13 comments

• SawDaniel Htun-Lynn

  BURMA, the world longest civil war! How could stop it???
  Would you have any idea (opinion)!?
  My ideas the real Fedaral Uinon is completely to stop Burma civil war.
  How do you think!!??

  6 January 2006, 12:31 pm

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• Professor A. Bahar

  Laughable thing! Some People are fighting with the Mask of the Devil.

  Dr Aye Chan is an Aakani anti Rohingya writer who fights with the Mask of the Devil. The imaginary mask he portrayed is the term “Rohingya” and his devils are “the Muslims of Arakan.” He has a great number of anti Muslim followers in Arakan as well as in abroad. He wrote a book called “Influx Viruses.” Denying the historic origins of the Rohingyas in Arakan from the 8th century, it implies them as “viruses” infecting the Burmese people. Is n’t it similar to what Hitler called the Jews as the “viruese” in Germany destroying the pure Aryan race.

  With this flashing sign “influx Viruses” of his book cover on http://www.rakhapura.com, is this a sign of Burma’s progress? Are n’t these materials being feed to the leaders to take it to action for the Burmese military’s Rohingya extermination policy? Yes, Mr. Aye Chan pretends to be a liberal but isn’t he is working as one of the inciters? Are there some anti racist Bumese groups who are ready to start a case against him at the international court in Haige for Dr. Chan and his likes racist propaganda? Is the Arakani hate propaganda against the citizens is going too far that it is time to take action against them?

  Dr, Chan makes trips to Japan, Thailand and to USA to keep the Arakanese community informed of his progress. If Burma is democratic, isn’t Aye Chan supposed to be in jail for charges of racial incitement? Isn’t it laughable to see Aye Chan a hero of the democracy movement in Arakan? Please help people stop laughing at Burma’s Decay by distinguishing the friend of democracy movement from its foes!

  9 January 2006, 8:11 am

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• Aye Chan

  To Professor Bahar:
  Yes, this is Aye Chan. I am never racial or anti-Muslim. Please read my article, “The Development of Muslim Enclave in Arakan,” SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research 3(2). Please point out if there is any phrase of mine that is written with prejudice against the Muslims in Burma. My paper is well documented, soundly logical and clearly informative. I have got messages of compliment from the western scholars for that peper. I am only co-author of that book that I have not even had a look yet. I heard the same paper was published in different form. I never use political jargons in my academic writings.I see myself as a pro-democracy and human rights activist. Sincerely, Aye Chan

  17 March 2006, 12:38 pm

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• Rajib Shanker

  Dear Professor A. Bahar:
  My name is R. Shanker. I am a Hindu Bengali born in Akyab. I have read the article written by Dr. A. Chan. I don’t find any kind of prejudice in his writings. We, the Hindus from Arakan State (although I am living in the U.S. now) speak the same language that you speak. Our ancestors migrated into Arakan after the British annexation of that country in 1826. My family fled the country after military takeover of power in 1962. I will never be ashamed to be a Bengali. I am proud of the pure Bengali blood running in my body. R. Shanker, LA

  17 March 2006, 15:58 pm

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• Jose Manuel Tesoro Contributor profile »

  Hello all,

  I’m sensing this thread is going way off-topic. Prof. Bahar’s comment doesn’t seem to have much if anything to do with the subject of this post, and while I appreciate very much Dr. Aye Chan’s level-headed response, it does take us further afield.

  Please make sure future comments stay on-topic.

  Jezube,
  Joel Tesoro
  Southeast Asia Regional Editor, GVO

  17 March 2006, 16:56 pm

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• Professor Abid Bahar

  Dear Editor,

  Yes, we have to stay on topic, and it has to be about jokes, the military and the civil war. I understand it very well.

  Let me start with a relevant joke:

  Once upon a time, there lived two friends in the same neighbourhood. Both of them had hearing problem. One day they met each other in the street and one asked the other “Are you going for shoping?” The other person said “No, I am going for shopping.” Reminding you again that both of them had hearing problem and they couldn’t understand each other.

