Sociological Analysis of The Conflict of

Rohingya by The Conflict Theory

Disusun oleh :

Salsabila Siliwangi Surtiwa

1606892232
Reguler

Sosiologi Hukum
Fakultas Hukum Universitas Indonesia
 Depok
2017

Sociological Analysis of The Conflict of Rohingya by The

Conflict Theory
Salsabila Siliwangi Surtiwa (1606892232) - Reg

In the world we currently live in, there will always be social interactions between
inividuals, between one individual and a community, and/or between communities. The
kinds of interaction itself may vary; from merely exhanging greetings to heavy discussions.
Not only verbal, it also includes physical contacts; from handshakes to brawls. Social
interactions, are inevitable.

In life, we witness and encounter so many kinds of social interaction. Today, there are
several extreme and violent social interactions in the form of war, dehumanization, which
occur in several conflicted areas. One of them is currently happening in Rakhine, Myanmar
where the parties conflicting are the government of Myanmar and Rohingyans.

It all started many years ago, when Rohingyan people arrived in the southern part of
Myanmar—the poorest region in the country. They were assumed to come from the
subcontinent of India or Bangladesh, traveled, and finally resided in Myanmar. The theory
has been debatable, since there are a few historians believed that they had been inhabiting
Rakhine since hundreds of years ago. Either way, their presence was not warmly welcomed
by the locals, sparking the initial flame between the two ethnic groups. The government of
Myanmar itself was not pleased of their sudden residence in their sovereigned area. It was
decided by the government that the Rohingyan people were not a part of Myanmar,
although they were willing to aide the people. But even so, it was said that Rohingya
people are the minority group that receives the poorest treatments in the world. In short, the
Rohingyans have been stateless ever since; they are not welcomed both by the Bangladesh
and Myanmar government.1

A big event sparked in the end of 2016 which caused the conflict that has been going
on for decades heated up; the government took an affirmative action to burn down villages
of Rohingyans as a counterattack for the destruction done by Rohingyan militants to police
posts in Myanmar. Not only that, there have been slaughters conducted in the area, reported
by the mass media. It has also been reported that hundreds of thousands fled from their
residence to seek refuge in other countries, such as Bangladesh and Indonesia.2

The government of Myanmar has been demanded to stop the murders and attempts of
genocide to Rohingya; but as a state with sovereignity, and assuming the statement of the
government of Myanmar that Rohingyans are currently stateless is true, other countries can
only help through diplomatic discussions between their ambassadors and/or ministers of
foreign affairs and the government of Myanmar, who is usually represented by Aung San
Suu Kyi. She has also been criticized for her reluctant action in stopping the exodus in
Rakhine, while she has received Nobel Peace Prize a few years ago—this created such an
ironic perception.3

These social interactions can be obeserved through two theories; structural functional
theory and structural conflict theory. One theory serves as the antithesis of the other; while
structural functional theory emphasizes on society as an ordered and conformed society,
structural conflict theory perceives society as individuals or communities with high
tendency of frictions.

1
detikNews, “Ini Hal-Hal Yang Perlu Anda Ketahui Tentang Krisis Rohingya”
https://news.detik.com/bbc-world/d-3629297/ini-hal-hal-yang-perlu-anda-ketahui-terkait-krisis-
rohingya accessed on October 17, 2017.
2
Ibid.
3
BBC, “Siapa Sebenarnya Etnis Rohingya dan Enam Hal Lain yang Harus Anda Ketahui”
http://www.bbc.com/indonesia/dunia-41149698 accessed on October 17, 2017.
 Conflict is a social phenomenon which is inherent and will remain present. The term
‘conflict’ came from Latin words con (together) and fligere (friction).4 Generally, the term
social conflict means a serie of frictions between individuals which vary from
contrapositions between classes to an international-scaled war. Coser defined social conflict
as an effort in achieving certain values and acknowledgement, then power, and it leads to
temptation to eliminate rivals.5 While conflict itself means argumentations and frictions,
social conflict means holistic counterwork within the society.6 This may include conflicts
which involve individuals or groups with violence.7

Conflict is believed to emerge from differences and diversity, both horizontally and
vertically. By horizontal conflict, it means that there are possibilities to have conflicts
between races and/or ethnics. But on top of that, there are several kinds of conflict
according to Soerjono Soekanto (1989:90); personal conflict, racial conflict, conflict
between classes, political conflicts, international conflict.8

Learning from the situation in Rakhine, the writer believes the conflict to be a kind of
racial conflict. The two conflicting parties are Burmese and Rohingyans. The two ethnic
groups have resided side by side for generations and consumed the same natural resources.
This does not sound very pleasing for both groups, since they all live in the poorest region
of the country. With limited access to resources and facilities, it is more likely for both
ethnic groups to compete in order to fulfill their necessities.

