Mr. Christopher Smith,
Mr. John A. Boehner
Speaker of the House – Designate
1011 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515-3508
Dated December 1, 2010
Dear Honorable House Speaker,
We are aware that on September 29, 2010 Mr. Christopher Smith, Congressman from New Jersey, have introduced and submitted a resolution H.RES.1710 to the House of Representatives at 111th Congress 2nd. Session calling on Burma’s military regime to immediately recognize the “ROHINGYA people” as full and equal citizens of Burma. The resolution also called for an end to the regime’s campaign of religious and ethnic persecution amounting to crimes against humanity throughout Burma.
Upon through study of this resolution, we regretfully found that Mr. Smith has presented false statements without having detailed knowledge of the truth. His misrepresentations are very detrimental to the people in Arakan (Rakhing) State, especially to the people living in the areas of Butheedaung and Maungdaw. We are very concerned with three points of the resolution:
1. the term “Rohingya”;
2. Rohingyas have been living in Northern Arakan (Rakhaing) state for centuries;
3. approximately one million Rohingya out of a total three million population fled Burma.
Point 1: The term “ROHINGYA” is synonym of alien Chittagonian separatists of jahadist Mujahidin known as Mujahadeen. It belongs to neither any ethnic groups nor religious category.
Point 2: This political movement started in the 1960’s, not centuries ago
Point 3: According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there were 156,630 (not one million) who fled in 1978 during the Nagamin Operations.
We, the Arakanese(Reakhings) people that belong to one of the ethnic groups of Burma, do not deny the Burmese military regime’s campaign of religious and ethnic persecution or ethnic cleansing. But we do not agree and categorically object to the proposal for recognizing the “ROHINGYA people” as full and equal citizens of Burma because neither “ROHINGYA people” nor ROHINGYA ethnic grouping in the Union of Burma exist. The term “ROHINGYA” is never known to history nor it is ever recorded in the official documents as designation of Muslim circle in Rakhaing, ostensibly cross-bred by Arab castaways. It is only a belied term employed by the alien Muslim separatists, with the object of advancing a legal claim to ethnic grouping of the Union of Burma.
The Imperialist British, who ruled the Indian Empire, named them Chittagonians after the Chittagong District of East Bengal, where from they originated. Our Burmese history shows that the main indigenous ethnic groups of the Union of Burma are Bama, Rakhaing, Shan, Mon, Karen, Chin, Kachin and Kayah. If you will study the Burmese history you will find Bengali Muslims who settle down in Butheedaung and Maungdaw in various groups. During the last part of 1850, a large number of Bengali Muslims came to Butheedaung through Maungdaw. The local Rakhaings had to watch their movements by turn for security of their lives and properties. When the authority of the East India Company also constructed a railroad from Maungdaw to Buthidaung, the Chittagonian Bengali were engaged as labourers during 1916 to 1918. Hence they began to settle there permanently.
While the communal riots took place between Muslims and Rakhaings in 1942, Rakhaings suffered much and Buddhist temples, Buddha statutes and pagodas were burnt down. Most of the villagers of northern and southern sides of Maungdaw and Buthidaung were killed, women raped, and their properties looted. The Rakhaings from the areas of Maungdaw and Buthidaung left their belongings and ran away to nearby safety places. The houses and lands were snatched and occupied by the Muslims in their absence. Their villages were converted into Muslim villages and Buddhist temples were turned into mosques and madrashes. At that time, there were no Rakhaings people living in Maungdaw and Buthidaung because of riots, and these areas became vacuum places. Taking this opportunity, nearly 100 percent of Bengali Muslims flooded and settled down in these areas. The new generation of Bengali Muslims living in these areas wanted to be named as “ROHINGYA”. These look like recent Afghanistan Taliban, radical Muslims (jihadists) or terrorists. The term “ROHINGYA” was coined by Islamic extremists during 1950 to Islamize during turmoil after independence. Since the colonial time, there were many attempts by radical Islamists to secede Burma especially in the western part which had been flooded with illegal immigration of Muslims. There were numerous incidents in which native Buddhist Rakhaings villages and people were destroyed.
During 1980 and 1990, “ROHINGYA” organizations became powerful with the aids from the Arab Islamists and the Bengali Islamists’ man-power. At the same time, Burma had been facing great difficulty and it was the right moment for the Rohingya invaders to jihad Burma and destroy its existing cultures especially the Buddhism in Rakhaing (Arakan). It is obvious that thousands of Bengali Muslims (they called themselves ROHINGYA people) from Burma went to Afghanistan and fought along with the Talibans against US with the intention of getting help from them to make Northern Arakan (Rakhaing) an Islamic State. Arakan Rohingya Nationalist Organization (ARNO) and Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) were among the groups who were trained in Afghanistan camps and were/are active in Northern Rakhaing and Bangladesh.
In light of these revelations, and on strength of the supporting documents enclosed herewith, we respectfully request you to immediately reject Mr. Christopher Smith’s resolution H.RES.1710.IH presented to the House of Representatives at 111th Congress 2nd Session in respect of the “ROHINGYA” people.
Your kind and sympathetic consideration of our request and presentation is highly appreciated.
Yours truly,
Ran Nin Soe
Zeelandlaan -24
2101 TM Heemstede
The Netherlands
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