Zee JLF 2018 | Pak terror shadow in Rohingya crisis: Ma Thida

Ma Thida is a surgeon, writer, human rights activist and a former political prisoner during the rule of the military junta in Myanmar. She is the recipient of the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write award. Once a close aide of Aung Sang Suu Kyi, they seem to have drifted apart in recent times. Thida spoke to Pratik Ghosh on the sidelines of ZEE JLF. Edited excerpts.

You are a human rights activist. How do you view the Rohingya crisis?

The Rohingyas have been sandwiched between physical and intellectual violence. They have not only lost their homes, their farms and their livelihood, but have also been deprived of education. They have become easy prey for the politically motivated and religiously influential elite. Pakistan seems to be having a hand in this unrest. The leader of the extremist group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a Rohingya insurgent group active in northern Rakhine State, Ata Ullah is not a native of the Rakhine region. He was born in Karachi. No wonder, India is concerned about its national security. I think the Rohingya crisis is not a religious or a racial issue, but a political one. The Army also has a stake in it because by allowing this instability to continue, it can show the failures of the civilian leadership.

Now that the Rohingyas are coming back to Myanmar, what awaits them?

The Rakhine region is remote. It's still very unclear to us because the Army has complete control over information. There is very heavy military presence in the Rakhine region. However, recent incidents in the refugee camps in Bangladesh seem to be a matter of concern. Three people, who were the peer leaders in the camps and encouraged repatriation of the refugees were killed by the ARSA. It's a complex problem, you see.

Why is Aung Sang Suu Kyi so silent about the Rohingya crisis?

I also wonder why she is so silent about it. A lot of people think that she must have struck a compromise with the military. Some say that she is not very keen on taking up this issue. It's still unclear.

What is the state of democracy in Myanmar?

We can hardly call our country a democracy. The current civilian government doesn't have full authority. It's dependent on the military for crucial aspects of governance. It's worse than the coup because when the military was solely running the country, we, the civilians, had a common enemy. We were united in our fight against the common enemy. Now because the opposition is divided, there is no common enemy. The Army wants to have complete control over the legislature and it can do that by creating an atmosphere of instability. From that perspective, the Rohingya crisis comes in handy.