{"id":7528,"date":"2026-09-04T05:26:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T05:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/?p=7528"},"modified":"2026-09-04T05:37:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T05:37:58","slug":"junta-blatantly-lies-again-denies-rohingya-name-claims-2017-rakhine-crackdown-was-protecting-nation-and-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/2026\/09\/04\/junta-blatantly-lies-again-denies-rohingya-name-claims-2017-rakhine-crackdown-was-protecting-nation-and-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Junta Blatantly Lies Again: Denies Rohingya Name, Claims 2017 Rakhine Crackdown Was &#8220;Protecting Nation and Race&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>September 3, 2026 | By MPA<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The military junta issued a statement on September 3 blatantly lying that the 2017 military violence and crackdown against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine State\u2014for which it currently faces genocide charges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ)\u2014was merely done to &#8220;protect the nation and race&#8221;.<sup><\/sup> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The junta\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement expressed firm opposition to the &#8220;incorrect&#8221; use of the Rohingya ethnic name, claiming no such group exists in Myanmar, and rejected international statements regarding the 2017 northern Rakhine events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The junta defended its actions by claiming that as a sovereign state, Myanmar has the right to defend itself and respond to terrorist attacks in accordance with Rules of Engagement (RoE). It added that it cannot accept statements made for political gain regarding northern Rakhine events using the term &#8220;Rohingya.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We firmly object to the situation where an ethnic name that does not exist in Myanmar is being used incorrectly. We cannot accept the use of this term for political purposes to gain political advantage regarding events in northern Rakhine State,&#8221; the junta&#8217;s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the junta claims its actions were responses to systematic attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on August 25, 2017, international human rights groups and UN agencies renewed calls for military accountability during recent late-August anniversaries of the brutal crackdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The military&#8217;s clearance operations forced over one million Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.<sup><\/sup> International bodies, including the UN, Human Rights Watch (HRW), and the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), have categorized these actions as crimes against humanity and genocide.<sup><\/sup> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">International organizations continue to demand accountability, justice, recognition of the Rohingya identity, and a safe return for the population through the ICJ and the International Criminal Court (ICC).<sup><\/sup> Although the junta claims it is working to voluntarily repatriate vetted displaced persons from Bangladesh camps, it continues to reject international pressure, calling it contradictory to ground realities.<sup><\/sup> &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Fact-Check &amp; Contextual Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Junta&#8217;s Narrative vs. Fact:<\/strong> The military\u2019s claim of acting strictly within &#8220;Rules of Engagement&#8221; directly contradicts exhaustive findings by the UN, IIMM, and human rights bodies. These organizations documented mass executions, widespread sexual violence, and systemic arson. &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Repatriation Plan (Malaysia to Myanmar):<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Malaysia&#8217;s Home Ministry announced plans to return 5,000 Myanmar national detainees from immigration detention centers. &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The initial phase schedules <strong>1,476 individuals<\/strong> (roughly 1,500) to be transported via Myanmar Navy ships on September 29, 2026. &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Human Rights Concerns:<\/strong> Rights organizations such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mly-inv-2026-09-02\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fortify Rights<\/a> and the UNHCR have urged a halt to the plan, pointing out that returning refugees to military-controlled Myanmar violates the international principle of <em>non-refoulement<\/em> and exposes individuals\u2014especially Rohingya\u2014to forced conscription, arbitrary arrest, and severe persecution. &nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Why Ma Ba Tha \/ Nationalist Monks are Escalating Islamophobia:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Dividing the Resistance:<\/strong> Facing severe territorial losses to resistance forces, the junta uses nationalist proxy networks like Ma Ba Tha and armed Pyu Saw Htee militias to sow religious division. &nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Manufacturing Legitimacy:<\/strong> By positioning itself as the sole &#8220;protector of Buddhism and the nation,&#8221; the regime leverages religious extremism to justify its violence and recruit supporters amid military attrition. &nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Legal &amp; Political Realities: The Repatriation Fallacy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The assertion that the junta and the Malaysian government have arranged a &#8220;safe, dignified return&#8221; is a diplomatic cover for forced repatriation. Beyond the rhetoric, structural barriers and systemic abuses await any returned refugees:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. Citizenship &amp; Legal Status<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Reality:<\/strong> The junta has <strong>not<\/strong> agreed to recognize Rohingya as citizens.