ts.” They particularly targeted the Rohingya, who they referred to as illegal Bengali immigrants, subjecting them to rape, murder, and arbitrary arrest. Months later, after an agreement with Bangladesh, 180,000 Rohingya were repatriated to Burma.
The 1982 Citizenship Law stripped the rights of most Rohingya, effectively rendering them stateless.
The Tatmadaw (Myanmar Military Forces) engaged in another ethnic cleansing campaign in December, 1991 called Operation Pyi Thaya (Clean and Beautiful Nation) to expel so-called “foreigners” in northern Rakhine State. Between 200,000 and 250,000 Rohingya refugees fled to Bangladesh.
Three Rohingya individuals were accused of allegedly raping and killing a Rakhine Buddhist girl. That month, Buddhist mobs initiated retaliatory violence against the Rohingya, leaving 98 dead.
Religious violence in Rakhine State left over two hundred Rohingya dead and close to 150,000 homeless.
Radical Buddhist monks instigated anti-Muslim riots and campaigns across the country, leaving dozens dead.
By April 2013, tens of thousands of Rohingya fled or lost their homes. While many remained displaced within Myanmar, thousands crossed into neighbouring Bangladesh.
A constitutional referendum allowed the Myanmar government to eradicate Rohingya identification cards and revoke their right to vote.
Between January and May of 2015, an estimated 30,000 Rohingya refugees fled Myanmar and Bangladesh by boat, attempting to seek refuge in neighbouring Southeast Asian countries. Many nearby countries refused their entry, leaving 8,000 stranded at sea.
Assaults on border guards and Myanmar officials in the Rakhine State left nine police officers killed. A military crackdown ensued, which sent an estimated 87,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh.
In an interview with the BBC, Aung San Suu Kyi said “I don’t think there is ethnic cleansing going on…I think ethnic cleansing is too strong an expression to use for what is happening.”
ARSA attacks on at least 20 police outposts killed 12 security officers led to military ‘clearance operations’. These operations included burning down whole Rohingya villages, triggering a mass migration of Rohingya to Bangladesh.
The UN stated that ethnic cleansing had occurred against the Rohingya. In the weeks before, an estimated 300,000 Rohingya refugees fled to Bangladesh.
After circulating news of security officers killing innocent Muslims, raping young women and setting houses on fire, Suu Kyi finally broke her silence. She stated she wanted to “…find out why this exodus is happening.” This left many disappointed by her leadership.
The Myanmar government announces that approximately 200 Muslim villages situated in Rakhine have been abandoned. The UN Secretary-General calls the crisis “the world’s fastest developing refugee emergency and a … human rights nightmare.”
Global leaders and international organizations promise $344 million to fund humanitarian relief programs for the Rohingya refugees. However, the figure was still $90 million less than what the UN needed to adequately address the crisis. The United States also threatened to sanction Myanmar, adding that US aid cannot be used to fund the Burmese military’s campaign against the Rohingya.
Bangladesh signed a deal with Myanmar to return hundreds of thousands of Rohingya. This agreement has been criticised, as it is unclear whether Myanmar is in a position to house Rohingya with no threat of persecution.
Myanmar announced a deal with two UN agencies for the return of refugees from Bangladesh. The Rohingya are concerned that the agreement is not comprehensive enough to guarantee their safety.
A UN report accused six Myanmar generals of genocide and war crimes and called for them to face trial at the International Criminal Court. Myanmar rejected the findings.
Two Reuters journalists were sentenced to seven years in jail for violation of state secrecy laws. They believe that their reporting on the military’s violence against the Rohingya led to their framing by the police.
Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed to start the repatriation of Ro