‘After driving all the Rohingya out they will go after all Muslims from across Burma’ Kyaw Hla Aung [courtesy of Kyaw Hla Aung]
Doha, Qatar – U Kyaw Hla Aung is a well-known lawyer and activist who has been fighting for the rights of the Rohingyaethnic group in Myanmar for decades.
The 78-year Rohingya man was awarded this year’s Aurora Prize by the Armenia-based Aurora Humanitarian Initiative for his advocacy of rights for the persecuted mostly Muslim minority.
He donated the $1m he received in prize money to humanitarian organisations providing medical aid and assistance to Rohingya refugees.
Nearly a million Rohingya were forced to take shelter in neighbouring Bangladesh after Myanmar’s army, responding to attacks by an armed group, launched a brutal campaign against the minority in the country’s western Rakhine state last year.
The Rohingya have faced persecution in Myanmar for decades. The military government, which took power following a coup in 1962, stripped the Rohingya of citizenship in 1982.
Since 2012, following deadly riots between Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya, tens of thousands of people from the minority have been forced to live in squalid internment camps.
Hla Aung, who was born in the city of Sittwe in Rakhine state, spent more than 12 years in jail for his political work on behalf of the Rohingya people.
Al Jazeera caught up with the veteran activist in November in the Qatari capital, Doha, where he was invited to attend a global health conference.
Al Jazeera: Why have Rohingya been denied citizenship in Myanmar? What are the criteria for citizenship?
Hla Aung: According to the 1948 citizenship law, a person who lived in Myanmar for 10 years and eight years continuously was eligible for citizenship. They are denying us citizenship since 1982.
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