Project Group 2018 MEDIA AND RESPONSES TO COMPLEX HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES: THE CASE OF MYANMAR AND THE ROHINGYA

Transcription

1 Project Group 2018 MEDIA AND RESPONSES TO COMPLEX HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES: THE CASE OF MYANMAR AND THE ROHINGYA PRATHIMA NALABOLU RAHMATULLAH BATOOR KABELO GILDENHUYS LAURA CAMILA BARRIOS SABOGAL WILLY BRANDT SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY 1

2 Table of Contents BARRIOS SABOGAL BATOORBARR Introduction 1 Literature Review 2 The Origins of Rohingya : Background and Identity 2 Citizenship Status and Persecution 3 Migration and Statelessness 3 Media Coverage of Rohingya 4 Theoretical Framework: Media Coverage 4 Framing 5 Cultural Moments 6 Critical Theory 6 Methodology 7 Selection of Media Outlets 7 Operationalization of the Study 8 Findings 10 Conflict framing 10 Ethnic Identity and Status of Rohingya 11 Gender and Age references 12 Multiple points of view 14 Analysis 15 Conflict Framing 15 Ethnic Identity and Status of Rohingya 16 Gender and Age References 17 Multiple points of view 18 Policy Recommendations 19 To the humanitarian aid agencies and/or policy think tanks: 19 To the news agencies: 19 Conclusion 20 Bibliography 22 Appendix: I Code Book 26 Appendix II: Inter-Coder Reliability Test 28 Appendix III: Rohingya Migration Map 29

3 Introduction Media plays an important role to report on humanitarian emergencies and goes beyond the mere documentation of the disaster for it can also contribute to a better understanding of the situation and help to find a possible solution (Internews, 2014). One of the recent crisis on the international arena has been the mass flight of Rohingya 1 from Myanmar after the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked different Border Guard Police stations and an army base in the Rakhine region on August 25 th, In response, the government launched a military campaign to counter terrorism which contributed towards mass migration (International Crisis Group, 2017). Both international and domestic media reporting of this issue are different as far as they do not convey the same information about the situation (International Crisis Group, 2017). Resultantly, different narratives shape the domestic and international perception and response (policies) regarding this issue, in this case, the Rohingya crisis. To date, apart from one study by Afzal (2016), there has been a lack of research regarding discrepancies in media coverage pertaining to the Rohingya situation. Considering the dearth of academic studies on the media framing of the Rohingya crisis, this research is highly relevant to understanding the role of news production in the construction of (different) narratives of the same situation (crisis). Subsequently, the purpose of this study is to contribute towards filling this research gap by focusing on the question of whether the domestic and international media create different/ varying narratives of the recent displaced Rohingya from Myanmar. In order to investigate these different narratives, this paper will be divided into the following parts: literature review, theoretical framework, depiction of the methodology used to analyse the information, a description of the findings, the analysis and implications of these findings, the policy recommendations and finally, a conclusion will be drawn. 1 Although this term is regarded as controversial, in this paper the terminology used by the United Nations which also refer to the Rohingya as a distinct ethnic group will be employed. 1

4 Literature Review The Origins of Rohingya : Background and Identity The ongoing issue concerning the Rohingya can be traced back to the complicated history of Myanmar; starting from the ethnonym Rohingya itself. According to Charney (2005), the term Rohingya refers to the Muslims of Arakan (Rakhaing) which over time transformed into a political and religious connotation. There are various theories on the origins of the term but none of them are conclusive (see Charney, 2005, 2007). The ethnonym Rohingya existed before independence of Myanmar, perhaps even before the colonial period. It is derived from Rohang which the former name of the Rakhine State (Ullah, 2016). There are two main views on the origin of the Rohingya ethnic community: the first view, that of the Rohingyas and their sympathizers that maintain that Rohingyas settled in Myanmar (Burma) during 8th and 9th century in an independent kingdom of Arakan, and have racially mixed with other ethnic groups in the region (Al-Mahmood, 2016; Ullah, 2016). This group of scholars posit that Rohingyas have a long history in the Arakan region, within a prosperous Arakan kingdom. The ancestors of the people, now known as the Rohingyas, came to Arakan more than a thousand years ago. They became [an] integral part of the Arakan socially, politically and economy (Razzaq & Haque, 1995). On the other hand, there is also the view adopted by the government and Buddhist nationalists in Myanmar, seeing the Rohingyas are Chattertonian Bengali immigrants who have entered Myanmar during the British colonial rule (Ullah, 2016). In a note about the Rohingya identity, Leider (2012) states that the term Rohingya only applies to part of the Bengali origin Muslim population of Rakhaing State, while there are other Muslim communities of Bengali origin who do not call themselves with the endonym Rohingya. After annexation of the Rakhine State by the British colonial empire in 1826, Bengali Muslims settled in the new territory, and wealthy money lenders (Chettyars) from South India were welcomed by British to help them with administration of the region (Coates, 2014). According to some accounts, the Chettyars took control of the lands and the Burmese Buddhists peasants became landless as a result (Coates, 2014). These two narratives of history continue to play significant role in shaping the relationships between Rohingya ethnic minority and the rest of Myanmar. 2

