US, UK urge access to Rohingya camps

The United States, Britain and other countries called yesterday for Myanmar to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to tens of thousands of people displaced by sectarian unrest in western Rakhine state. In a joint statement, nine embassies in Yangon urged “all parties to work together to bring an immediate end to the violence”. They appealed for “a full, transparent and independent investigation” to determine the roots of the Buddhist-Muslim clashes. “We further encourage the government to enable safe, timely, and unhindered humanitarian access across Rakhine State to all persons in need,” according to the statement, which was also signed by the embassies of Australia, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. More than 100,000 people have been displaced and about 180 killed since clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims erupted in June, followed by another outbreak of violence in October.
A foreign diplomat in Yangon who did not want to be named said that although Myanmar was showing “a real willingness to cooperate” in aid efforts, security concerns in certain areas were a hurdle to deliveries. The UN Refugee Agency has warned that the influx of internal refugees has pushed the Rakhine camps “beyond capacity in terms of space, shelter and basic supplies such as food and water”. Doctors Without Borders said earlier this week its teams were struggling to reach most communities affected by the violence owing to “antagonism generated by deep ethnic divisions”.


 Most of the displaced are stateless Rohingya, considered by the UN to be among the most persecuted minorities in the world. Some ethnic Rakhine leaders have campaigned against international aid agencies in recent months, arguing they favour the Rohingya. President Thein Sein said last month his government was open to aid from foreign donors, following a series of protests by Buddhists against efforts by a world Islamic body to help Muslims affected by the violence. The country, which is emerging from decades of military rule, was the target of international criticism over its reluctance to allow outside aid to victims of a cyclone in 2008 that left more than 138,000 people dead or missing.

 The UN human rights chief called on Myanmar yesterday to allow Muslim Rohingya to become citizens. The Rohingya have no legal status, with the government and many Burmese regarding them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay added her voice to calls for the problem to be resolved and urged a change in the law, saying the Rohingya had been excluded from the reform process. “This should include a review of the citizenship law to ensure that Rohingya have equal access to citizenship,” Pillay said at the Bali Democracy Forum in Indonesia.


 She also warned that the violence could hinder Myanmar’s much-heralded reform drive. “While we can positively commend the government for the progress made towards democratic transition and national reconciliation, the communal violence, if not resolved, can undermine the reform process,” she said. Local authorities in Rakhine said they had begun a process of verifying the nationality of all the state’s Muslims, amid widespread calls for those deemed “illegal” to be sent to another country.

The precise goal of the survey was unclear. Separately, Pillay said she pressed Myanmar’s Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw at the Bali meeting to secure the release of a local UN refugee agency employee detained in Myanmar for almost five months. He gave her no response. “If the government detains UN people carrying out their professional functions, it doesn’t sit very well with their reform agenda,” she said. Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said that the agency had asked Myanmar for details of the charges but received no response. Other UN aid workers were detained earlier this year over their alleged roles in the sectarian unrest, but have since been released.


 Source: AFP