The talk presented by Daw Saw Khin Tint, the chairperson of Arakanese Women’s

Association, at Aloetawpyi Monastery of Rathetaung Township, Rakhine State,

on 27th June, 2012

Today, I’d like to talk about some facts that Arakanese should know.

In King Ananda Canda’s stone inscription in the precinct of the Shitthoung Pagoda in Mrauk-

Oo, our Arakan or Rakhine Land was recorded as Arakkhadesh (Arakan Land).

Arakkhadesh, then Arakkha, next Rakkha and from Rakkha to Rakhine, thus had changed, it

was recorded.

Our land had been called Rakhine or Arakkhadesh; likewise, all the nations like England,

American, French, Portuguese, Denmark, Norway, etc. have called our land “Arakan”.

So ‘Arakan’ is our land and some Rakhine historical documents and eyewitnesses had been

lost and our Arakan had been occupied, we have been able to find the term ‘Arakan’ instead

of ‘Rakhine’ in all the research papers and historical books about which many prominent

researchers from the Western Countries had studied in various scientific ways.

So if one wants to find some information about Rakhine in world history, one has to do so by

using the term ‘Arakan’.

But during U Nu’s premiership in 1951, Bengali people were given the posts of parliament

representatives, whereby a Muslim called Abdu Gava used a brand new term ‘Rohinger’ in

1951 and created a brand new nationality ‘Rohingya’ in Arakan.

(So-called) Rohingyas who had been created thus have presented to the world saying, “We,

Rohingyas, have lived in Arakan for about 1000 years – prior to the present Arakanese

people. So Arakan is our land. Arakanese are our nationality.”

As Saya U Bo Min Phyu has said, never before 1949, i.e, until the end of World War (II) in

world history, had this name heard of in Buthitaung and Maungdaw.

But they submitted research papers to the world, presenting themselves as a nationality who

has been living in Arakan for over 1000 years.

They have been so aggressive as to submit the research papers for over 20 years.

We, Arakanese, didn’t know or find out such a thing.

They are just invaders who have never been hinted.

For over 40 years, they have received financial support from the Muslim Circle to be able to

make the world known about their made-up story concerning their so-called history by saying

constantly in every possible way, “Arakan is our land. Rohinger is our name that has been in

existence since our first dwelling in Arakan. As we’d been suppressed and oppressed by the

Myanmar military junta, we Arakanese have been oppressed. We’ve been deprived of human

rights. We’ve been greatly oppressed. We Muslims have been persecuted.”

As said before, for over 20 years, they have been lying about the history depicting that

Mrauk-Oo has been their capital and Kings of Mrauk-Oo were their kings because the kings

had adopted their Muslim titles.

Concerning this matter, only about one year ago did we find out that they have been using

this term “Arakan”. When we found it, we cooperatively made a decision by keeping in mind

this idea, “Oh, they’ve announced themselves Arakanese regardless of our authentic status of

being Arakanese. We can’t stand it lying down this time. We’ve got to object to it. It’s now

well over 20 years. How should we try to catch up with it? We must oppose to this matter

where we can catch up with under every possible condition.” Keeping in mind it, experts

about Arakanese history, all Arakanese historians from Rakhine State and all the prominent

historians from abroad could collaboratively submit a letter of objection to all over Myanmar

as well as to the whole world with the theme words, “This term ‘Arakan’ is our Arakanese’s

patent word. So we strongly object to the made-up story of that to-a-pinch unconcerned

Bengali group about this term”.

It was one of the strongest objections we have ever made towards them.

We Arakanese still have historical documents.

Arakanese history cannot be rubbed out.

I’ve left at home the documents and books written concerning these matters. So I’ll send

them to you at a later date.

I’d like to ask you to spare some time to study those books and documents.

We all need to know about our own history.

So they instill in their racial people by saying this, “We Rohingyas are Arakanese. So we

should be given the right to live here. This is our land”.

They have carried it out by a gigantic well-planned strategy.

Those Muslim children attending mosques daily have been instilled in to stick in their heart

with such words: “ Arakanese is actually what our nationality is called. Arakan is our nation.

