Open Letter to International Court of Justice: On Defense of Arakan and Its People

Kyaw Zan, Opinion January 19, 2026

The world watches the hearings at The Hague. News from Myanmar fills screens with the “Rohingya case.” Gambia speaks for one community. Myanmar’s government defends its military. Both sides argue strongly. Yet something important is missing. The true voice of Arakan and its native people stays silent in the courtroom.

Most arguments center on the terrible events of 2017. Lawyers bring history, maps, and politics to support their claims. These stories touch Arakan deeply. But the court hears almost nothing from the Arakanese themselves. For centuries, the Arakanese have suffered under heavy pressure.

First came the Burmese invasion of 1784. That conquest destroyed the old Arakan kingdom, burned cities, took thousands as slaves, and began long Burmanization. Later, British colonial rule opened the door to large-scale immigration from Chittagonian Bengalis. After independence, successive Burmese governments continued the same policy. They used state power, military force, and chauvinist ideology to control and change Arakan. These actions harmed the native population again and again.

At the same time, northern Arakan faces another serious danger. Mass immigration, demographic pressure, and Islamization threaten the original people. Some groups use violence, create fake histories, and push false identities to claim the land. Extremist elements carry out attacks and ethnic cleansing against minority indigenous communities. These actions do not come alone. They often receive support from neighboring country and wider international Islamic networks. For the Arakanese, both threats feel equally heavy. Burmese state terrorism kills, arrests, and displaces. On the other side, Islamic extremism threatens to erase native culture, history, and presence through force and numbers.

ARSA Killed Around 10 Hindus Civilians In 2017 Based on Religious Ground (photocrd)

The Arakanese people stand between two powerful dangers. One comes from Naypyidaw and its chauvinist military machine. The other comes from organized efforts to turn Arakan into something it never was. Both sides damage the land and its original inhabitants. Both ignore the rights and security of the native population.

The International Court of Justice discusses genocide and responsibility. These are serious matters. But justice cannot be complete if it hears only one or two voices. The court must recognize that Arakan is not simply a border zone between two stories. Arakan has its own ancient identity, its own history of independence, its own culture, language, and people.

The native Arakanese have the right to live safely on their ancestral land without fear of domination, whether from Burmese chauvinism or from demographic conquest and terrorism.

True peace and stability in Arakan will never come from favoring one side over the other. International policy must put the interests of Arakan and its indigenous people first. Solutions should protect the native population from both Burmanization and Islamization. They should stop all forms of state terrorism and extremist violence. They should respect the historical truth and geography of Arakan, not rewrite them for political gain.

The Arakanese ask for fairness. They do not want to choose between two evils. They want to live free from both. The world, especially the International Court of Justice, should listen to this missing voice. Only when the interests and security of Arakan’s native people stand at the center can real justice begin.