As the civil war in Myanmar intensifies, the long-standing brutalities committed against the Rohingya have also seen a surge. This escalation has prompted the UN to state that it fears a repeat of the excesses committed against the group in 2017 and has flagged concerns about their deteriorating condition in the country. These developments call for an examination of the nature of political oppression against the Rohingya in Myanmar.

The Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, have long endured systematic persecution. Their political oppression has taken various forms—whether through continuous acts of targeted violence or denial of citizenship. The perpetrators, too, can’t be confined to a singular entity. This piece explores the multi-faceted character of the political persecution of the Rohingya.

Violent persecution

The long history of violence against the Rohingya has come from a variety of state actors. The worst recorded mass violence and human rights violations were committed by the military in 2017, during the democratically elected government’s rule. This attempt at genocide, which forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee the country, was denied by the then State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyii. Myanmar has continually defended the military’s actions by calling it necessary “clearance operations” against “terrorists.” Rohingya exclusion in Myanmar’s democratic polity is further evident from the fact that during the 2020 elections, every contesting political party engaged in anti-Rohingya rhetoric as a tool to successfully secure seats.

At present, both the military-led junta and resistance forces fighting to overthrow this military regime, are perpetrating mass violence against the Rohingya. Both actors have been accused of extrajudicial killings, abductions, arson, and bombarding entire villages.

Political invisibilisation

Myanmar has consistently refused to recognise the Rohingya. The Burma Citizenship Law of 1982, introduced after the military assumed power through a coup, privileged state-recognised ethnic groups but by excluding the Rohingya, denied them citizenship, effectively rendering them stateless. Their status remained unchanged even after the restoration of democracy. The 1982 law borrows from the 1948 Citizenship Act which was also an exclusionary legislation. In fact, race as the basis of citizenship was derived from the 1948 Act. Segregative legislation, systemic barriers, and bureaucratic complexities have ensured that the Rohingya can’t become citizens.

Attempts at invisibilisation are not just restricted to citizenship denial and the consequent loss of rights and privileges but also the erasure of identity. For example, during the 2014 national census, the Rohingya were only enumerated if they identified as ‘Bengali’. Internationally, Myanmar’s leadership refuse to use the term ‘Rohingya’ and have even urged other nations to refrain using the term.

Forced recruitment and labour

Two other distinct facets of political oppression against the Rohingya are forced labour and  conscription.

Rohingya enslavement through forced labour is a long-standing but under-reported issue. It can be year-round or occasional, and usually entails activities like construction of roads or bridges, agricultural labour, and labour in military facilities. It is usually perpetrated through government or military entities who record these contributions as ‘voluntary’. This dehumanisation is ironic since the Rohingya are expected to contribute to nation-building endeavours that they themselves are denied to participate in as citizens.

The Rohingya being forced into military combat as tools of war-fighting while being disallowed any stakeholdership in the country’s evolving political landscape highlights their extreme vulnerability. As fighting intensifies, the junta as well as resisting Ethnically Armed Organisations (EAOs) have taken to forcibly recruiting the Rohingya to boost their ranks. The conscription laws that Myanmar reactivated earlier in 2024 are only applicable to citizens, which should exempt the Rohingya by default. The junta has, however, become desperate and resorted to forcibly inducting the Rohingya through abduction, abuse, coercion, and even falsely promising citizenship and freedoms in exchange for enlistment. Since February this year, over 1,000 Rohingya have been recruited by the junta.

This forcible recruitment into the junta ranks makes them a target of killings by EAOs like the Arakan Army (AA). Conversely, the junta targets the Rohingya if they join the EAOs for local protection. This catch-22 makes the community's security a near-impossibility.

Uncertain support

The persecution of the Rohingya also reflects the unavailability of sustained and trustworthy political representation. The very groups that have offered support and represent Rohingya interests have themselves contributed to their distress.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) is an insurgent group that claims to act on behalf of Myanmar's Rohingya. However, in an attempt to counterbalance AA's gains in Rakhine State, ARSA has joined hands with the junta forces. This alliance is ideologically inconsistent given the military's longstanding labelling of ARSA as a terrorist group. The alliance has heightened Rohingya vulnerability by facilitating the junta's forcible recruitment endeavours.

In another example, as the AA takes control of Rakhine, its political wing, United League of Arakan, is working towards establishing a system of ‘inclusive administration’ in the AA occupied areas. To that end, some restrictions on Rohingya travel have been eased; they have been allowed to access some public services like healthcare and a Muslim Affairs Committee has also been set up. While these steps are welcome, the atrocity crimes unleashed by the AA on the Rohingya earlier this year are still fresh in everyone’s memory. This, coupled with the history of mistrust between both communities, makes the Rohingya’s future uncertain at best.

Conclusion

The Rohingya have had to endure a long history of oppression and mistreatment in Myanmar. While the UN is right to raise the alarm about the rise in anti-Rohingya violence, it is also time to acknowledge the various forms and perpetrators of said violence. This helps not only accurately encapsulate the Rohingya experience, but also offers the global community a more transparent picture of the issue at hand.

Fiona Raval is Researcher with IPCS’ South East Asia Research Programme (SEARP).