Living conditions for Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar should be improved to discourage them from making risky sea journeys at the hands of human traffickers, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State said on Friday (May 22).
Antony Blinken made the comments after holding talks with the government in the capital Naypyidaw, to discuss the migrant crisis that has left thousands of people stranded on overcrowded boats in the Bay of Bengal.
Myanmar’s military chief said some of the migrants that have landed in Malaysia and Indonesia this month are pretending to be Rohingya Muslims to get UN aid.
But Blinken said that the majority of the more than 3,000 migrants that have come ashore are Rohingya fleeing desperate conditions in Rakhine State in western Myanmar.
“At least half of the people are in fact from Myanmar and from Rakhine State. They have been identified as such and there are also Bangladeshis. There may be for some people different motivations for what caused them to put their lives at risk and put themselves in the hands of human traffickers,” he said.
Blinken, who is on a two-day visit to Myanmar, called on the country to address the racial and religious discrimination and violence that Washington says is one of the root causes of the migration.
“I noted in my meetings yesterday with the government that the root of the problem for those leaving from Myanmar is the political and social situation on the ground in Rakhine State. In order to develop a sustainable, endurable solution, the union government must fulfill its previous commitments to improve the living conditions and secure the full protection, human rights and fundamental freedoms of all communities in Rakhine State in accordance with international standards,” he said.
Most of Myanmar’s 1.1 million Rohingya are stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions in the state. Almost 140,000 were displaced in deadly clashes with majority Buddhists in Rakhine in 2012. They are denied citizenship and have long complained of state-sanctioned discrimination.
Myanmar denies discriminating against the group and has said it is not the source of the problem. It classifies the group as Bengalis, a term rejected by most Rohingya for implying they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite having, in many cases, lived in Rakhine for generations.
Myanmar military chief General Min Aung Hlaing cast doubt on the origin of many of the refugees in comments carried in Myanmar’s state media on Friday.
He hinted that “most victims are expected to assume themselves to be Rohingya from Myanmar in the hope of receiving assistance from UNHCR” during a meeting with Blinken on Thursday, the state-backed Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.
(REUTERS)
