between them now. Western media knows how to inflate figure. From east to west the have killed millions and million of people. You Australoid porcine won’t speak about that because you kallathonis in west are licking them.

  • 3
    0

    In early 1991, non-Arabs of the Zaghawa tribe of Sudan attested that they were victims of an intensifying Arab apartheid campaign, segregating Arabs and non-Arabs.

    Sudanese Arabs, who controlled the government, were widely referred to as practicing apartheid against Sudan’s non-Arab citizens. The government was accused of deftly manipulating Arab solidarity to carry out policies of apartheid and ethnic cleansing This probably explains why Hilmy, Harees, Ameen, Ralli Ameen are deaf dumb and mute about muslim Arab racism

    American University economist George Ayittey accused the Arab government of Sudan of practicing acts of racism against black citizens.] According to Ayittey, “In Sudan… the Arabs monopolized power and excluded blacks – Arab apartheid.”Many African commentators joined Ayittey in accusing Sudan of practising Arab apartheid.

    Alan Dershowitz labeled Sudan an example of a government that “actually deserve(s)” the appellation “apartheid”. Former Canadian Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler echoed the accusation.

    • 0
      0

      Thangamma the Australoid porcine, I have written above and that is enough. But I would like to ask how can Arab Sudanese (black) discriminate a Non-Arab Sudanese (black). White discriminate black. We are not deaf and dumb but we are writing the truth. Ayittey and Alan Dershowitz you are following because slavish to them like you are writing what you read in western media.

  • 0
    0

    Tisaranee Gunasekara sums up the Rohingya genocide in the last para of https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/power-religion-impunity/

Leave A Comment

Comments should not exceed 200 words. Embedding external links and writing in capital letters are discouraged. Commenting is automatically disabled after 5 days and approval may take up to 24 hours. Please read our Comments Policy for further details. Your email address will not be published.