Rohingya Patriotic Front

The Rohingya Patriotic Front (RPF) was a political organisation headquartered in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The RPF had a small and poorly armed insurgent army of 70 fighters,[1] who were active along the Bangladesh–Burma border and in northern Arakan, Burma (present-day Rakhine State, Myanmar). The goal of the RPF was to create an autonomous Muslim zone for the Rohingya people.[3]

Rohingya Patriotic Front
AbbreviationRPF
PresidentMuhammad Jafar Habib[1][2]
Secretary-GeneralMuhammad Yunus
Vice PresidentNurul Islam
Founded12 September 1973 (1973-09-12)
Dissolved1986 (1986)
Succeeded byRohingya Solidarity Organisation,
Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front
HeadquartersCox's Bazar, Bangladesh
IdeologyRohingya nationalism
Regional autonomy
ReligionIslam

Muhammad Jafar Habib, a graduate of Rangoon University and a native of the town of Buthidaung, was the leader of the RPF.[1] He was formerly the secretary of the Rohingya Liberation Party (RLP).[4]

History

On 26 April 1964, the Rohingya Independence Front (RIF) was established with the goal of creating an autonomous Muslim zone for the Rohingya people. The name of the group was changed to the Rohingya Independence Army (RIA) in 1969 and then to the Rohingya Patriotic Front (RPF) on 12 September 1973.[3] In June 1974, the RPF was reorganised with Muhammad Jafar Habib as self-appointed president, Nurul Islam, a Rangoon-educated lawyer, as vice president, and Muhammad Yunus, a medical doctor, as secretary general.[4]

On 6 February 1978, the socialist military junta of General Ne Win began Operation Nagamin (Operation Dragon King) in northern Arakan (Rakhine State), one of the objectives of which was to arrest members of the RPF.[5] The operation created disagreements between the RPF, causing the organisation to split into several factions, many of which later merged to become the Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO) in 1982.[3] In 1986, the RPF merged with a faction of the RSO led by the former vice president of the RPF, Nurul Islam, and became the Arakan Rohingya Islamic Front (ARIF).[6][7]

References
  1. "Bangladesh Extremist Islamist Consolidation". by Bertil Lintner. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  2. Lintner, Bertil (1999). Burma in Revolt: Opium and Insurgency Since 1948. Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books. pp. 317–8.
  3. "The Political advancement of the Rohingya People". www.rohingya.org. Arakan Rohingya National Organisation.
  4. Pho Kan Kaung (May 1992). The Danger of Rohingya. Myet Khin Thit Magazine No. 25. pp. 87–103.
  5. Constantine, Greg (18 September 2012). "Bangladesh: The Plight of the Rohingya". Pulitzer Center. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  6. "Burma/Bangladesh: Burmese Refugees In Bangladesh - Historical Background". www.hrw.org. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  7. Jilani, A. F. K. (1999). The Rohingyas of Arakan: Their Quest for Justice. Ahmed Jilani. Retrieved 22 March 2018.


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