Rohingya Muslims have been denied Myanmar citizenship since a new citizenship law was enacted in 1982.
Fri May 22, 2015 1:19PM
US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken: Rohingyas should have “a path to citizenship."
The
United States has called on Myanmar to grant "citizenship" to Rohingya
Muslims, who live in apartheid-like conditions in Rakhine state in the
west of the Southeast Asian country. Most
of Myanmar's 1.1 million ethnic Rohingya Muslims in the western state
of Rakhine are deprived of citizenship rights due to the policy of
discrimination that has denied them the right of citizenship and made
them vulnerable to acts of violence and persecution, expulsion, and
displacement. In recent days,
more than 3,000 members of the oppressed Rohingya minority have swum to
shore or been rescued off the coasts of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand
and Bangladesh. Myanmar has faced
growing international pressure to stop the exodus from its shores and
provide urgent humanitarian relief to thousands still stranded at sea. Rohingya
Muslim men from Myanmar sit in lines at a newly set up confinement area
situated in Bayeun, Indonesia, on May 21, 2015. (AFP photo)"They
should have a path to citizenship," Deputy Secretary of State Antony
Blinken told reporters in Yangon on Friday, referring to Rohingya
Muslims. Blinken added that "the uncertainty that comes from not having any status is one of the things that may drive people to leave". The
US official said the fact that Rohingya Muslims were willing to
endanger their lives on deadly sea crossings was a "reflection of
conditions in Rakhine state that are leading people to make this
choice". "Even if we address the
immediate crisis, we also must confront its root causes in order to
achieve a sustainable solution," Blinken said. The
Myanmar government has so far refused to extricate the stateless
Rohingyas from their citizenship limbo, despite international pressure
to give them a legal status. An
ethnic Rohingya Muslim child looks at boats near a jetty at a refugee
camp outside the city of Sittwe in Myanmar's Rakhine state on May 22,
2015. (AFP photo)On
Thursday, the Myanmar government again refused to recognize Rohingya
Muslims as citizens and labels them as “illegal” immigrants, or
“Bengalis”. "We do not accept that term (Rohingya) here," said Zaw Htay, director of the presidential office said. Earlier
this month, a group of US researchers said Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar
are facing a grave humanitarian situation, warning of a possible
genocide there. Staff from
Washington’s Center for the Prevention of Genocide visited Myanmar in
March to investigate the conditions in which the Rohingyas live and the
threats they are facing. According
to their report, released recently, Rohingya Muslims are the target of
rampant hate speech and restrictions on their freedom of movement. US
Center for the Prevention of Genocide: “We left [Myanmar] deeply
concerned that so many preconditions for genocide are already in place.”“We
left Burma [Myanmar] deeply concerned that so many preconditions for
genocide are already in place. With a recent history of mass atrocities
and within a pervasive climate of hatred and fear, the Rohingya may once
again become the target of mass atrocities, including genocide,” the
group said. The group said the
early warning signs of future mass atrocities included various acts
targeting the Rohingya people such as physical violence against
individuals, homes and businesses; physical segregation from other
ethnic groups; widespread and unbridled hate speech; destruction of
Rohingya mosques; and sexual violence against the minority group. The group said that long-term strategies are required to counter rampant hate against the Rohingya. It
called on the Myanmar government to adopt a variety of measures
including ending discriminatory laws and policies targeting the Rohingya
people; investigating attacks committed against them in line with
international legal standards; and providing full cooperation to
humanitarian assistance organizations, governments and other agencies
making efforts to help the minority group. Rohingya Muslims have been denied Myanmar citizenship since a new citizenship law was enacted in 1982.Rohingya
and other Muslims have faced torture, neglect, and repression in
Myanmar for many years. A large number of Rohingyas are believed to have
been killed and tens of thousands displaced in attacks by extremists
who call themselves Buddhists. In
November, US President Barack Obama raised the issue of human rights
violations against the Rohingya in his meeting with Myanmar’s President
Thein Sein in the Southeast Asian nation's capital Naypyitaw. US
President Barack Obama (L) speaks during a bilateral meeting with
Myanmar's President Thein Sein (R) at the presidential palace in
Naypyidaw, Myanmar on November 13, 2014.He
said that Washington is "deeply concerned about the humanitarian
situation in Rakhine State and the treatment of the Rohingya and other
Muslim communities, who continue to endure discrimination and abuse." GJH/GJH
