Tuesday, March 27, 2012

142 - adopted Bengali and Persian as court and official languages. These were evidences of Muslim rule in Arakan.

ARAKAN MAGAZINE I OCTOBER ISSUE 2011 16
www.rohingya.org I info@ rohingya.BACK COVER .org

adopted Bengali and Persian as court and official languages. These were evidences of
Muslim rule in Arakan.
(5) Thus the Rohingyas were a settled and active community before the Burmese occupation of Arakan in 1784 A.D. They have had well defined territory in North Arakan before British colonization. They were the backbones of the Arakan’s economy and have had developed its agriculture. They have had paid remarkable contribution almost in all fields. Rohingya’s legal position in Arakan/ Burma
(6) The Rohingyas have historical and spiritual attachments and natural allegiance
to Arakan/Burma. Under article 3 of the Nu-Attlee Treaty of 17 October 1947, and
under Section 11(i) (ii)(iii) of the Burma Constitution of 1947, effected on 4 January 1948, the Rohingyas are citizens of Burma. On topof that, by all legal standards, the Rohingyas
are not only natural citizens of Burma but also one of the many indigenous peoples of
Arakan, therefore, to Burma. The regime and critics reject the existence of Rohingya in Arakan. They say that the word Rohingya is recently coined. Is their claim true?
(7) The word Rohingya derives from Rohang, an old name of Arakan. The Scottish traveller Francis Buchannan affirmed that Muslim population of Arakan was called Rohingya, and that he met Rohingya in Ava in 1795. “Myanmar Swezon Kyan” Vol.9, page 89/90 mentions that 75% of the population in Mayu Frontier is Rohingya. These reject the claims that there is no Rohingya in Burma. In addition, the military regime affirmed in its official book Cont. P. 15 Ladies and Gentlemen, First of all I thank all of you for your time, for coming and encouraging us. I also thank those who work hard to hold this demonstration and make it a grand success. As you are aware, this is a part of the global protest called by the Rohingya communities across the world today against the anti-Rohingya statements made by USDP ministers in the parliament. On 29th August and 1st September 2011, some Rohingya MPs, (they all belong to USDP) asked in the parliament to redress the issues and problems being faced by the Muslim Rohingyas --
such as restrictions on their freedom of movement, marriage and education.
Instead of remedying such serious situation of grave human rights violations, the concerned ministers of Thein Sein regime foolishly threatened that such restrictions were necessary by
accusing the Rohingya population as Bangladeshis / illegal immigrants / nonnationals. One of such irresponsible and bad-mannered ministers was former police chief U Khin Yi, the Minister of Immigration and Population. Their statements are blatant lies, racist disdain and Muslim phobia of the new civilianized military regime, which has not the least sense of human rights, no intention to make any political and democratic reform in Burma. Above all, this concocted allegation affirms its systematic policy to annihilate the remaining Rohingya population from their ancestral homeland of Arakan. For this we strongly condemn Thein Sein Govt. The following are rebuttals:
Who are Rohingyas?/ Are they aliens?

(1) Rohingya are a people inhabiting Arakan from time immemorial. They have developed in Arakan from peoples of different ethnical backgrounds over the many centuries. Their Muslim settlements in Arakan dated back to early 8th century. Their arrivals and settlements in Arakan predated the arrivals and settlements of many other peoples in Arakan and Burma.
(2) They are a people having a long supporting history, separate culture, civilization, language and literature, historically settled territory and reasonable size of population and area in Arakan – they consider themselves distinct from other sector of society.
(3) History testifies that the ancient people in Arakan were Indians similar to the people of Bengal that is Bengalis. This affirms that the Rohingyas are aborigines of Arakan. Their Contributions in Arakan/Burma
4) Muslims were king makers in independent Arakan, nay, from 1430 to 1531, for more than one hundred years, they virtually ruled Arakan. This fact was confirmed by many foreign and indigenous historians, including the then Chairman of the Burma Historical Research Society Col. Ba Shin. The heyday of Arakan began with the influence and spread of Muslim civilization in Arakan. Coins and medallions were issued inscribing Kalema (the profession of faith in Islam) in Arabic script. Muslim etiquettes  and manners were practiced in the court of Arakan, the Buddhist kings adopted the Muslim titles and introduced Muslim system of governance copying the imperial courts of Delhi and Gaur, established
Muslim Quazi courts and literary activities, 

ARAKAN ROHINGYA NATIONAL ORGANISATION ( ARNO ) PRESIDENT NURUL ISLAM SPEAKING IN THE DEMONSTRAION IN FRONT OF BURMESE EMBASSY IN LONDON, ON “ THE ROHINGYA GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION. “ NEWS ASSESMENTS ROHINGYAS OF BURMA ARE ONE OF THE MOST PERSECUTED, VOICELESS AND UNDERREPRESENTED PEOPLES IN THE WORLD

A speech by Nurul Islam, President of the ARNO, in Front the Burmese Embassy in London on “ THE ROHINGYA
GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION ” On 15 September 2011 ▬ The Editor

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