The Myanmar Junta seeking the help of Rohingyas to save themselves
Photo: Collected
Myanmar's military junta is now seeking help from the Muslim Rohingyas who were victims of ethnic cleansing about seven years ago.
According to the report of the British media BBC, the military rulers who seized power in Myanmar three years ago are losing one important city after another without being able to withstand the rebels. The Junta is asking for Rohingya’s help to survive in such a situation.
This information emerged from interviews with Rohingyas living in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. At least 100 Rohingya have been conscripted into the army in recent weeks to fight for the warring junta, Rohingya told the BBC.
The BBC has changed the names of the Rohingya interviewed for the sake of security.
31-year-old Rohingya Mohammad regarding enlisting in the army, he said, I was scared. I had to attend even though I had three young children.
Mohammed lives in a camp near Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine. At least 1.5 lakh internally displaced Rohingya are forced to live in such camps for a decade.
About the middle of last February one day late at night the camp leader came to Mohammad. He told Mohammad that he must undergo military training. He was told that it was an order of the army, if he disobeyed, the army would harm the family.
The BBC spoke to several Rohingya. They confirmed that the army officers are roaming around the Rohingya camp. They are ordering young Rohingyas to attend for military training.
The irony for Rohingya men like Mohammad is that Myanmar's Rohingya are still denied citizenship. They are subject to various discriminatory restrictions. As such they cannot move outside their community area.
Lakhs of Rohingya were expelled from Rakhine state in 2012. And they were forced to live in camps. 5 years after this incident, in August 2017, the Myanmar army started a brutal killing campaign against the Rohingya in Rakhine. In the face of this campaign, 700,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar and were forced to seek refuge in neighboring Bangladesh. At that time thousands of Rohingya were killed and raped in Myanmar. Rohingya villages were burnt down.
600,000 Rohingya are still living in Rakhine state.
Myanmar is now facing trial at the International Court of Justice for the Rohingya genocide.
The Junta recently lost large swathes of territory in Rakhine to an ethnic insurgent group called the Arakan Army. After this incident, the Rohingyas are now being forcibly recruited into the army by the Junta.
Army artillery and airstrikes have killed dozens of Rohingya in Rakhine in the ongoing anti-junta conflict.
Myanmar's military has suffered significant losses in attacks by opposition armed groups in other parts of the country. Last Saturday, the Junta lost control of Mawadi, a town on the Thai border. Most of the country's overland trade takes place on this important route.
A large number of Myanmar Junta soldiers were killed and wounded in the conflict. Many soldiers surrendered. Many defected. It is difficult for the Myanmar army to cover this loss, this deficit. The situation is such that one can now find very few people in Myanmar willing to risk their lives for the country's unpopular junta government.
The Rohingya fear that this is why they are being targeted again. In a war that the Junta seems to be losing, the Rohingya are being made the scapegoat.
Mohammed said he was taken to the base of the 270th Light Infantry Battalion in Sittwe.
Rohingya have been banned from living in cities since they were evicted from their settlements during sectarian violence in 2012.
"We were taught how to load and drive," Mohammad said.
The BBC has seen a video of another group of Rohingya being forced to join the army. In the video, Rohingyas are being taught how to operate BA-63 rifles.
