The Roots of the Rohingya Crisis: The Eradication of a Myanmar Ethnic Group 

Einaudi Center Roundtable
KEYNOTE: MICHAEL W. CHARNEY
The Roots of the Rohingya Crisis: The Eradication of a Myanmar Ethnic Group
PANELIST: EIANT THIRI THU
The Rohingya are a largely Muslim minority group living in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State. Denied citizenship by law, the Rohingya are often described as the most persecuted minority in the world. In August, Rohingya militants attacked police outposts in Rakhine. The Burmese military responded with a crackdown that UN officials have characterized as ethnic cleansing. Roughly half the 1.1 million Rohingya have fled to neighboring countries, mainly Bangladesh.
Professor Michael W. Charney is a military and imperial historian specializing in Southeast Asia in both the premodern and modern periods. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan in 1999. After two years as a postdoctoral research fellow with the Centre for Advanced Studies at the National University of Singapore (1999-2001), he joined SOAS. He was also appointed a project professor with the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia at the University of Tokyo.
Eaint Thiri Thu was born and raised in Myanmar. As a fixer, film producer, and researcher, she has been working for the last seven years on issues related to human rights, conflicts, and the media in Myanmar, mainly in Rakhine, Shan, and Kachin States. She has worked with Human Rights Watch, The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, BBC, and other international organizations. She contributed to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's 2015 report, “Early warning signs of Genocide in Burma," the award-winning documentaries Boat People, Journey to Hell, and Blood Jade, and the award-winning book Modeslavar.
This event is organized by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, the Southeast Asia Program, and the Collective of Concerned Students on Global Issues, and cosponsored by the South Asia Program.