  Now let’s apply this in a slightly different way in Mr. Aye Chan’s context. I raised the question of his co authored book “Influx Viruese,” I didn’t talk about any of his articles. But Mr. Chan responds by citing his article ” Enclave…”

  In this said article by Mr Chan based on selective materials he proves that Rohingyas are Chittagonians. Here he ignores the fact that during the British period the Moghs and Rohingyas in great numbers also left for Chittagong; this is starting from 1784 Burmese invasion of Arakan. Some estimates says that during the British period two third of the people of Arakan left for Chittagong. Out of that many, only a portion of the Rohingyas returned during the British period which to Mr Chan is about the Chittagonian influx viruses. Citing mostly Phayre he considers them as foreigners. Then again the 1942 Rohingya genocide when over a hundred thousand Rohingyas left Arakan to take shelter in Chittagong. This way his arguments are one sided only. Despite Mr Chan’s many questionable arguments in this articles, I agree that Mr. Aye Chan’s article “enclave…” is written as if like an academic paper.

  But what about his article “Who are the Rohingyas.” Ofcourse, it is written with more emotion. Here he clearly labels his fellow Rohingya citizens as foreigners. He calls them as “Chittagonians.” In the same article, claiming himself as a democracy movement leader but like Milosovic and his Serbs, all through the paper he shows the suffering of his Mogh population without saying a word about his fellow citizen; Rohingya refugee crisis. While this way he makes the Rohingya issue a great deal, in this paper he calls a fellow Mogh in Japan who published a book in Japan recognizing the Rohingyas as a betrayer of the Arakani interest.

  If Mr. Chan had respect for democratic values, he could have easily appreciated the Mogh scholar in Japan and also could have identified the refugees that migrated to Bangladesh during the British period now Bangladeshi citizens are not at such a risk as the Rohingyas.

  Again in my fist comment made above, I was not referring to any of Mr Chan’s articles but only his co authored book “INFLUX VIRUSES” that is about Rohingyas as the so called Bengali “viruses” referred to in the book.

  Here in this book one will find Mr. Chan’s mask is taken completely off. Here he and his co author openly fights against his portrayed devil,the Rohingyas.

  Mr. Chan was born in the Rohingya inhabited north Arakan so he knew when to fight with a mask and when without a mask. To my knowledge he also is in touch with some Rohingya gentleman in abroad. Despite his soft spoken intellectual style, the book written by him and his collegue displays ultra nationalist spirit. It was flashing with the name Aye Chan in English for enough time to catch international attention.

  When questioned about the authorship of this book, Mr Chan says that

  “I am only co-author of that book that I have not even had a look yet. I heard the same paper was published in different form.”

  Mr Chan: In intellectual atmosphere where you and I both spend most of our time, you know that naivity has no place.

  These excuses may be convincing to adults who can see and even lived in Akyab but replied any ways without hearing the problem. In Japan I am sure your collegues will definitely understand the meaning of the word “Viruses” used for ethnic groups that are presently being exterminated from Arakan.

  I am not personally against anybody. But for the sake of humanity, you see, if it happens that even my own brother is too pumped up in prejudice and works against fundamental human rights I will not favour him; I will point out the constraints he is creating in the development of peace and the growth of our common humanity.

  Dear Editor: We have to stay on topic right? Isn’t Mr. Aye Chan’s line of argument that Rohingyas are influx viruses and the Burmese military’s action of extermination consistent?

  Htun-Lynn asked above:
  BURMA, the world longest civil war! How could we stop it?

