Myanmar: The Politics of Rakhine State is another weighty and welcome ICG report, released in the middle of last week. The opening sentence of the executive summary (on page i) leaves no doubt about the gravity of the issue it addresses: “The situation in Rakhine State contains a toxic mixture of historical centre-periphery tensions, serious intercommunal and inter-religious conflict with minority Muslim communities, and extreme poverty and under-development.” Consistently the report makes a point of insisting that “no easy fixes or quick solutions” (page 31) are available. Throughout it argues for a political solution to the Rakhine crisis, while also noting that developing it could take a very long time. This is all to the good.

Also valuable is the detailed contextual analysis provided in the report. The broad demographics show that the state is roughly 60% Rakhine Buddhist, 30% Muslim (including Rohingya), and 10% Chin. Other minorities are very small. The historical record is deeply divisive. Contemporary challenges include pervasive poverty and exclusion, violent conflict, the contested status of Muslim populations, and the grave humanitarian situation. Layered on top of all this are lengthy explorations of Rakhine Buddhist and Muslim perspectives, plus regional and international concerns.

The main policy prescriptions are based on the realistic assumption that full reconciliation of competing demands may not be possible. They therefore focus on ensuring that fundamental rights and freedoms are protected across the state, on finding ways to ease Rakhine fears (of, for instance, population trends that could place them in a minority position), and on bringing perpetrators of violence swiftly to justice.

All in all, little of this is new. Having it said one more time in such an authoritative manner is nevertheless valuable, and will hopefully serve to focus attention across a congested and discordant political spectrum.