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Both led to mass migration across the country .
Larger populations , centred around Buddhist traditions , the British feared a nationalistic Burmese uprising , implementing a divide and conquer regime that was aimed at quashing the traditional beliefs and values .
With the minority Muslim Rohingya now given special treatment by the British the majority Buddhist Burmese felt threatened and began a series of protests and riots during the early part of the twentieth century . The anger , whilst underlined by the British was directed at the ‘ foreigners ’ predominantly the Rohingya .
Then came World War II . A time when loyalties were divided . The west of the region sided with the British while the Burmese were predominantly on the side of the Japanese . It came to head in the area of the Rakhine state when the ethnic Rakhine sided with the remainder of Burma and the Rohingya were with the British . With the Japanese loss came a rewarding of the Rohingya ’ s loyalty , they were given many higher-ranking positions and the tension further escalated .
Three years after the war ended Burma gained independence from Britain and the modern-day problems for the Rohingya started . Islamophobia spread quickly and laws were hastily passed that saw the Rohingya described as “ non-citizens ”. The government stated that they were illegal migrants brought in by the British , a fact that was highlighted when the government passed new laws in 1982 that said any group that wasn ’ t attached to Burma prior to the British involvement in 1824 could not be classed as Nationals .
This has generated a level of rhetoric that has encouraged mistrust and hatred leading to violence , including rape and murder . The government has also used it as justification for cracking down on “ illegal immigrants ” through programs of ethnic cleansing .
It was hoped that this would end when Nobel laureate , Aung San
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