  Abid Bahar’s Answer:
  Well, I have been working on Burmese ethnic problems for close to three decades; 28 years to be exact. You see in the name of democracy movement, Burmese military’s hate propaganda against its citizens with help from some intellectuals inciting people is going too far causing civil war. To me knowing how to recognize and act on making friends with revolutionary minds, respecting citizen’s birth rights, voting rights human rights, citizenship rights, sums up as democratic rights can only stop the longest civil war. Playing favourites to your own ethnic groups, inciting your kind against the racially the other kinds, ” Kulas”, Kachines, Rohingya minority is not a sign of revolution for democracy, but must be something else.
  Respectfully
  Dr. Abid Bahar

  24 March 2006, 0:41 am

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• Jose Manuel Tesoro Contributor profile »

  Uh, yes, technically on-topic but very quickly off-topic from there. If Mr. Aye Chan wishes to respond, I will allow him, but after that I can’t permit any more off-topic discussion on this. I just deleted a comment accusing Mr. Aye Chan of being a racist. True, false, or not, this thread is not the place for this discussion.

  Best,
  Joel Tesoro

  24 March 2006, 19:47 pm

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• Professor Abid Bahar

  Dear editor,

  Why do you want to stop our debate?

  In my write up, I have used the word xenophobia, ultra nationalist, but not the word “racist.” Xenophobia means fear of the stranger. Ultra nationalist means someone who suffers from an overdose of nationalism and shows the signs of intolerance. Some of these people could be racist but I didn’t use the word “racist.”

  By dealing with these issues I think I was very much on topic because I was also responding to SawDaniel Htun-Lynn (see above) Burma, ..”.the world longest civil war! How could we stop it”

  If we love to see democracy and human rights to be planted in Burma I don’t understand in what sense does the question of asking Mr. Chan to explain how human beings could become viruses to be exterminated? To you why such topic could also turn off topic. I don’t understand especially when the name of the site is GLOBAL VOICES.

  I am writing this because you and I and many others in the Global voices don’t like to see people to be uprooted from their place of birth. I hope you understand my point and let Mr Chan come forward to explain what he meant by “Influx viruses” that deserves to be uprooted. I have checked his other works to see how his mind works on this.

  If he truly is a democracy movement supporter as he claims, let us see if he can condemn (1) the content of the book ” INFLUX VIRUSES” and apologizes, (2) and condemns the military’s extermination policy (3) and makes a statement condemning the ultra nationalist propaganda in Arakan (4) and write an article on his position as a human rights supporter.

  This is for Mr Chan, an academecian, working in a modern and civilized counntry to prove in clear terms that he has changed his mind in favour of democracy and the equal rights of its citizens in Burma.

  Sincerely
  Abid Bahar

  25 March 2006, 0:41 am

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• Aye Chan

  Dear Mr. Bahar:
  I have explained you that the same article is reproduced in that book published by the American Arakanese. I am responsible for my ideas and all the terms used in the paper. But the title is not mine at all. I used the word “Chittagonian” in my articles. That term is not invented by me. In all the British colonial records the term is used to refer the Muslims from Buthidaung and Maungdaw Townships. See R B Smart. 1957.Burma Gazetteer Akyab District. Government Press, Rangoon. You are talking about my article, “Who Are the Rohingyas?” Yes, that article is not published in any academic paper, but in the Rakhapura Internet Magazine. I write, “It was announced on a broadcast of BBC Burmese program that a Burmese national of Rohingya ethnic group had been granted political asylum in Japan. We should be pleased with this sign of the Japanese government’s humanitarian attitude towards people who could face various kind of dangers in their homeland, including death, regardless of their race, religion or nationality. However, what concerns me in this case, as a native historian is the ethnicity of the so-called Rohingyas.” My intent can be clearly understood. I cannot understand why you are so sensitive to the historical truth that I have revealed. Professor Bahar, you are a scholar. Please look at all the colonial records. You have access to the IOR (India Office Records) in the British Library, London. If you find the term “Rohingya” referred to these people, please let me know. I will be deeply grateful to you. Sincerely,
  Aye Chan

  25 March 2006, 23:27 pm

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• Aye Chan

  P.S.
  Mr Bahar, you should rather write a review of my article in an academic journal than attack me on the computer screen. You should also consider why other historians of Arakan like Mike Charney of London University, Pam Gutman of Australian National University and Jacques Leider of Sobourn University, Paris are not criticizing me for that paper. I am ready to respond you any time if you critize me from the scholarly point of view.

  26 March 2006, 3:43 am

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