This is our Muslim country. So we’ve got to take it back. This is our land. ‘Arakanese’is the

term we are referred to, not those Rakhine people! This is our place!”

By English term, their ‘instilling’ is ‘ brainwash’ _ they have made such false ideas adhere to

their heads.

So a Muslim of about 40 years of age in Myanmar really has such an idea as this, “Oh,

Myanmar is our Muslim country indeed. So we ought to possess it.” Such an idea has seeped

through the flesh and bones of those Muslims. Therefore, they’ve planned a scheme that

they’ll try to take back our country someday.”

Now, I want to paint out that Bengali leaders who had dwelled, grew and became educated

have carried out this scheme.

Educated Bengalis have been dairy this but using the uneducated ones to make civil disorder

in our country.

We have known that this danger is very enormous as all the Muslim countries in the world

stand behind them with all the necessaries things supported for all their matters.

This enormous danger poses thread not only for our Arakan but also for the whole Myanmar.

Their scheme won’t stop in Rakhine State alone.

By finding and seeing the books and documents they have written, we have actually known

and recorded their ideas and scheme with their resolution, ‘We’ll try to Islamize the whole

Myanmar.” So since about two months ago, we have said to the government repeatedly, “

This is not just Rakhine State matter”, it’s also one of the crucial matters of the Union of

Myanmar. Please be serious about this matter. Make a haste in carrying out this matter.”

We’ve known and seen in advance that it would break out sooner or later.

So we’ve foreseen that this issue would break out soon. Now it’s happening.

In Myanmar, too, it’s happening. It’s a deal.

Although the problems are not so strong as those in Rakhine State, there have been

innumerable happenings.

So, while we’ve been constantly trying to make the government really aware of all these

matters, this issue arose.

So, we shouldn’t be negligent in this matter, thinking that it’s just an ordinary matter. I’d like

to point it out to these Arakanese people.

They’ve been doing their utmost best with a well-planned scheme to be able to occupy the

whole Arakan without fail for over 20 years.

Therefore, almost the whole world has come to accept that a national race named Rohingya

has been suppressed by the Myanmar government, deprived of human rights and has been

very pitiful. They have also come to pose such a question as this: “Why hasn’t the Myanmar

government given them human rights?” The United Nations Organization has accepted that

so-called Rohingya as such a destitute people. The United States, the United Kingdom and

European countries have also accepted their destitution. By this means, the so-called

Rohingyas have uploaded a lot of falsely written groundless history and articles of theirs on

the world media day in, day out, so that all the countries over the world will come to accept

them as a righteous national race of the Union of Myanmar.

No one could oppose to their enormous tell-tale fully and well.

Such historical researchers as Dr. Aye Kyaw, Dr. Aye Chan, etc., from America strongly

oppose to it.

Young Patriotic Students’ Association from Japan strongly protested their deeds.

The heated debate between the two groups has persisted in the world for no less than 10

years.

But they have never retreated.

As the whole world has come to accept their tell-tale, this alleged issue has spread the world

of media and the whole world has come to stand behind them. As a result, they have been

greatly strengthened.

So we made a strong determination to submit our research paper to the whole world without

fail. In the research paper, we evidently pointed out that those Bengali people have lied to the

whole world, that they have been great liars, and that what they have so far produced

alphabetically as well as verbally concerning this problem are merely nonsense. So we

evidently showed what Mrauk-Oo kings had been like and why those kings had taken Muslim

titles.

At that time, the region which is now named ‘Bangladesh’ was called ‘12 Benga towns’.

According to the evident historical documents, as those 12 Benga towns had always been

under Arakanese kings’ sovereignty, the kings had taken the Muslim titles so as to win the

Bengali Muslims’ awe and respect.

So, being devout Buddhists, those Arakanese kings had built a lot of pagodas and stupas with

their names inscribed in their original Arakanese titles as well as in their given Bengali titles.

Such Buddhist religious structures can still be found in Arakan (Rakhine State) as a firm

proof of their belief in those periods of time.

Therefore, it is dead sure that they were devout Buddhists.