5 Citizenship Status and Persecution Prior to 1962, 144 ethnic groups were recognized by the government of Myanmar including the Rohingyas. However, the census conducted by the military government in 1974 recognized only 135 ethnic groups in the country (Ullah, 2016) excluding the Rohingyas. Later, in 1982 a new law was enacted which stated that any ethnic group that settled in Myanmar after 1823 (the beginning of the First Anglo-Burmese War) was not entitled to citizenship (Coates, 2014). Unable to provide recognizable evidence, members of the Rohingya community became stateless people (Ullah, 2011, 2016; Pagano, 2016). Since then, the term Rohingya is not officially recognized or used by the state of Myanmar; instead they are called Bengalis implying that they are illegal immigrants from Bengal. As Pagano (2016) puts it by virtue of being deemed stateless, or even worse, regarded as illegal migrants, Rohingyas have no standing to protest against the discrimination before national authorities. In 1995, in response to UNHCR s advocacy efforts to document the Rohingyas Myanmar, the country s government issued them with a Temporary Registration Card (TRC) which does not mention the bearer s place of birth and cannot be used to claim citizenship (Lewa, 2001). A Warzone Initiatives (2015) report describes the situation inflicted on them due to the lack of acceptance as citizens as dire and inhumane. On the contrary, the government of Myanmar seems to have a different perception. Admitting the Rakhine Muslim community as members of the Rohingya ethnic group, as Krishnadev (2017) notes, ironically, the same 1982 citizenship law provides that Muslims would be allowed an autonomous area within the country the Burmese fear a Rohingya autonomous area along the border with Bangladesh would come at the expense of Rakhine territory. In addition, the those against Rohingyas in Myanmar are concerned about what they call Islamization of the country, and growth of militant groups like ARSA among the Rohingya community. Freeman (2017) quotes a Buddhist hardliner saying we re not oppressing Muslims, and we recognize their existence. But we don t want Muslims to swallow our country. Although the fear of Rohingyas may not justify their persecution by Myanmar military, this perception is nevertheless perpetuated. Migration and Statelessness As a result of the conflicts and eruptions of violence in the Rakhine region, the Rohingya have fled to various countries of the region including Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and traditionally to Bangladesh in the last half a century (see map in Appendix III). Pagano (2016) notes that the situation 3

6 of Rohingya refugees is worsened as none of the surrounding states are the signatories to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, or its 1967 Protocol. While there also does not exist a regional or national refugee protection framework in these countries. In 2012, an allegation of rape and killing of a Rakhine Buddhist woman by three Rohingya men caused another wave of inter-communal violence which resulted in hundreds of casualties and a mass displacement of Rohingya. In one of the most recent cases, attacks on the Myanmar police posts by a Rohingya related militant group called Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on August 25, 2017 triggered a harsh military campaign by Myanmar security forces in the northern Rakhine state. According to the UN reports, at least 655,000 new Rohingya refugees have arrived at Cox Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh (UN OCHA, 2018) marking it the world s fastest growing refugee crisis and a major humanitarian emergency (UNHCR, 2017). Media Coverage of Rohingya Despite the long duration and intensity of the Rohingya crisis, the media response to the Rohingya crisis has attracted little academic attention. One of the only studies available is that of a newspaper editorial content analysis related to framing of the Rohingya crisis, by Afzal (2016) who makes a comparison of the elements of pathos and appeals to the emotion of the audience in the three newspapers. This study was based on The Nation (in Pakistan), The Guardian (Britain) and The New York Times (USA). The results reveal that the situation is predominantly portrayed as a humanitarian and human rights issue, all the outlets taking a similar stance in representing the crisis, i.e. pro-rohingya Muslim monitory, anti-buddhist majority anti- Myanmar ruling elite (Afzal, 2016, p. 96). Given the lack of research to date on this topic, this research paper will further contribute to the analysis of different media responses to the Rohingya crisis. In order to gain a better understanding of media reporting, the next sub-section specifically examines related theories. Theoretical Framework: Media Coverage With onset of the proliferation of communication technologies, the CNN effect was coined to explain the phenomenon of how access to real-time information could provoke major responses from domestic audiences and political elites to global events (Robinson, 1999, p. 301). This research project sets out to build on some of the already available theory in media studies, such as the CNN effect, to identify the 4

7 various narratives created by the media in responses to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. However, with the availability of numerous theories within the domain of media studies, within this project, focus is given to the effects of media and in particular analysing the role of framing for creating different discourses of the same phenomena. As pivotal starting point for examining the influence of the media, analysis is needed of its cumulative effect or the the agenda setting function (Kurylo, 2013, p. 243). While it is beyond the scope of the media to explicitly say to people how to think, [ ] it does tell people what to think about. By playing this role of highlighting different attributes the media can shape the agenda within society. Subsequently, this theory of agenda-setting describe the ways in which the media also provides direction as to how people should think about the issues that they [media] deem as important (2013, p. 244). Framing Media frames can be regarded as an extension of agenda-setting and are seen as the attributes of the news itself which can also be described as the devices embedded in political discourse (Scheufele, 1999, p. 106). In sum, depending on the frame used, different narratives of the same controversy can be created which ultimately also suggests what should be regarded as the essence of the issue. Apart from how news organisation opts to frame certain issues, framing on a social level also contributes towards political socialisation, decision-making, and collective actions and possibly dictating policy responses to an event (de Vreese, 2005, p. 52). The process of framing involves some the following approaches which is also covered in this research project: imposing thematic structures on a particular news story; the usage of explicit causal statements to connect certain observations and employing mechanisms to transcend the limited sensory capacity of the audience (Scheufele, 1999, p. 111). The latter is mostly achieved through the explicit inclusion of certain visual depictions (de Vreese, 2005, p. 54). Other valuable aspects of framing, which directly influences information processing, include: importance judgements; agency or the answer to the question of (e.g. who did it?); identification with potential victims; categorisation, or the choice of labels for the incidents; and generalisations to a broader national context (Scheufele, 1999, p. 111). Therefore, news framing organize discourse and by virtue of this action define problems, diagnose causes, make moral judgements and suggest remedies (de Vreese, 2005, p. 53). 5

