Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation
Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation (Burmese: ပြည်သာယာ စစ်ဆင်ရေး), known officially in English as Operation Pyi Thaya, was a military operation conducted by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) in northern Rakhine State, near Myanmar's border with Bangladesh.[2][5][6][7] The operation took place between 1991 and 1992,[1] under the military junta of the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), officially as a response to the military expansion of the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO).[3]
Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation | |||||||
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Part of the Rohingya conflict | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Myanmar (SLORC) |
Rohingya Solidarity Organisation Bangladesh (border skirmish) | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Saw Maung | Muhammad Yunus | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
200,000[2]–250,000[3][1] displaced (150,000 later repatriated)[4] |
Similar to Operation Nagamin (Operation Dragon King) in 1978, the government's official explanation for the operation was to expel so-called "foreigners" from the area, as well as capturing RSO insurgents. The resulting violence however, resulted in 200,000[2] to 250,000[3] civilians being displaced (most of whom fled to neighbouring Bangladesh) and failed to prevent further attacks by the RSO, which continued until the end of the 1990s.[5][7]
In December 1991, Tatmadaw soldiers crossed the border and accidentally fired on a Bangladeshi military outpost, causing a brief strain in Bangladesh–Myanmar relations.[3]
References
- "Burma/Bangladesh: Burmese Refugees In Bangladesh - Historical Background". www.hrw.org. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- Ahmed, Akbar. "The Rohingya: Myanmar's outcasts". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- "Bangladesh Extremist Islamist Consolidation". by Bertil Lintner. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- Skutsch, Carl (7 November 2013). Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. Routledge. p. 128. ISBN 9781135193881. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
- "Bangladesh: The Plight of the Rohingya". Pulitzer Center. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- "Understanding and responding to the Rohingya crisis". ReliefWeb. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
- Hodal, Kate (20 December 2012). "Trapped inside Burma's refugee camps, the Rohingya people call for recognition". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2017.