The conflict in Myanmar between the Rakine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims has been one of

an unending cycle. It has been one of the most recurring conflicts in the world which up till now
has no known solution and resolve. The Rohingya Muslims are today considered one of the most
persecuted minorities in the world by the UN and one of the largest groups of stateless people
(Kiragu et al 2011). They face constant human rights violation as well as other restrictions due to
their denial of Myanmar citizenship since 1982. Arbitrary taxation, destruction of mosques, land
confiscation, restriction of movements, forced eviction and house destruction, forced labor on
roads and military camps, extrajudicial executions, torture and ill-treatment, financial restrictions
on marriage and many others constitute the manner of abuse this group constantly faces. From
the 1960s they have been subject to prejudices at the time the government controlled the military.
The government was determined to scapegoat the Rohingya for its failed programs The result of
these oppression and abuse has been the migration of many Rohingya Muslims to neighboring
countries. About a million Rohingya Mulsims are said to have migrated to the Bangladeshi
district of Cox’s Bazar.

The Rakine state is located at the west coast of Myanmar with an estimated population of
3.8million constituting of 59.7% being Buddhists and 35.6% being Rohingya Muslims with the
rest from other religions and sects. In the whole of Myanmar, there is also an estimated 7million
Muslims, half of which live in the Rakine state (Jaha, 1994). Another notable information is that
the Rohingya Muslims also constitute a blend of diverse Muslim ethnic groups; the Arabs,
Moghuls, and Bengalis (Alam, 2013). These statistics indicate a perception of threat with the
increase in the number of this group who are not considered to be citizens of Myanmar.

During the British colonial rule, there evolved Buddhist nationalism which caused them to
identify more with Burmese culture and history. Because of the strong ties between the Burmese
military and Japan in order to defeat Allied forces and British colonials at the time, Myanmar’s
Buddhist nationalism was influenced by the Japanese system of fascism. For that reason, the
Rohingya issue is not centered only on religion but also economically and politically intertwined
(Shams, 2015). The Buddhists have deep fear for a speculated rise Muslim revolution in the
Rakine state. Myanmar in itself is located in the midst of some Islamic countries including
Indonesia, Malaysia, and Bangladesh. The Buddhists in the Rakine state speculate that should
there be an attack from any of these Muslim states, the Rohingya Muslims will definitely rise to
fight against them in support of any of these Muslims states; they feel they would be in great
danger particularly in Rakine should any of such spring up. The government of Myanmar itself
has in many ways; culturally discriminated, economically exploited and political sidelined the
Rohingya Muslims because of these perceived threats (Wolf, 2017). They are considered to be
illegal immigrants from the neighboring Bangladesh. The conflict has been going on in the
Northern parts of the Rakine state, areas include; Maungdaw, Rathedaung and Buthidaug
(Human Rights Watch, HRW, 2013). It has however been expansive in recent years and has
resulted in ethnic cleansing and genocide (Nawoyski, 2013).
According to (Jacques, 2005) the attempt to oppress the Rohingya are as follows; to oust
Muslims from their jobs and replace with Buddhists, to close Islamic schools and institutions, to
confiscate their properties and distribute to the Buddhists, to imprison or exile Muslim leaders
outside their home countries, to incite to kill Muslims and prove them as terrorist.

After a series of piled up tensions between the Rakine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, there
was a wild escalation that took place in the Rakine state. First there was the rape, robbery and
murder of a Rakhine young woman by three Muslim youths in Yanbe township on 28 May.
Followed by the killings of 10 Muslim males in a passenger bus in Taun gup township on 3 June.
Obviously as a result of these two incidents, riots broke out between the Rakine Buddhists and
Rohyingya. Homes and mosques were burnt up as the riots took place, many lives were lost as
many more people were displaced. 43 people were killed over the period of four days after
disputes in a gold shop. The witnesses claimed that this violence was instigated by monks calling
for Muslim extermination According to the Myanmar’s government’s report 77 people from both
communities were killed and 109 people were injured. 4822 homes, 17 mosques, 15 monasteries
and three schools were burnt down. Later on 21 August the government reported that 88 people
were killed—31 Rakhines and 57 Rohingyas. The Myanmar government formed a 16-member
committee on 6 June to investigate the incident. The committee was chaired by the Deputy
Minister of Home Affairs. The conclusions after the investigations were that gross mistrust and
religious differences had been the main reason for such a confrontation. The Union and state
government officials visited the destroyed communities to engage in resettlement and
rehabilitation activities. The government further set up 89 relief camps in three affected
townships to accommodate 14,328 Rakhines and 30,740 Rohingyas.

Further clashes ensued in August, the Rohingyas in retaliation to piled up discrimination attacked
the Burmese border police posts and killed 12 officers, as a result there was ‘counter insurgency
clearing operation against the Rohingya’. According to Washington post, 280 were killed and
about 150,000 people were displaced and camped.

Another violent conflict broke out again on 21 October. With this confrontation, 84 people lost
their lives, 129 people injured, 2950 homes destroyed, 14 religious buildings and eight rice mills
were burnt down. The police and army personnel were sent to the affected areas. The
government took legal actions against 1058 people involved in the renewed violence and carried
out relief and rehabilitation works for those affected areas.

The Guardian reports an attack on border police posts by ‘insurgent terrorist’ of were claimed to
be Rohingyas. Also the New York times reports, two soldiers were killed in a clash between
security forces and Rohingya people. The military in retaliation fired at the Rohyingya people
from helicopters killing up to 100 of them.