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Verification Cards (NVCs):<\/strong> Instead of citizenship, the regime forces returning Rohingya to accept NVCs, which officially classify them as &#8220;foreigners\/immigrants.&#8221; The 1982 Citizenship Law remains intact, denying full legal status, freedom of movement, and access to higher education or state employment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. Camps vs. Actual Homes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Internment Camps:<\/strong> Returned individuals will <strong>not<\/strong> return to their ancestral villages. Instead, they will be transferred directly into military-controlled IDP &#8220;reception centers&#8221; or transit camps (such as Hpaung Tok or Taung Pyo Letwe).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Open-Air Prisons:<\/strong> These camps act as open-air prisons, restricting movement and enforcing total dependence on meager international aid, which the junta frequently blockades.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. Forced Conscription &amp; Weaponization<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Human Shields:<\/strong> Since the February 2024 activation of the Conscription Law, the military has forcibly drafted hundreds of Rohingya men in Rakhine State. Returned refugees face an extreme risk of immediate forced military recruitment or being used as forced laborers\/human shields against the advancing Arakan Army (AA).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Proxy Militias:<\/strong> The junta actively funds and equips factional Rohingya armed groups (e.g., ARSA, RSO) to clash with the Arakan Army, intentionally fueling ethnic strife between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>4. Property, Compensation &amp; Land Seizures<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Zero Compensation:<\/strong> The regime offers no restitution or compensation for stolen land, destroyed crops, or pillaged businesses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Militarization &amp; Foreign Concessions:<\/strong> Thousands of acres of land razed during the 2017 &#8220;clearance operations&#8221; have been designated as state-owned property, converted into military bases, or leased to foreign investors (including Chinese infrastructure projects under the Belt and Road Initiative, such as the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>5. Destruction of Mosques &amp; Religious Freedom<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Systemic Desecration:<\/strong> Hundreds of Mosques and Madrasas destroyed in 2017 and subsequent clashes have been completely demolished, paved over, or converted to military\/civilian government infrastructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ongoing Restrictions:<\/strong> The regime forbids the repair or construction of Islamic places of worship and strictly limits religious gatherings, using Ma Ba Tha and nationalist networks to enforce anti-Muslim policies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>6. International Law Violations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Violating <em>Non-Refoulement<\/em>:<\/strong> Malaysia is sending back <strong>1,476 individuals<\/strong> on September 29 using Myanmar naval ships. International rights organizations like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2026\/08\/03\/malaysia-forcibly-returning-myanmar-refugees-risks-lives\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Human Rights Watch<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fortifyrights.org\/mly-inv-2026-03-12\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Fortify Rights<\/a> emphasize that sending refugees back to a military junta actively committing crimes against humanity is a severe violation of customary international law. &nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"1024\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 576 \/ 1024;\" width=\"576\" controls src=\"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/AQOVbpCzvaKt34Dobyrnk4x6F5XGmvfau1SMhpxtGj89CmIbwFFy6FCNQdqr4cmWdw-H_M_RG4egpE7U9BW9Hfb9kc7ImnbmmMnO-hO4mg.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>September 3, 2026 | By MPA The military junta issued a statement on September 3 blatantly lying that the 2017 military violence and crackdown against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine State\u2014for which it currently faces genocide charges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ)\u2014was merely done to &#8220;protect the nation and race&#8221;. &nbsp; The junta\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7529,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,6,133,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-history","category-human-rights-constitution-federal-democracy-social-nets-minority-rights","category-myanmar-muslims-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7528"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7528\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7533,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7528\/revisions\/7533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}