8 Cultural Moments Studies related to framing should be seen in a broader perspective as an initial step towards analysing the news discourse process as a whole (Scheufele, 1999, p. 111). Resultantly, the incorporation of additional theories is also necessitated. By employing the theory of cultural moments some of these discrepancies in the different discourses created by the media can be highlighted and investigated to infer new insights for understanding the way in which a humanitarian crisis is portrayed: Culture is socially constructed through communication practices [media] enacted in cultural moments. Cultural moments are instances in time in which culture is communicated in language and behaviour in ways that may reveal culture as social construct despite its usual taken for granted nature. (Kurylo, 2013, p. 83) In particular, the theory of cultural moments will help to identify whether the identity of the Rohingya people are either reinforced by specifically referring to them as Rohingya i.e. making certain attributes salient or not. In addition, cultural moments also pertain to construction of gender identities. This as gender identity is constructed in communication processes (Kurylo, 2013, p. 83). Thus, by also including a gender focus to explore the various narratives created of the crisis, this theory helps to identify the instances through which gender identity is made explicit, such as the inclusion of only women in a picture to portray the vulnerability of victims which can reinforce gender differences as meaningful symbolic distinctions. Subsequently, this specific framework highlights gender stereotypes [that] are communicated in ways that construct differences between men and women where none may exist (Kurylo, 2013, p. 83). In addition, the emphasis on certain attributes such as vulnerable children or victims of rape might also serve to trigger certain emotions in the audience that in turn affect information processing, recall, and judgment (Kim & Cameron, 2011, p. 827). Critical Theory Critical Cultural studies of media examines the way in which the media plays a key role in maintaining existing power inequalities [...] this is done through subtle influences that typically go unnoticed by viewers [readers] (Kurylo, 2013, p. 244). As an example, where there exists clear policy direction from the side of the government it is to be expected that it would use its power within the state to use the media to manufacture consent for government policy (Robinson, 1999, p. 308). 6

9 Moreover, critical theory also links with cultural moments as it seeks to expose existing power dynamics and how the media relate to [ ] forms of human diversity and more specifically group identities. Finally, this theory also examines the utility of media as a tool of society's most powerful group to remain in power (Kurylo 2013, p. 244). Given the influence of the media, and by extension the people in control of the various media outlets, the resulting portrayal of the unfolding crisis has direct consequences for the way it is understood and approached through policy responses. Provided the focus of this research, attention will be given to the ways in which international and national media coverage reveal nuances in the framing of the unfolding crisis in Myanmar. The following methodological section will expand on how this objective was operationalised to produce the findings for analysis and recommendations. Methodology This study employs a quantitative content analysis approach to examine the coverage of the Rohingya crisis in 2017 based on four different media outlets. Selection of Media Outlets It should be noted that due to resource limitations, this study only relied on publications that have an online presence where articles would be available free of charge and reported in English. As a result of this criteria certain domestic news agencies could not be included. The media landscape in Myanmar largely consists of two types of news agencies - those controlled by the Myanmar State and military and those that take a more critical view of the State. Despite the transfer of power from the military to the democratically elected civilian government, many local news agencies continue to face pressure to refrain from criticising the Myanmar State and military (BBC, 2017). In order to understand the different narratives regarding the Rohingya crisis within Myanmar, the specific selection of the local media outlets was conducted to reflect one fully independent view in contrast with an agency that, historically can be considered as being more sympathetic towards the state and military of Myanmar. Subsequently, the following two local media outlets were selected for this research project: The Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM) and the Irrawaddy. The GNLM is a state-owned media outlet and one of the largest circulating newspapers in Myanmar. In addition, GNLM claims to move towards a more people centric approach. On the other hand, the Irrawaddy was founded in Thailand by exiled Myanmar 7