The Bengalis have said and presented to the whole world that Mrauk-Oo kings all bore

Bengali titles and so were their kings, and that as a result, Mrauk-Oo was their capital and its

palace was also theirs!

So, about last year, we submitted and presented to the whole world a research paper evidently

pointing out that this group of Bengali people newly so-called “Rohingyas” have lied to the

world for over 3 decades.

In the ongoing manner, we’ll talk about the real history of Arakan to the whole world so that

all the world people will come to realize it.

When US Foreign Minister Ms. Clinton came to Myanmar, we gave her an open letter.

The reason for giving the letter was concerned with the once-a-year issue of declaration of

the United States for Myanmar.

Under the topic named “People” of that issue of declaration described as such: “The national

races dwelling in Myanmar are Shan, Chin, Kachin, Karen, Rohingya, Rakhine and Arakan.”

What I want to mean is that, in their gazette issued to the world, the people with the so-called

name “Rohingya” have been accepted and included as one of the national races in Myanmar.

Myanmar has already legally stated thus: “There is no such a national race called “Rohingya”

out of all the 135 national races in Myanmar.”

The Myanmar government has also held a formal talk in the previous Supreme Legislative

Body meeting. Leutenant Commander Khin Yee had also expressed it.

Myanmar authority has already stated that there is no such a national race called “Rohingya”

in Myanmar.

So, Dr. Aye Kyaw issued a letter of protest making a question: “When should the paper of

declaration issued to the world by the US have included as a national race have included as a

national race those people who have not been included in Myanmar national races.”

Other national races and Arakanese people sent letters of protest (to the US).

That’s why we gave Ms. Clinton an open letter concerning the issue when she came to

Myanmar.

In our open letter, we expressed that the intention of the people so-called “Rohingya” asking

for citizenship as Arakanese national race from Myanmar is dishonest; that their real

intention has been only to be able to set up an Islamic country in Arakan and that all those

facts had been written in those given books and magazines. We also described that if Rakhine

State (former Arakan) were to become an Islamic country as a result of accepting them as a

national race in such a way and if a new nation like Palestine were to arise in South-east Asia,

we wondered whether the United States of yours, the UK and other countries would be able

to withstand the forthcoming situations. We went on describing that they American are also

responsible for it, and that the prevalent bad deeds of those Bengali villains with a hunger for

Rakhine State is not just the Rakhine state issue; that it is also that of the Union of Myanmar

as well as that of all the global people.

As you all can see now, this issue has come up! It didn’t take even 2 months.

Therefore, we’ve already seen in advance that this issue would arise very soon.

So, everyone needs to realize these incidents, too.

We also need to contemplate the reasons why this issue arose so rapidly.

We’re strongly convinced that we Arakanese need to realize the necessary things to be

contemplated and known over the prevalent issues.

From the fore to the present time, Bengali people in Rakhine State will not have their actions

stopped only in Rakhine State.

They are entering Myanmar day in, day out.

After entering Myanmar, what do those Bengali people do?

They try to marry all kinds of Myanmar national race girls.

A lot of Karen maidens in Ayeyarwady Division, quite a few Burmese maidens, the people in

about half of Mawlamein, almost all the people in Mudon and the people nearly half of

Taninsarin Division have already been Islamized.

There have been numerous incidents in which quite a few maidens of Shan, Kachin, Karen

origin to Chinese hybrid in Shweli were spoken in with the words: “We’re Arakanese” and

were married to by those Bengali people.

They have spread all over Myanmar.

This problem is not just ours.

We Arakanese are dutiful in this respect.

We (Arakanese women) rarely marry Bengali men.

“No one has ever done so?” you may ask. Then I’ll say, “Yes, but only one out of a thousand,

of ten thousand or of a hundred thousand girls would do so!” if there were such a case, too,

she’s no more concerned with our Buddhist Arakanese.

So, if we solve the racial problem in this way, we can definitely say up to now, “We’re

Arakanese! They’re Bengali!”

How will the Union of Myanmar solve this problem?

Isn’t this the important issue of Myanmar?

