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Myanmar Deflects U.N. Criticism Over Rohingya Talks on Asia’s Migration Crisis End With Plans to Target Root Causes
(about 9 hours later)
BANGKOK — The Myanmar government forcefully rejected on Friday assertions by the United Nations that the root cause of Southeast Asia’s migration crisis is Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya, a stateless and persecuted Muslim minority. BANGKOK — A meeting held here on Friday to address the continuing exodus of migrants and refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh ended with a commitment by the participants to target the root causes of the crisis and an ambitious plan of assistance for the impoverished and strife-torn native areas of would-be migrants.
At a meeting here called to address the continuing exodus of migrants and refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh, a Myanmar diplomat told delegates from about 20 countries that his government should not be singled out for the refugee crisis, that its policies toward the Rohingya were “domestic jurisdiction” and that outsiders were misinformed about what was motivating the Rohingya to leave. Without mentioning the specific areas or the people who would be helped, delegates from more than 17 governments agreed to create job incentives, provide skills training and enhance “a sense of security and belonging.”
So far this year, an estimated 25,000 people have left Bangladesh and Myanmar on boats — double the number last year — and several hundred people are believed to have died at sea. So far this year, an estimated 25,000 people have left Bangladesh and Myanmar on boats — double the number last year — and several hundred are believed to have died at sea. The largest number fleeing are Rohingya, members of a stateless and persecuted Muslim group living both in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
A statement issued after the one-day meeting by its host, Thailand, called for “full respect for human rights and adequate access of people to basic rights and services such as housing, education and health care.”
The deputy United States secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken, who visited Myanmar this month and discussed the migrant crisis with officials there, said later on Friday that the very fact that the meeting had occurred was an “important step forward.”
“There is something to be hopeful for in the meeting today and in the commitment to greater cooperation,” he said in a Skype interview from Washington. But he also warned that a deeply entrenched resentment of the Rohingya within Myanmar would need to be overcome. “Over all, there is a reluctance to accept the legitimacy of their presence,” he said.
There appeared other reasons to be skeptical of the meeting’s list of recommendations. U Zaw Htay, a deputy director general of the office of the president of Myanmar, said his country could “accept the statement in a general sense.” But he called it a proposal.
“Our delegation will report back to us, and then we will decide on the implementation of the proposal,” he said by telephone from Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar.
Underlining the difficulties of dealing with the migrant crisis, Myanmar reported on Friday that a boat carrying 727 people, including 45 children, had been stopped by the country’s naval forces that morning in waters off Myanmar and brought to a naval base. The passengers were described by the authorities in Myanmar as Bengali, a term that made it impossible to know whether they were from Myanmar or Bangladesh.
Norachit Sinhaseni, the permanent secretary of Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, described efforts to develop areas the Rohingya are fleeing as long-term goals.
“If you expect one meeting to resolve it, I think you are expecting a miracle,” he said. “And I am not one who believes in miracles.”
The meeting’s recommendations also seemed at odds with some of the day’s proceedings, including Myanmar’s forceful rejection of assertions by the United Nations that the root cause of the migration crisis was the country’s treatment of the Rohingya.
The head of Myanmar’s delegation said his government should not be singled out for the refugee crisis, that its policies toward the Rohingya were “domestic jurisdiction” and that outsiders were misinformed about what was motivating the Rohingya to leave.
U Htin Lynn, Myanmar’s representative at the meeting, said the United Nations was wrong in its assessment of the problem. “They need to be more informed,” he said. “This issue of illegal immigration of boat people, you cannot single out my country.”U Htin Lynn, Myanmar’s representative at the meeting, said the United Nations was wrong in its assessment of the problem. “They need to be more informed,” he said. “This issue of illegal immigration of boat people, you cannot single out my country.”
Mr. Htin Lynn was responding to comments by Volker Türk, a representative from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Mr. Htin Lynn was responding to opening comments to the delegates by Volker Türk, a representative from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Mr. Türk said Myanmar should remove restrictions on the movement of the Rohingya within Myanmar and offer “basic freedoms” to stabilize their lives.
Mr. Türk said Myanmar should remove restrictions on the movement of the Rohingya within Myanmar and offer “basic freedoms” to stabilize their lives.