10 journalists, and later established its presence inside the country, with an office in Rangoon, Myanmar. It is considered as an independent source that has established itself as the leading voice within the country. Cable News Network (CNN) and Al Jazeera English (AJE) have been selected to represent the international view. The former is a world-wide recognized news network, with a predominantly Western perspective on global affairs. In contrast, AJE has positioned itself as an alternative to the traditional western perspective and provides a more global south orientated view on international developments. The mission statements of these four news agencies serves as their unique modus operandi when reporting on a new development/crisis. The mission of AJE is to provide an alternative voice within the global media landscape, challenging established narratives and promoting itself as being the voice of the people (AJE, 2018). CNN declares that the news agency s mission is to uphold the journalistic values of integrity and accuracy of facts, maintaining objectivity by providing audiences with neutral and unbiased stories, treating all subjects of news coverage with fairness and avoiding sensationalism (CNN, undated). The mission of Irrawaddy is to cover the news in Burma/Myanmar and Southeast Asia accurately and impartially. The news agency believes in democracy, free media, and seeks to remain independent by avoiding bias and influences of any political party, organization or government. GNLM is a state-run newspaper published by the Ministry of Information, Government of Myanmar. The GNLM strives to develop itself from the old style to more attractive and people-oriented one. To achieve this, the agency plans place the control of the newspaper under a joint venture with the Global Direct Link Co.Ltd., with the support of Kyodo News Agency of Japan. Operationalization of the Study The first initial hypothesis is that the domestic media and international media do not provide the same explanation of the currently unfolding situation. Following this, the second hypothesis is that the international media has focused on the humanitarian issue created by the Myanmar state resulting in displacement of Rohingya while the domestic media has cited the issue as a security threat to the country. Deductive and inductive approaches have been used to develop the codebook for this study. In order to examine the commonality and differences between the coverage of the four newspapers, questions based on four themes have been developed as given below: 8

11 1. Conflict framing Is the issue framed as a terrorism or humanitarian crisis? Who is deemed responsible for it? Are Rohingya considered as victims subjected to ethnic cleansing? 2. Gender and age references Among the displaced Rohingya, are vulnerable groups such as women and children covered more extensively? 3. Ethnic Identity and status of Rohingya The terminology used to describe the ethnic identity of the Rohingya. 4. Multiple points of view Do the published articles include the perspective of multiple domestic and international actors and stakeholders regarding the issue? The unit of content is an entire news article which includes the entire text within the article, photo and still video image. Within the four media outlets, opinion pieces have also been considered as a news article. Here, focus was placed on whether the author/ journalist at least referred to other sources that are not exclusively international or domestic. News articles on the Rohingya issue have been selected from the websites of the four newspapers from August 25 th, 2017 (the date on which the ARSA attack on the Myanmar police was reported) until a period of two months i.e., until October 25 th, From each newspaper, a sample size has been drawn based on confidence threshold of 95% and margin of error equal to 10% as given below: AJE CNN GNLM Irrawaddy Population Sample Coding of 10% of the articles from each of the above four sample news articles has been conducted by all (4) the coders. Intercoder reliability test has been conducted to establish an intercoder agreement of alpha = 87.3 percent on the codebook. The following section details the findings of the study. 9

12 Findings Conflict framing As we can see in figure 1, the conflict is framed differently according to the news agency. There are two main differences, one between the international and domestic media and other between the two local news agencies. While for the international media is clear that the conflict is a humanitarian issue or refugee crises, for the domestic media in general, there is no clear pattern. For 47% of the analysed articles of the state-owned GNLM, the conflict is a security issue or a terrorist threat and the 36% of the news articles framed the issue as both security and humanitarian problem. For the private Irrawaddy news agency, 50% of the articles framed the conflict as a humanitarian issue followed by 28% of the articles that framed it as a security issue. On the other hand, another conflict framing related question is how the articles portray the main cause of the issue based on the sources. In the results in figure 2, there is a clear difference between the narratives portrayed in the international and the domestic newspapers as we can see in the figure 2. According to the sources quoted in GNLM and Irrawaddy, the ARSA attacks or terrorist related acts are the main cause of the issue (94% and 40%). In contrast for AJE and CNN (73% and 76%) the government response and the actions conducted by the military are central cause for the conflict. Regarding the question of whether the Rohingya are portrayed as victims, as depicted in figure 3, the international media definitely consider the Rohingya as victims confirmed by 100% and 97% of the AJE and CNN articles respectively. This tendency is followed by The Irrawaddy, where 85% of the articles also considers them as victims. On the contrary, 100% of the GNLM articles do not portray Rohingya as victims. Related to this, one of the most contested issues after the emergence of the crisis has been the accusations of committing acts of ethnic cleansing and genocide against the Rohingya by the Myanmar military. While some sources like the UN and members of the international community claim that ethnic cleansing is happening in Rakhine, other sources have denied it, particularly the government of Myanmar. In the results, there is again a clear discrepancy between the international and the domestic media (figure 4). While AJE and CNN quoted sources in their articles that claimed ethnic cleansing, most the articles in GNLM and The Irrawaddy did not specify/ mention whether or not such acts or crime against humanity was taking place. Yet, it is important to highlight again that there is a notable difference within the local media 10

13 landscape: 23% of the news articles in Irrawaddy quoted sources claiming ethnic cleansing, while GNLM completely refrained from recognizing the crime. Figure 1 Conflict framing according to the news agency Figure 2 Main cause of the conflict according to the sources Figure 3 Portrayal of Rohingya as victims Figure 4 Ethnic cleansing according to the quoted source Ethnic Identity and Status of Rohingya Another factor that plays an important role in shaping different conflict narratives is how the media outlets portray the ethnic identity and status of the Rohingya. In figure 5, the disparity between the international and domestic media is clear. Whereas the Rohingya are considered as such in 100% of the AJE and CNN articles, the local media identified them differently. 11