If they marry and Islamize Myanmar women of the present time and of the future generation

by generation, how will we solve the problem of increasing number of Muslims? How will

we control them?

So I’ve always said, “This is not just the Arakanese issue but also that of the Republic of the

Union of Myanmar?”

So we Arakanese have had to sacrifice a lot in the present issue; we’ve also lost much.

But, in the present time of Arakanese people’s sacrifice, all the national races such as Kachin,

Kayah, etc. in the whole Myanmar have joined hand in hand with us in these incidents

saying, “Oh, right! These are the real truths. Those Bengali people are carrying out this

malicious scheme. Look! They’re doing such malicious things to our Arakanese people!”

There were Burmese, Kachin, Shan, etc. who come and donate cash and kind at the camps of

victims we’ve opened.

They usually ask us, “Will our donations reach Rakhine or Bengali people?” Only when we

assure them that the donations will reach Rakhine people, do they donate them!

Seeing their great anger and compassion, and hearing them say, “We just want to go and kill

all of those Bengali people ourselves!” we’ve now got the advantage of gaining the support

of all the national races all over Myanmar on the incidents that we’ve sacrificed so far.

Another point is that they have promulgated to the whole world all the time in this way, “Our

Bengali people have been cruelly oppressed and suppressed in Myanmar!”

Once something bad happens here, they photograph it as a record and present the photograph

to the world.

They make a complaint stating, “These soldiers are killing us. The local Rakhine people are

killing us. Our villages are burnt down!”

But, in reality, the Bengali people set fire to their own houses and then photograph the

blazing houses, and after that, they complained to the world, “The Rakhine people set fire to

our houses so that we’ll not be able to live here!”

After they have done so for over 20 years, the world citizens really come to believe the

stories.

That’s why the world citizens have been on their side.

What I want to say is that the whole world has been bewildered by the Bengali or more

exactly the Bengli people who have been here in Rakhine.

Therefore, in the present time, the whole world has already known well about the seriously

sacrifices the Arakanese people have made in the recent incidents.

Who were the real victims in the recent incidents? Of course, Arakanese people! Buddhist

Arakanese people!

Now, see how cruel and inhumane they have been!

Now, we’ve got a complete collection of documents.

The whole world, we need to show the 11 people who had been killed in Gudaung, the case

of that raped girl from Kyauknimaw, etc., and proclaim, “Well, you see for yourselves. Can

you see now how despicable and unruly those Bengali people are? Do you see how cruel they

are?” Our duty is to be able to present and spread their true colours to the whole world

without. We’ll also do our utmost best to be able to present our documents to the whole

world!

We’ll also submit our well-documented research paper to the United Nations. We’ll try our

best to be able to present it all over the world!

We’ve got all the evidences and eye-witnesses concerning these facts.

So, we have to try our best to be able to gain all the possible rights that are really worthy of

the sacrifices that our Arakanese people have made up to now.

The important thing we Arakanese should know is that as there is a tremendous financial

backing behind those Bengali people, they have made up all the things they’ve wanted with

the money they easily receive regularly. In other words, they have put all our national people

to death with their immense strength of wealth!

Therefore, in this issue, we’ve got to keep trying to be able to do legislative measures towards

those people who had immigrated illegally, those who are not within the legal boundary, and

those who have become wealthy with the money they got illegally.

All of these proposals also need to reach the Hluttaw (the Central Legislative Body). We need

to make them known to all the world citizens, too.

So, I’d like to add that this is not just an ordinary honest matter.

We Arakanese people alone can’t stop them from their forceful implementation of this well-

backed scheme of Islamizing the whole Myanmar – let alone Arakan!

Therefore, we must be able to work hard so that all the Myanmar nationalities will join hand

in hand with us. We must also be able to send the proper messages to them in time as well as

to receive their positive messages. We must be able to tell them that we’re the rightful

members of the Union of Myanmar like them, as well.

Another point is that we must also organize all the opposition parties in Myanmar so as for

them to share the same opinion as us and to join us in this matter.

We told the 88th Generation Students about it. They also accepted our ideas as to the issue!

