![burma vs myanmar burma vs myanmar](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5oRcQYBV5xk/maxresdefault.jpg)
![burma vs myanmar burma vs myanmar](https://ec.europa.eu/echo/sites/default/files/styles/oe_theme_medium_no_crop/public/2021-02/myanmar_en.png)
If the lesson from Rwanda is “Never Again,” the international community must be cautious in how it goes about preventing another genocide. International support for the Rohingya is seen as an expression of national interest and Western “human rights propaganda.” Such support has occasionally even translated into worsening conditions for the Muslim minority: the temporary ejection of aid organizations from Rakhine, crystallized nationalist anti-Rohingya sentiments, and so on. The international response to the situation in Rakhine state has certainly been more vocal than it was toward Rwanda in 1994, but the relationship between international community (as represented by Western media outlets, international NGOs, and government officials) and communities in Burma/Myanmar is growing increasingly tense as a result. Even Aung Sun Suu Kyi, who has been lauded in the West for her commitment to human rights, remains silent on the Rohingya. The idea that since they are not “from Myanmar,” the Rohingya are intruders, detractors from the Burmese identity, justifies their persecution at the hands of the Arakan ethnic group in coordination with the military and, according to a report from Fortify Rights, also the central government. In Rwanda, they used the same word, “inyenzi” in Kinyarwanda, to describe Tutsis. They are called “cockroaches” and illegal Bengalis.
![burma vs myanmar burma vs myanmar](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q20RSIzgcTQ/hqdefault.jpg)
Like Rwanda before the genocide, the Rohingya are denigrated in mass media, mostly, like in Rwanda, through the radio. They are seen as illegal immigrants, and as such rejected their humanity. Even the most educated and “liberal” Burmese find it difficult to address the “Rohingya issue” in any depth. The dismal reality of the Rohingya Muslim population in Rakhine state-statelessness that translates into a lack the most basic rights to medical care, mobility, employment, education, housing, etc.-continues without a second thought from the government, the military, or the opposition. Hate speech against minority ethnic and religious populations is prevalent. The conflict landscape in Burma/Myanmar is thus significantly more complex than many other ethnically-framed armed conflicts.īut the echoes of past ethnic conflicts, mass violence, and even genocide persist. Having opened up to the international community so recently, the government is under tremendous pressure to implement rapid reforms and make significant concessions in the peace process(es) with at least 16 ethnically-based non-state armed groups. In many ways, Burma/Myanmar is in a unique historical and political position right now. Having now worked in both countries, I can’t help but draw them. It’s easy to draw parallels between Burma/Myanmar and pre-genocide Rwanda-some more appropriate than others.