14 For Irrawaddy, there is a shift on how they portray their ethnicity. Before 4 th of September, they referred to them as Rohingya or Rohingya Muslims; however, after this date, they started to call them selfidentifying Rohingyas. On the other hand, the GNLM follows the governmental line in 56% of the articles by naming them Bengali, Bengali Muslims or Muslims, implying that they are from Bangladesh (see literature review). In the rest 44% of the articles, this media outlet does not even make a reference to this ethnicity. Regarding the status of the Rohingya displayed in figure 6, 61% and 55% percent of the articles in AJE and CNN respectively argue that they have been denied citizenship. 23% of the Irrawaddy articles have also stated the same. However, just in 3% of the articles in GNLM there is a mention that they have been denied citizenship. This implies that there is a tendency in the domestic media to omit this type of depiction of the Rohingya as having been denied citizenship. Figure 5 Portrayal of the ethnic identity Figure 6 Information included regarding denial of citizenship Gender and Age references Another key issue in the narratives created are different frames used to give a broader understanding of the conflict by either referring to, or omitting gender and age references of the affected communities, in this case, the Rohingya. There is again a difference between the domestic and international media (figure 12

15 7), with the latter highlighting these categories while conveying the crisis. For GNLM and Irrawaddy, none and just 13% of the articles respectively made a specific reference to Rohingya women and children as victims. In AJE and CNN, 58% and 50% respectively have made references to these categories. Likewise, another way to identify whether the media outlet emphasises the vulnerability of women and children is through visuals. As depicted in the figure 8, there is a difference between the international and local media. The majority of articles in AJE and CNN (64% and 68%) included a picture of Rohingya women and children, while just 15% for The Irrawaddy and no visuals for GNLM. Another gender-related issue is the recognition of rape and sexual violence as specific forms of violence during a conflict, particularly if there is already a claim of ethnic cleansing. the results also show the same pattern as that pertaining to the ethnic cleansing question (figure 9). While AJE and CNN include these types of crimes against the Rohingya population in the reports of the crisis, The Irrawaddy and mainly GNLM does not. Figure 7 Information provided on Rohingya women and children Figure 8 Included visuals of Rohingya women and children 13

16 Figure 9 Rape and sexual violence Multiple points of view The last question focus on references made to opposing points of view with regards to the Rohingya crisis (figure 10). 88% and 58% of AJE and CNN articles included multiple points of view. While at the local level, 63% of The Irrawaddy articles also incorporated these opposing views about the crisis, the other domestic media outlet, GNLM, none of the articles contained multiple viewpoints. Figure 10 Multiple included points of view Considering the above findings, the next section seeks to provide a comprehensive analysis of these results. 14

17 Analysis Given the above findings, there is a clear difference between the narratives of the issue provided by the international and national media agencies. This section compares the implications of the different narratives created by the agencies by separating the analysis into sub-themes with references to the theoretical framework and respective mission statements. Conflict Framing The two international media outlets, CNN and AJE have adopted very strong positions regarding the framing of the issue as that of a humanitarian crisis and have chosen to blame the Government of Myanmar for the ongoing crisis (figure 1). As discussed in the theoretical framework section of the paper, by framing the issue as a humanitarian crisis and using explicit causal statements targeting a particular actor, the agencies play an active role in dictating international policy responses towards the issue. Moreover, by referring to terminologies like ethnic cleansing, genocide and crimes against humanity the agencies convey a strong message regarding the gravity of the situation in an appeal to the international community to act against the Myanmar government and immediate aid to the displaced Rohingya. Although AJE and CNN have different mission statements, they hold the same position on the Rohingya issue. The position of AJE is in line with its mission statement. But, while CNN claims to uphold objectivity in its reporting, it takes a one-sided position on this particular issue. A possible explanation of this strong position could be that CNN is a representation of western liberal thought. Hence, the news agency acts as a moral arbiter of human rights in its critique of the State of Myanmar in contrast to its mission of being impartial. On the other hand, GNLM creates a narrative of the Rohingya as a terrorist threat. Interestingly, 36 % of the articles state that the issue is both that of terrorism and humanitarian crisis. While the international agencies blame the State sponsored violence for the humanitarian crisis, in contrast GNLM perpetuates the narrative that the humanitarian issue is that of displacement of ethnic groups in the Rakhine region other than the Rohingya. According to GNLM the cause of the humanitarian problem is the violent attacks of Rohingya terrorist organization, ARSA. The Rohingya people are not considered as victims by the news agency. The narrative of GNLM perpetuates the myth that the Rohingya are responsible for the violence 15