More than 100,000 Rohingya in Myanmar live in camps, having been chased from their homes by mobs of radical Buddhists over the past three years. Mr. Türk said the government should facilitate the return of the Rohingya to their homes.More than 100,000 Rohingya in Myanmar live in camps, having been chased from their homes by mobs of radical Buddhists over the past three years. Mr. Türk said the government should facilitate the return of the Rohingya to their homes.
“Granting of citizenship is the ultimate goal,” he said. “Recognizing that Myanmar is their own country is urgently required.”“Granting of citizenship is the ultimate goal,” he said. “Recognizing that Myanmar is their own country is urgently required.”
The Rohingya in Myanmar number more than one million and are widely reviled in the country, where anti-Muslim feelings run strong among the majority Buddhist population. The government rejects the term Rohingya; Myanmar officials had threatened to boycott the meeting on Friday if the term Rohingya was used. The Rohingya are denied citizenship by Myanmar and are described by the government as interlopers from Bangladesh despite the fact that they have been allowed to vote in Myanmar twice — in 2008 and 2010 — and that many if not most were born there. The Rohingya in Myanmar number more than one million and are widely reviled in the country, where anti-Muslim feelings run strong among the majority Buddhist population. The government rejects the term Rohingya; Myanmar officials had threatened to boycott the meeting on Friday if the term was used. The Rohingya are denied citizenship by Myanmar and are described by the government as interlopers from Bangladesh despite the fact that they were allowed to vote in Myanmar in 2008 and 2010 and that many if not most were born there.
The meeting in Bangkok was organized by the Thai government. During a session open to the news media on Friday morning, delegates repeatedly stressed that the underlying reasons for the continuing exodus must be dealt with. The resentment toward the Rohingya, who speak a language related to those spoken in Bangladesh and are darker-skinned than most Burmese, appears to be grounded in the notion that they came during British colonial times or more recently and that they do not belong.
“There’s no solutions without addressing the root causes,” Mr. Türk said. “Among other things, this will require full assumption of responsibility by Myanmar towards all its people.”
The preferred path of the Rohingya and of Bangladeshi migrants, some of whom also call themselves Rohingya, has been to board boats in the Indian Ocean and head to relatively wealthy Malaysia, where they seek jobs or political asylum, and often both.The preferred path of the Rohingya and of Bangladeshi migrants, some of whom also call themselves Rohingya, has been to board boats in the Indian Ocean and head to relatively wealthy Malaysia, where they seek jobs or political asylum, and often both.
A delegate from Malaysia at the conference said that his country was currently home to 152,830 registered asylum seekers and refugees, of whom 149,920 were from Myanmar.A delegate from Malaysia at the conference said that his country was currently home to 152,830 registered asylum seekers and refugees, of whom 149,920 were from Myanmar.
The Rohingya typically travel via Thailand, where loose law enforcement has allowed the people-smuggling business to thrive. But a crackdown by Thailand on human trafficking that began in early May left thousands of migrants stranded at sea, and more than 3,000 refugees have landed in Indonesia and Malaysia in recent weeks.The Rohingya typically travel via Thailand, where loose law enforcement has allowed the people-smuggling business to thrive. But a crackdown by Thailand on human trafficking that began in early May left thousands of migrants stranded at sea, and more than 3,000 refugees have landed in Indonesia and Malaysia in recent weeks.
Shahidul Haque, the foreign secretary of Bangladesh, said he estimated that around 30 percent of those who landed in Malaysia and Indonesia were from Bangladesh. Shahidul Haque, the foreign secretary of Bangladesh, said he estimated that about 30 percent of those who landed in Malaysia and Indonesia were from Bangladesh.
“It appears they were lured with the false prospect of seeking jobs abroad,” he told delegates. “Some of them reported that they were tricked.”“It appears they were lured with the false prospect of seeking jobs abroad,” he told delegates. “Some of them reported that they were tricked.”
Mr. Haque urged the diplomats and government officials gathered at a luxury hotel to help eliminate the suffering of the migrants and “uphold their dignity.”Mr. Haque urged the diplomats and government officials gathered at a luxury hotel to help eliminate the suffering of the migrants and “uphold their dignity.”
“We are talking about human beings who are victims or potential victims,” he said. “They deserve our compassion.”“We are talking about human beings who are victims or potential victims,” he said. “They deserve our compassion.”