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Edith Mirante
@EdithMirante
, 14 tweets, 6 min read Read on Twitter
1. This History Thread is about Rice, Rakhines and Rohingyas. In Myanmar (Burma) rice as important an economic/political force as opium or jade. Mismanagement, confiscation, exploitation in rice growing/trade has affected Buddhist and Muslim ethnic groups of Rakhine St. (Arakan.)
2. Arakan (now Rakhine St.) port city Akyab (now called Sittwe) was one of the world’s largest rice exporters before WWII when Burma was “Rice Bowl of Asia” and after Independence in the 1950s until ’62 Ne Win military takeover and economic mismanagement.
3. By 1967 famine in Arakan followed poor rice harvests but rice was exported and sent to central Burma. Rice warehouses raided in Akyab by starving people. Aug. 13, 1967 they were gunned down by the army (Tatmadaw) and dumped in mass graves. ibiblio.org/obl/docs/NN200…
4. In 1991 I saw shops in Teknaf, Bangladesh selling rice smuggled from Arakan.
Under military rule farmers forced to sell rice cheaply to govt; many sold rice illegally to Bangladesh for market rate. Military often confiscated rice transported within Arakan including on rivers.
5. In 2003 junta's rice exports raised prices. “Rice warehouses in Arakan and Mon States have been raided by angry mobs searching for provisions” (Irrawaddy Mag.) And govt rice quotas were confiscating over half of farmers’ harvests. pic: @dunlopnic
www2.irrawaddy.com/article.php?ar…
6. Following the 2007 harvest people of n. Rakhine St. (Arakan) weren’t allowed to buy or sell rice independently. In Maungdaw “The authorities… ordered officials to collect and buy rice from the farmers for the armed forces who are stationed in the area"
kaladanpress.org/index.php/news…
7. Cyclone Nargis 2008 damaged rice crops in Rakhine St. but Myanmar kept exporting rice. 2010's flooding, Cyclone Giri in Rakhine St. caused shortages that may have led to Rakhines (Buddhist) depriving Rohingyas (Muslim) of rice, stoking ethnic tension.
foreignpolicyjournal.com/2013/08/05/mya…
8. By 2011 land grabbing, especially by the Tatmadaw, was rife in Rakhine St. as military bases continued to expand. Rohingyas were restricted from traveling but landless Rakhine farmers sought work elsewhere.
reuters.com/article/us-mya…
9. According to local reports, a boycott campaign led by an extremist Buddhist monk led to purchased rice being seized from Rohingyas by police in Maungdaw in mid-2012
thestateless.com/2012/07/no-per…
10. Physicians for Human Rights reported: “After a mob killed a Rakhine merchant for selling rice to Muslim customers in Mrauk U on October 21[2012] a wave of violence spread to nine townships within three days.”
s3.amazonaws.com/PHR_Reports/Bu…
11. In Myanmar's new economy, rice farmers suffer market fluctuations, infrastructure neglect, climate change, labor shortages. “Rakhine St. is the 2nd-largest rice producer in Myanmar” (Myanmar Times 2016.) It is also the 2nd poorest state in the country.
mmtimes.com/business/24089…
12. Rakhine rice farmers marched in Mrauk-U in May ’17 against low rice prices, land loss, debt. The same town where Rakhine ethnic demonstrators were killed by police on Jan. 16, ’18, which many Rakhines view as an echo of the 1967 rice protest massacre.
bnionline.net/en/news/arakan…
13. When Tatmadaw and accomplices burned the Rohingya villages of n. Rakhine St. in 2nd half of 2017 ashen ruins were surrounded by rice fields belonging to Rohingyas who were killed or fled to Bangladesh. Myanmar govt brought in Kubota mechanical harvesters and sold their rice.
14 of 14. My other History Threads about Rakhine State can be accessed with links at projectmaje.org along with background reports on western Burma (Myanmar.)
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More from @EdithMirante see all

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Edith Mirante
@EdithMirante
1. This History Thread is about the mighty rivers that have defined Myanmar (Burma.) North-south river valley geology shaped regional history. #Rivers, their tributaries & watersheds continue to have enormous political, agricultural & environmental importance. #dams #biodiversity
2. From 12th C. BCE populations migrated along #Irrawaddy (Ayeyarwady), #Chindwin, #Salween river valleys to settle in lands that are now known as Myanmar (Burma.) Powerful dynasties rose and fell along the Irrawaddy, including Pyu, Pagan, Ava.
3. British made river port Rangoon (Yangon) colonial capital in 1853. Burma became “rice bowl of Asia” under their exploitation especially in fertile Irrawaddy Delta. River inundation/irrigation can augment monsoon rain for wet rice cultivation. Padi harvest transported by river.
Read 17 tweets
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Edith Mirante
@EdithMirante
1. This History Thread is about mining of an array of minerals in Burma (Myanmar) where the geology features varied north-south belts of ores that have long been exploited and exported without protection for environment or workers.
2. Burma trade routes for gems and metals including lead and silver date back to ancient times. #Shan ruby mines were known in 6th Century. #Kachin jadeite was first significantly traded to China (where it would become the obsession of Emperors) in 1784.
3. 1886 British troops took Mogok ruby mines. British surveyed southern Burma tin deposits 1888-1912. Bawdwin, Namtu Shan St. (mined from 15th C. by Chinese) under British exported silver, lead, zinc; future US President Hoover mining engineer there. WW2 Japanese held Bawdwin.
Read 17 tweets
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Edith Mirante
@EdithMirante
1) This History Thread is about the Rohingya Diaspora beyond Bangladesh. Having fled severe persecution in Burma (Myanmar) to Bangladesh in 1970s-90s and more recent 21st Century genocidal attacks, Rohingyas have often risked a journey farther.
2) Rohingyas seek refuge in many countries, where security and legal status often remain elusive. This infographic map from Al Jazeera shows some refugee population estimates as of Oct. 2017.
3) In 1978 Pakistan offered legal residence to Rohingyas and thousands made their way there, followed by more refugees in 1991-93. Most ended up in slum areas around Karachi and found work in the fishing industry.
thenational.ae/world/asia/roh…
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[Thread] The -isms: a very generalized guide. I've wanted to do this for a long time, sparked by how often "#socialism" is thrown about as a catch-all for a variety of vastly different philosophies. I hope BEGIN a #Threaducation here. So, let's talk about this.
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Dr. Richard Duckett
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A short thread about 'doing' #History, and a glimpse of what I am working on.

#Burma #Myanmar #SOE #Force136 #WW2 #SWW
Step 1: Read translated interview
'After the battle, our company and the Chinese company were ordered to defend the Mawchi road and the Officer-in-Charge was Capt. Thompson of the Bengal Rifles. Jemedar Pan Mya and 16 soldiers were captured fighting the Japanese at Paletwa.'
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