18 in the Rakhine region causing the displacement of several other ethnic groups in the Rakhine state, promotes negative sentiments against them within the local population and creates an environment in which violence can be enacted against the Rohingya with impunity. Hence the GNLM is being used by the State to manufacture consent of the audience towards the State agenda. The position of Irrawaddy on the Rohingya issue reflects its mission of being impartial and attempting to maintain a balance between different viewpoints. While the agency has also chosen to blame the terrorist group ARSA in 40 % of the articles for the crisis, it also mentions ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya by the State of Myanmar in 23 % of its articles. Therefore, we can find a difference between the conflict framing within the domestic media, which in this case, it could be explained by the relationship that each of the news agencies have with the State of Myanmar. Importantly, Irrawaddy does not take an extreme position of only blaming one of the parties to the conflict, but opts for a balanced approach to holding both the ARSA and the State of Myanmar responsible for the crisis. When comparing the international and domestic media agencies, while the international news agencies are predominantly focused on the Rohingya, there are multiple ethnic groups in the Rakhine state that are suffering from the unfolding humanitarian crisis; only the national agencies have recognized this. The lack of recognition of their condition by international humanitarian aid agencies and news agencies, could further fuel ethnic tensions between Rohingya and other ethnic groups. This has major implications for the Rohingya to be able to live amicably within the Rakhine state alongside other ethnic groups. Ethnic Identity and Status of Rohingya The identity of the Rohingya is the most contested aspect of the crisis. As described within the theory of critical cultural studies of media, media can play a key role in breaking or reinforcing stereotypes of the Rohingya and maintaining existing power inequalities or status quo. How the identity of the Rohingya is framed and perpetuated by the media agency will influence the audience's perception of the Rohingya. In this case, the international news agencies prompt the audience to question the existing power inequalities within Myanmar society by portraying Rohingya as victims of the State of Myanmar, who have been denied citizenship. Whereas at the national level, GNLM is clearly being used as a tool of those in power. By referring to the Rohingya as Bengalis and Muslims, GNLM is being used by the state to deny their identity and maintaining existing power inequalities or status quo. This portrayal of the Rohingya enables the state to claim that they are not citizens of Myanmar so as to absolve itself of any responsibility 16

19 for the displaced Rohingya. By creating an identity of the Rohingya as Bengalis or illegal migrants who belong in Bangladesh, the policy of the State towards the displacement of the Rohingya has been framed as not being a problem of the Myanmar government. In the case of Irrawaddy, by stating that the Rohingya are Self-identifying Rohingya the news agency steers clear of the contradiction between the State and the Rohingya people regarding their identity. However, opting for this ambiguous position the Irrawaddy perpetuates the idea that the identity of the Rohingya is contested and hence could indirectly also strengthen the position of the State. Upon closer analysis, this trend becomes quite clear, for at the onset of the crisis the Irrawaddy portrayed their ethnic identity as Rohingya, but after 4th September 2017, they changed their reporting to Self-identifying Rohingya. This change in narrative can be considered as a tentative bid to be less controversial and possibly to avoid alienating the State in comparison to the strong position of the international news agencies. Gender and Age References The international news agencies in comparison to the domestic news agencies focus on Rohingya women and children as victims of the crisis. Additionally, only the international agencies highlight in several news articles the specific forms of violence used against women - rape and sexual violence. By depicting women and children as vulnerable, the news agencies appeal to the emotion of the audience (Kim & Cameron, 2011, p. 827) to act, for example by providing donations for aid or to express moral outrage against the actions of the perpetrators. One possible explanation could be that both CNN and AJE try to rally support from the international community to respond to the unfolding humanitarian situation. However, this focus on the Rohingya with the references to specific gender and age categories also creates unintended consequences of excluding other members of the displaced Rohingya people such as men and the elderly. Furthermore, such an emphasis on specific age and gender categories could motivate aid organizations to adopt policies that prioritise assistance exclusively for displaced women and children which may lead to the exclusion of displaced Rohingya male headed families. While Irrawaddy only includes gender and age references in very few reports (13%), it predominantly refrains from giving any in-depth analysis of identity related attributes which further contribute towards downplaying the suffering of the victims affected. On the other hand, by not recognising the ethnic identity 17

20 of the Rohingya, the State can ignore perpetration of other forms of violence against them. Therefore, GNLM also fails to delve into the violence committed against women. As a result, it might enable the State or military to commit such atrocities against minorities with impunity. Multiple points of view By providing multiple points of view 2, a news agency can claim that its reporting on a particular issue is conducted in the most objective manner. Maintaining this journalistic value enhances the credibility of a news agency. According to this criterion, AJE and Irrawaddy are the most objective of the four agencies. In contrast, CNN which claims to uphold high level of objectivity in its reporting, includes multiple points of view in 58 % of its articles. In the remaining articles, it opted for a position against the Government of Myanmar, the Myanmar military and also directly criticised Aung San Suu Kyi. As explained in the earlier section of Conflict Framing, CNN veers towards adopting a position of moral arbiter of human rights despite of its mission of being objective. CNN following this dual approach to reporting, pushing for a particular agenda while trying to be objective, can at times create confusion for its audience to understand the real dynamics on the ground and complicates deriving clear policy positions from this agency. GNLM scores the worst in this case since it covers only the state perspective regarding the Rohingya issue. This strengthen the argument of the one-sided narrative perpetuated by the GNLM. Given the claims of the news agency to create people-centric news, GNLM could be seen as acting in the benefit of the government. Moreover, it is to be expected that the narrative created by GNLM would also impact the way in which the local population would view the situation and could result in fuelling more ethnic tensions within the Rakhine region. Therefore, it is important to highlight this difference with The Irrawaddy, a media outlet that tries to adhere to intention of reporting news in an impartial way by including as many opposing views as possible to provide a comprehensive picture of the issue. Using the above analyses the following section will provide some policy recommendations to humanitarian aid organizations and/ or policy think tanks and news agencies. 2 It should be noted that this study only included one question that focused on analysing how objective the different media outlets reported on the issue. Given this limitation these findings cannot be treated as exhaustive. 18

