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Let me start by saying that I've had a keen interest in Myanmar for years. I've opposed sanctions and supported open dialogue and normalization of relations. I

by ch4s3 9y ago

Let me start by saying that I've had a keen interest in Myanmar for years. I've opposed sanctions and supported open dialogue and normalization of relations. I don't mean to impugn average people of any ethnic, religious, or social group in the country. My criticism is focused on the government and a narrow complicit minority of people in Rakhine State. I also don't mean to downplay the role that ARSA has played in fanning flames in sectarian conflict. > but there is so much misinformation going on regarding the current crisis. If it's misinformation, let international observers in to see what's happening. Moreover, are the Rohingya women and children fleeing into Bangladesh with bullet entrance wounds in the backs of their arms and legs misinformation? They got shot by someone, and they say it was the army. Shooting fleeing women and children is very indicative of something like a genocide. >What you have to understand is that a conflict is happening in a remote and very isolated land even from other areas in Rakhine State, Myanmar Yes, we've seen maps. Not everyone in the West is totally ignorant of geography. >One blatant lie is that of majority Buddhist persecuting the minority Muslims. I didn't say that, and neither does the UN or any news outlet I read. I'd argue that the government is persecuting the Rohingya and some local Rakhine Buddhists appear from numerous reports to be complicit. Self identified Rakhine found at the sites of burning Rohingya villages has been confirmed by the BBC. >The population of Rohingya Muslims outnumbers the combined population of Rakhine Buddhists, Hindu, and other ethnic groups by the ratio of six to one. Rakhine Buddhists were the majority in the region half a decade ago. Muslim population tripled since the 1980s. Islamist terror attacks have been more and more frequent. I'm not sure A is necessary and sufficient to prove or lead to B in your argument. As seen elsewhere in the world Muslim population doesn't even correlate with terrorist attack frequency. > Aung San Su Kyi has been working along with UN to draft guideline for citizenship Which appears to be bullshit, because it requires documents that displaced Rohingya were long denied, and wouldn't have access to in the event that they fled across the border. To quote the article you linked: "It is clear that anti-Muslim propaganda has become part of regular nationalist discourse", which is sort of the crux of my criticism. The government leverages anti-muslim propaganda to legitimize the persecution of the Muslim population. *EDIT: Also, that you for adding your perspective to the discussion. It is rare in the rest of the world to hear perspectives from ordinary people in your country. I hope I haven't come across as too harsh, or combative. I do fundamentally agree that it is a messy complicated situation that is too often painted as a simplistic narrative.

kokyawshan 9y ago
Thank you for your point-to-point rebuttals. That is what I like about HN. I did not mean to personally accuse you of lying when I wrote the sentence. I meant to point out what many major media (BBC, Guardian, CNN) are insinuating. I apologize that I came across that way. >One blatant lie is that of majority Buddhist persecuting the minority Muslims. Also, I am not implying that population of Muslim correlates with the frequency of terror generally everywhere in the world. All I am pointing out is what is happening in troubled Maung Daw region. I am not in the camp that attacks Islam as a whole and formulates a general theory. The issue is more complicated than a simplistic correlation. I disagree with your following statement. >The government leverages anti-Muslim propaganda to legitimize the persecution of the Muslim population. There are many Muslims in the other regions of Myanmar. Even in Rakhine state, there is another minority Muslim group, Ka-Mann, in the middle of the state. Ka-Man Muslims were recognized as an ethnic group by the government, and there was no alleged religious persecution of Ka-Man. If you visit Yangon, the biggest city in the country, you will see that there are several Mosques in downtown, and there are a lot of Muslim communities that are peacefully coexisting with Buddhists, Christians, and Hindu for a very long time. Unlike what media is portraying, the extremist monks, like U Wiyathu who was on the cover of Time magazine as Burmese Bin Laden, are unpopular in the country. This Rohingya issue is being mischaracterized by the media. Those in agenda-driven media who are framing this as one are fanning the flames. There are unverified accusations dumped on Rakhine Buddhists and the army who we do not support. We all are hoping unbiased international investigators to dig the truth out. I agree 100% with you in letting international journalists and observers in and let them investigate and report without hindrance. That is what many people, including me, have been asking for years. There are several journalists from BBC, NYTimes, and some major news organization in the region. I do though want to point out one thing that many people in the region and the country as a whole are very distrustful of international media. There is resentment among Native Rakhine, and they feel that they have been framed and unfairly demonized for a particular agenda or narrative by these major news organizations. I am one of those people very much bothered by the narratives and very selective coverage of BBC and Guardian. I am all for welcoming international journalists and observers from all political spectrum and ideologies. People can have biases, but they need to be open about it. I am ignorant of many things in the world. I just happen to know a bit about this particular issue since my grandparents, Rakhine Buddhists, lived their entire lives in the troubled region, and I happened to hear a lot of brutal heartbreaking stories from the other side ignored in the media. It is just a very odd moment in life when you became very cynical about everything in the media. I do not want to live my life that way. I am aware of my background and bias. All I want to do is to point out that there are a lot more to the story than a very simplistic version painted in the media, just as you mentioned. Thank you for your engagement. I appreciate your input.

