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The plight of Rohingya people has been in the limelight, particularly since their 2017 exodus in the wake of Myanmar's military clearance operations in response to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army's attack on security posts in Rakhine state. Because of the scale of violence coupled by the massive movement of people across the international border, the Rohingyas have been described as the most persecuted minority in the world by the United Nations. While governments and international organizations analyze the situation and attempt to find short-term and long-term solutions to the refugee crisis, there have been two contrasting narratives from Myanmar and many in the international community. This paper attempts to understand Myanmar's narrative about the origin of the people, the crisis and solution. The paper discusses the position of Myanmar's military, civilian government, and the general public.
INTRODUCTION
Undoubtedly the issue of Rohingya has been one of the most talking points in the last few years, especially since 2017 when the Myanmar security forces launched clearance operations which led to the massive exodus of Rohingyas. Because of the scale of violence and the massive movement of refugees across the border, Myanmar came under intense international pressure and scrutiny. The deplorable situation of the Rohingyas has also prompted the United Nations (UN) and some governments to condemn Myanmar in the strongest possible terms. In his statement to the UN Human Rights Council 36th session on September 11, 2017, the UN high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, called the treatment of Rohingyas a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing"1 And on December 5, 2017, the UN Human Rights Council opened a special session on the situation of human rights of the Rohingyas and other minorities in Rakhine state in Myanmar. During the session, Pramila Patten, the special representative of the UN secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict called the Rohingyas, "the most persecuted minority in the world."2 Then the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, established by the UN Human Rights Council, in its report released on August 27, 2018 stated that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed by Myanmar's security forces with "genocidal intent" and called for the prosecution of senior officials of Myanmar's armed forces, known as Tatmadaw, on charges of...