21 Policy Recommendations Depending on whether local or international media coverage is being consulted, a different understanding of the Rohingya situation will be made. Taking into account the implications of this research, the following serves as tentative policy recommendations. To the humanitarian aid agencies and/or policy think tanks: 1. Due diligence should be taken when making causal linkages of any humanitarian situation as the various media sources covering a particular situation might equate responsibility to different actors. 2. Responses to the situation should be conscious of, at times, mismatches between the actual cause and effect of the situation; for in the long term this might result in failure to adequately target the real cause of people's suffering. 3. Refrain from taking a one-sided approach for understanding a humanitarian crisis, but rather consult both the domestic and international outlets to gain a full perspective. 4. Avoid adopting narratives based on ethnic and gender stereotypes to prevent exclusion of aid provision to certain ethnic or gender categories. 5. Claim more responsibility for sharing field experiences with the different news agencies. Final recommendation: If the intention of humanitarian organization is to serve as conduits for providing relief for people in distress, it is also essential that they should remain conscious of how media agencies go about framing news events. Ultimately, given the plethora of narratives created by news agencies, this will also impact the timing and art of humanitarian intervention embarked upon or in the worst cases continual deferral on the plight of those suffering by failing to intervene. To the news agencies: The following recommendations are provided to news agencies to avoid fuelling further ethnic tensions in the Rakhine region and in Myanmar: International news agencies - 1. Avoid adopting one-sided positions blaming a particular party to the conflict. Reporting multiple points of view from various domestic and international sources to reduce any form of bias. 19

22 2. Exercise caution to not only highlight the plight of the Rohingya people at the expense of omitting the suffering endured by other ethnic groups within the Rakhine state. 3. Complement the gender perspective of the conflict by including men and the elderly in reporting and analysis of the situation. Local news agencies - 4. Take due responsibility for their agency to influence the conflict dynamics through the different narratives intentionally or unintentionally created. 5. Explicitly distance themselves from the governmental policies as it creates the impression that they support government impunity in instances where military misconduct has occurred and while also perpetuating confusion of Rohingya citizenship. 6. Conducting balanced reporting especially on behalf of GNLM is required. A possible remedial action could be to also incorporate multiple perspective and/ or countering opinions if they are to live up to their objective of being people oriented. 7. Adopting a balanced gender perspective to convey a more humanitarian portrayal of the situation. 8. Include pictures regarding the situation of the Rohingya as the omission downplays the severity of their plight. Final recommendation: Media outlets should remain conscious of their own agency to influence conflict dynamics through the different frames that they opt to create to make sense of the unfolding humanitarian situation. Conclusion This research project set out to explore the different narratives created by the domestic and international media of the still unfolding Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. Achieving this objective first required establishing the context and relevance for this study. To gain some insights into the situation, a review of the existing literature and appropriate theories related to media analysis were also included which subsequently served as the premise for constructing the investigation. After having considered various possibilities for conducting this kind of study, a fitting methodology was selected to consider the limitations and capacity of the project group. After the exploration of the different media outlets was conducted, the subsequent operationalisation was concluded. This study, as discussed, revealed several significant findings which were then analysed in relation with the media theories used. 20

23 In consequence, the main conclusion with policy implications deduced from this research is that there exist different narratives of the same phenomenon depending on whether local or international news coverage is being consulted with discrepancies also present between the two domestic media outlets. Hence, policy analysts and humanitarian aid organizations should take into account these disparities and formulate their responses in a manner that could mitigate for these possible gaps created in either the domestic or international framing. It is thus recommended that a holistic approach should be followed by aid organizations by incorporating both the inside and outside perspectives to gain sufficient insights into a humanitarian crisis and to avoid exacerbating existing tensions between the conflict parties. In terms of the international news agencies, caution should be exercised to avoid over-emphasising some victims at the expense of others, while local outlets, particularly GNLM should do more to also incorporate a critical stance towards the government given the power imbalance which downplays the plight of the Rohingya. However, further research is needed particularly regarding the actual perceptions / understanding of the crisis by the respective audiences (consumers) of the various media outlets especially within Myanmar. 21

24 Bibliography Afzal, N. (2016). Elements of Pathos and Media Framing as Scientific Discourse: A newspaper perspective on Rohingya crisis, 3. Ahmed, I. (2001). Bangladesh-Myanmar Relations and the Stateless Rohingyas. Retrieved January 27, 2018, from AJE. (2018). About us. Retrieved January 28, 2018, from Al-Mahmood, S. Z. (2016, December 23). Timeline: A Short History of Myanmar's Rohingya Minority. Retrieved January 29, 2018, from /12/23/timeline-a-shorthistory-of-myanmars-rohingya-minority/ Calamur, K. (2017, September 25). The Misunderstood Roots of Burma s Rohingya Crisis. The Atlantic. Retrieved from /2017/09/rohingyas-burma/540513/ Charney, M. W. (2005). Buddhism in Arakan: Theories and Historiography of the Religious Basis of Ethnonyms. Presented at the Arakan History Conference, Bangkok. Retrieved from BBC (2017). Myanmar profile - Media. Retrieved from Charney, M. W. (2007, July 8). Buddhism in Arakan: Theories and Historiography of the Religious Basis of Ethnonyms - Kaladan Press Network. Retrieved January 29, 2018, from 22

