Arson, exclusion and exodus: what next for the Rohingya and Myanmar?

ANU Myanmar Research Centre Event

Myanmar has made global headlines in recent weeks due to the flight of almost half a million self-identifying Rohingya to Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries. The exodus follows attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) against Myanmar police outposts in October 2016 and again on August 25 2017 which were coordinated with the release of a report on conditions in Rakhine State by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. Massive reprisals by Myanmar Armed Forces and vigilante groups have followed, with refugees describing arson attacks, massacres in villages and wide scale human rights abuses. For decades Rakhine State has experienced recurrent outbreaks of violence. This panel discussion will bring together academic and policy experts to situate the latest events in the history of violence and consider implications for the lives of Rohingya people, for human security of all populations in Rakhine State and for Myanmar’s political transition. Speakers will also present their views on potential solutions - national, regional and global.