by ch4s3 9y ago

kokyawshan 9y ago

Thank you for your point-to-point rebuttals. That is what I like about HN. I did not mean to personally accuse you of lying when I wrote the sentence. I meant to point out what many major media (BBC, Guardian, CNN) are insinuating. I apologize that I came across that way. >One blatant lie is that of majority Buddhist persecuting the minority Muslims. Also, I am not implying that population of Muslim correlates with the frequency of terror generally everywhere in the world. All I am pointing out is what is happening in troubled Maung Daw region. I am not in the camp that attacks Islam as a whole and formulates a general theory. The issue is more complicated than a simplistic correlation. I disagree with your following statement. >The government leverages anti-Muslim propaganda to legitimize the persecution of the Muslim population. There are many Muslims in the other regions of Myanmar. Even in Rakhine state, there is another minority Muslim group, Ka-Mann, in the middle of the state. Ka-Man Muslims were recognized as an ethnic group by the government, and there was no alleged religious persecution of Ka-Man. If you visit Yangon, the biggest city in the country, you will see that there are several Mosques in downtown, and there are a lot of Muslim communities that are peacefully coexisting with Buddhists, Christians, and Hindu for a very long time. Unlike what media is portraying, the extremist monks, like U Wiyathu who was on the cover of Time magazine as Burmese Bin Laden, are unpopular in the country. This Rohingya issue is being mischaracterized by the media. Those in agenda-driven media who are framing this as one are fanning the flames. There are unverified accusations dumped on Rakhine Buddhists and the army who we do not support. We all are hoping unbiased international investigators to dig the truth out. I agree 100% with you in letting international journalists and observers in and let them investigate and report without hindrance. That is what many people, including me, have been asking for years. There are several journalists from BBC, NYTimes, and some major news organization in the region. I do though want to point out one thing that many people in the region and the country as a whole are very distrustful of international media. There is resentment among Native Rakhine, and they feel that they have been framed and unfairly demonized for a particular agenda or narrative by these major news organizations. I am one of those people very much bothered by the narratives and very selective coverage of BBC and Guardian. I am all for welcoming international journalists and observers from all political spectrum and ideologies. People can have biases, but they need to be open about it. I am ignorant of many things in the world. I just happen to know a bit about this particular issue since my grandparents, Rakhine Buddhists, lived their entire lives in the troubled region, and I happened to hear a lot of brutal heartbreaking stories from the other side ignored in the media. It is just a very odd moment in life when you became very cynical about everything in the media. I do not want to live my life that way. I am aware of my background and bias. All I want to do is to point out that there are a lot more to the story than a very simplistic version painted in the media, just as you mentioned. Thank you for your engagement. I appreciate your input.