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https://www.albawaba.com/news/malays...-state-1300290 Malaysia: Rohingyas Should Form Their Own State
Published July 30th, 2019 - 11:54 GMT
A recent proposal by Malaysian premier that the Rohingya ethnic minority should be given the chance to form their own state drew cautious reactions from members of the persecuted community.
"We are asking for our innate right of citizenship and ethnic rights,” said Hla Kyaw, head of the European Rohingya Council.
“To have a separate state is not our preference. We belong to Myanmar, and we will continue to be part of Myanmar. I don’t think Myanmar will accept to give a separate state to Rohingya,” he said.
UN has described Rohingya as the world's most persecuted people who have faced heightened fears of attack since hundreds were killed in communal violence in 2012.
More than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women, and children have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday in an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency proposed a separate state for the Rohingya community to resolve the issue “if Myanmar does not recognize them as its citizens”.
“Myanmar, of course, at one time was made up of many different states. But the British decided to rule Myanmar as one state, and because of that, many of the tribes were included in the state of Burma. But now, of course, they should either be treated as nationals or they should be given their territory to form their own state,” said Mahathir.
He is the first head of any government to publicly break the taboo of proposing to give Rohingya a state of their own.
The proposal has generated mixed reactions among the Rohingya community and activists who are fighting to get the rights of Rohingya recognized by the Buddhist-majority country and seeking to return to their homes.
However, while meeting with some Hindu Rohingya families Sunday in Bangladesh’s Cox Bazaar -- where nearly a million Rohingya are taking refuge after being forced out of their country -- Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Myint Thu told reporters that his country will consider Rohingya as "foreign nationals".
Kyaw finds the statement as "genocidal". "The minister is ignorant of the fact that the Rohingya belong to Myanmar ethnically and by citizenship for centuries," he said.
Imran Mohammed, a Rohingya activist based in Malaysia, echoed Kyaw as he was not impressed by Mahathir’s proposal.
“It really is not about being a separate [state],” he argued. “It is about living a life of equality and without discrimination,” Mohammed said from Kuala Lumpur.
He deplored the lack of sincerity and support from the international community.
“What options are we left with since the perpetrator of crime and genocide, Myanmar, does not listen to anyone?” he said, referring to Myint Thu’s statement.
According to Mohammed, the Rohingya have been facing this crisis for the last 70 years.
He also questioned the intentions of the government of Bangladesh, which houses nearly a million refugees, as Dhaka is desperate to send the Rohingya back.