This perspective is also supported by how the two groups perceive each other. In this
case, the writer used the theory of in-group and out-group to describe the current situation.

4
Elly M. Setiadi dan Usman Kolip, Pengantar Sosiologi Pemahaman Fakta dan Gejala
Permasalahan Sosial: Teori, Aplikasi, dan Pemecahannya (Jakarta: Kencana Prenada Media
Group, 2011), 345.
5
Irving M. Zeitlin, Memahami Kembali Sosiologi (Yogyakarta: Gajah Mada University
Press, 1998), 156.
6
Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (Jakarta: Balai Pustaka, 2005), 587.
7
J. Dwi Narwoko dan Bagong Suyanto, Sosiologi Teks Pengantar dan Terapan (Jakarta:
Kencana Prenada Media Group, 2005), 68.
8
Soerjono Soekanto, Sosiologi Suatu Pengantar (Jakarta: Rajawali Pers, 1992), 86.
The Burmese are categorized as in-group, and the Rohingyans are categorized as out-group.
William Graham Sumner, a social evolutionist and professor of Political and Social Science
at Yale University, defined in-group as the group that one individual feels they belong to
and they believe it to be an integral part of who they are; while an out-group, conversely, is
a group they don’t feel belong to, and often there may be a feeling of disdain or compettion
in relation to an outgroup.9 Since the Burmese believe that Rohingyans did not originally
come from Myanmar, they perceive themselves to be the group with a more superior
position than Rohingyans when it comes to accessibility. This may lead to ethnocentrism,
as William defined as “The sentiment of cohesion, internal comradeship, and devotion to
the in-group, which carries with it a sense of superiority to any out-group and readiness to
defend the interests of the in-group against the out-group”.10 This can explain probable
reason why the Burmese are so against the Rohingyans.

The conflict itself can also be witnessed as a holistic conflict and does not only
consist of conflicting individuals; it is a social group against another social group. Since
they come from different ethnics—where it is very easy to figure their distinctive differents
from their physical features—the conflict occurring in Rakhine may be classified as racial
conflict, according to Soerjono Soekanto. The difference in race may strengthen the
distinctive feeling between two ethnic groups (and the perception of in-group and out-
group) and therefore create an even stronger feeling of ethnocentrism.

Judging by the social dynamics and the situation in Rakhine, the writer finds it very
difficult to breach the sovereignity of Myanmar as a state, whereas their jurisdiction over
Rohingyans cannot legally be intervened. They have their sovereign rights to order and
conform their citizens or those who reside on their territory. But then other countries may
aide Rohingyans through diplomatic discussions and negotiations withh the officials of
Myanmar, in order to give rationalizations and further consideration to finally make peace
with Rohingyans and their militants. Referring to Declaration of the Rights of Persons

9
OpenStax College, Introduction to Sociology (Texas: Rice University, 2013), 124.
10
Ryan T. Cragun, Introduction to Sociology (s.l.;s.n.;s.a.), 43.
Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious, and Linguistic Minorities, it is an obligation of
a country with minorities to protect their rights.11 Even though Myanmar did not sign the
declaration, it would be best for the countries who did to give aide through diplomatic
power. The most extreme action can be taken would have to be embargo and/or ending
cooperative diplomacy between two countries in order to give pressure to the government
to make peace with Rohingyans. The United Nations, as said to be the agency nurturing the
peace, should help by giving legal aid for Rohingyans. This goes the same as ASEAN,
which actually has a more intimate connection with Myanmar in diplomacy. The legal aid
can be in form of filling papers and documents so their residence and nationality can be
confirmed. Countries shall also prepare refuge sites in order to help those who have fled the
country based on humanity and put aside political interests in this case.

In conclusion, the writer learns that the conflict currently occurring in Rakhine
between the government of Myanmar and Burmese against Rohingyans are not ordinary
conflicts, but a structural conflict, whereas it is based on racial conflict (according to
Soerjono Soekanto classifications of conflict) and their perspectives in seeing in-group and
out-group which will lead to ethnocentrism. Since Myanmar is a sovereign state, it is best
for other countries to give advice and consideration for the government of Myanmar as a
subtle intervention towards their internal conflict while providing aids in many kinds for
the Rohingyans who have escaped their residence; for the sake of humanity and based on
conventions that state the urgency of providing aid for minorities.

11
Article 1 of Declaration of the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic,
Religous, and Linguistic Minorities.