25 CNN,(undated). Vision Statement. Retrieved from /vision-statement/ Coates, E. (2014). Sectarian Violence Involving Rohingya in Myanmar: Historical Roots and Modern Triggers. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from de Vreese, C. H. (2005). News Framing: Theory and Typology. Information Design Journal and Document Design, 13(1), Francis Buchanan (Michael Charney ed). (1799). A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire. Retrieved from Freeman, J. (2017, September 6). Can Anyone Stop Burma s Hardline Buddhist Monks? The Atlantic. Retrieved from /09/can-anyone-stop-burmashardline-buddhist-monks/538992/ International Crisis Group (2017, December 7). Myanmar's Rohingya Crisis Enters a Dangerous New Phase. Retrieved January 29, 2018, from east-asia/myanmar/292- myanmars-rohingya-crisis-enters-dangerous-new-phase Internews (2014). Reporting on humanitarian crisis. Retrieved January 28, 2018, from EB.pdf Kim, H. J., & Cameron, G. T. (2011). Emotions Matter in Crisis. Communication Research, 38(6), Kurylo, A. (2013). Inter/Cultural Communication. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Leider, J. P. (2012). Rohingya," Rakhaing and the Recent Outbreak of Violence. Bulletin of the Burma Studies Group. Retrieved from -studies-group- 23

26 spring-fall-2012/?wpdmdl=1858 Lewa, C. (2001). North Arakan: an open prison for the Rohingya in Burma. Forced Migration Review, (FM32). Retrieved from /en/fmrpdfs/fmr32/11-13.pdf Pagano, A. (2016, March 10). The Rohingyas Refugee Crisis: A Regional and International Issue? Middle East Institute. Razzaq, A., & Haque, M. (1995). A Tale of Refugees: Rohingyas in Bangladesh. Centre for Human Rights. Robinson, P. (1999). The CNN Effect. Review of International Studies, 25, Scheufele, D. A. (1999). Framing as Media Effect. Journal of Communication, Tennery, B. A. (2015, June 17). Why is no one helping Myanmar's Rohingya? Retrieved from myanmars-rohingya/ The Middle East Institute (2016) The Rohingyas Refugee Crisis: A Regional and International Issue? Retrieved January 31, 2018, from refugee-crisis-regionaland-international-issue Ullah, A.K. (2011). Rohingya Refugees to Bangladesh: Historical Exclusions and Contemporary Marginalization. Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 9: 2, Ullah, A. K. (2016). Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar: Seeking Justice for the "Stateless." Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, (2016, Vol. 32(3) ) / UNHCR (2017, October 16). Joint Statement on the Rohingya Refugee Crisis. Retrieved January 30, 2018, 24

27 from -statement-rohingya-refugeecrisis.html UN OCHA. (2018, January). Rohingya Refugee Crisis. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from Warzone Initiatives. (2015). Rohingya Briefing Report. Retrieved from 25

28 Appendix: I Code Book Research Question: Does the domestic and international media create different/ varying narratives of the recent displaced Rohingya 3 people from Myanmar? H 1: The domestic media and international media do not provide the same explanation of the currently unfolding situation. H 2: The international media has focused on the humanitarian issues by the Myanmar state resulting in displaced people while the domestic media has cited the issue as a security threat. Relevance: It is important to explore and investigate these two narratives since they ultimately shape the domestic and international perception and response (policies) regarding the issue. Codebook: Categories (A, B, C, D) I. Conflict Framing: A. According to the news agency, what is the issue predominately 4 framed as: 1. Security (issue) / Terrorist threat 2. Humanitarian (issue) / Refugee crisis. 3. Both. 4. Neither. A. Based on the sources mentioned the main cause highlighted for the issue is portrayed in the article as? 1. ARSA attacks or terrorist related acts. 2. Government response / actions by military. 3. Both 1. and Not specified. A. Does the article mention specific sources claiming / or denying ethnic cleansing and or genocide and/ or crimes against humanity? 1. Yes (claiming source). 2. Yes (denying source). 3. Both. 4. Not specified. II. Gender and Age References: A. Does the article include information of Rohingya women and children as victims: 3 The selection of articles has been done using the code word Rohingya. While other identity markers could have been used by the articles to refer to the Rohingya, the term is sufficient to extract required articles for the current project. 4 Predominantly refers to the 2/3rd of the either options i.e. what is the overarching message? 26

29 1. Yes 2. No A. Does the article include a picture 5 or a still video image 6 of Rohingya women and children (in the foreground of the picture): 1. Yes 2. No 3. No picture included F. Is violence (rape or sexual violence) against Rohingya mentioned? 1. Yes 2. No III. Ethnic Identity and Status of Rohingya: G. How is the ethnic identity of the Rohingya portrayed according to the media outlet? 1. Rohingya / Rohingya Muslims 2. Bengalis / Bengali Muslims / Muslims 3. Self-identifying Rohingyas 4. Not directly indicated H. The news agency or any source quoted as claiming that they are denied citizen: 1. Yes. 2. No. I. Are the Rohingya portrayed as a victim: 1) Yes 2) No IV. Multiple points of view: J. Are sources with opposing views on the issue (international and / or domestic) mentioned? 1. Yes 2. No 5 Coded only if the Rohingya affected are in foreground of the picture. 6 The intention of the question is to identify whether the media outlet emphasises the vulnerability of women and children by either including or omitting a visual of them. (Also, if a video is included the content will not be assessed). 27

30 Appendix II: Inter-Coder Reliability Test 28

31 Appendix III: Rohingya Migration Map Rohingya Migration Map. Source: (The Middle East Institute, 2016) 29