Therefore, we’re also responsible for explaining or telling all these matters to all the heads of

all the organizations and the parties.

So, it’s our due right that we Arakanese people have to go on within the legal boundary and

to ask for as many of our due rights as we can nowadays.

We don’t need to shut up our mouths!

Just go on within the legal boundary. Everything we need will be gained!

For this privilege alone, we Arakanese have paid too much.

So all of us must be able to tell all kinds of people – no matter what their nationality is –

about these real facts – the facts or privileges that we Arakanese have had to keep in heart for

2 whole decades and that we have wanted to pour out.

So, don’t live recklessly. Please keep your eyes and ears wide open. Everything about this

case matters for every one of us. If we don’t win these Bengalis in this issue, there’ll be no

future for us.

So we should bear in mind that we must try our best to be able to beat those Bengalis in many

different possible ways nowadays. We should have contact with one another.

All the Arakanese people must be able to link with and report to one another immediately

concerning every event happening in any ward, or village – wherever.

Those capable people from our side must always be able to present these true incidents to the

whole country as well as to the entire world as much as they can.

We must be able to present all their deeds to the whole world, too.

So when the whole world have come to realize the fact: “There is no such a nationality called

‘Rohingya’ in Arakan State; they are not our nationality”, (as they have invested millions of

money in creating the brand new national race called ‘Rohingya’ and trying to make the

world accept the presence of a national race named ‘Rohingya.’) they will use hostile ways as

an alternative of the peaceful means because their activities have been discovered. It’s very

sure!

So we Arakanese need to be extremely conscious of everything happening.

Besides the fact that we need to present and ask for the possibly necessary measures for our

security to some extent, as I have just said, the set-up of people’s force, Arakanese’s keeping

their eyes and ears wide open and having the national awareness that I’ve mentioned above

are the essential things that every Arakanese has to abide by and put into practice.

We should never keep living recklessly anymore!

For our part, too, we’ll try as hard as we can to submit to those with the national authourity

many evidences that those Bengali people and we Arakanese cannot co-live with one

another at any rate.

Therefore, during the present time of not having everything made possible yet, we should

tolerate and always think what exactly we should do. Not only women but also men should

possess the national awareness.

So, we all should bear in mind that this issue won’t come to an end easily.

This issue can persist for years. Do you think that, within this month alone, we or any of us

will be able to solve conclusively the scheme or matter that they have invested in for over 30

years? No way! So, over their burning desire that they’ll try their utmost best for this over-

30-year-old scheme, we Arakanese should be much more careful and extremely united, as

well.

All the national races in Myanmar need to be of the same mind with us! All the national

leaders need to be on the same side with us, too. The government also needs to be on our

side. All the national military regiments need to be on our side, as well. All the Arakanese

people must try, accept and be able to do for our own strength of unity shrewdly and cleverly.

We must also organize them with patient, clear and correct explanation so that they will be

our supporters. If one of us kicks them out, note very well that the whole group of ours is lost.

Therefore, a time will come when all the members of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar

will come to realize and believe thus: “This Rakhine issue is not just their (Arakanese’s)

issue; it’s also the very issue of the Union of Myanmar!” If we can stand steadfast and

upright till that time really comes, there will be a lot of such questionable points and outlets

from the present bitterly awful situations as this: “How will those Bengalis (so-called

Rohingyas) be driven away without fail from this country? How will they be temporarily

placed? ” This is what we want to gain!

There’ll be a lot of consecutive tasks to be suggested, submitted and carried out to the

government of the Union of Myanmar.

In conclusion, I’d like to say that, until the above positive things are really fulfilled and

implemented, we have to live with special awareness, try to realize the above-mentioned

responsibilities without fail, put the responsibilities into practice by your own conscience,

and, lastly, always take special care of yourselves!!!

I’m greatly indebted to all those who had helped me with completing this work with their might and main!

My humble apology: Should there be any mistakes in translating or writing the talk, please don’t hesitate commenting on it openly. Open comments are warmly welcome!

Transcribed from audio to text and translated from Arakanese to English by Zwe Thit (Rammarmray)