Hundred of Arakanese migrant workers, as well as members of other Myanmar ethnicities, staged protests against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) international journalist’s office in Bangkok, Thailand on April 29, 2012, between 11:00 and 12:00. They protested Anna Jones and her article that included a map of Myanmar where the Rohingya were included as a national ethnicity. The term “Rohnga” is not recognized as an ethnicity in Burma. The BBC published the article to its website last year.
“We protested the BBC because she published an article with a Rohinga photo on the map of Myanmar, instead of Arakanese. We asked for Anna Jones to remove the photo in the map of Myanmar and to replace with Arakanese photo. Anna Jones must apologize to the Arakanese and other ethnic people of Myanmar,” said U Soe Aung, president of Arakan Patriotic Spirit Development Association.
The estimated total participants in the demonstrations, who came by ten buses, were around seven hundred. The demonstration peacefully dispersed at 12:00 due to the Thai authorities' involvement. All demonstrators who were holding different kind of anti slogans including Myanmar flags and Arakan flags in the demonstration were wearing anti BBC T-shirts.
“I am really delighted due not only to Arakanese people, but also all of ethnicities who willingly participated in the demonstration. We want Anna Jones to apologize to all of us. We will be satisfied when she apologizes us. We will demonstrate more with a disaffected voice if she doesn’t want to apologize to us,” said Ko Soe Aung. “I am really proud of those who are under the hot sun in order to protest against the Rohinga who make Arakan’s future faded” added Ko Soe Aung. Now demonstrators are criticizing Myanmar president U Then Sein, who ignored the desire of demonstrators.
