Nay Pyi Taw rejects claim of ethnic cleansing

The Myanmar government and MPs in Rakhine state yesterday dismissed a report on ethnic conflict in the strife-torn state by Human Rights Watch.

The New York-based group accused the government of ethnic cleansing of Muslim Rohingya in the western state – in June and October last year when over 100,000 people were driven from their homes and hundreds killed.

But government spokesman Ye Htut, who is deputy information minister, claimed the HRW report issued on Monday was one-sided.

The head of the President’s Office also played down the report, and noted praise by the US State Department last week.

Ye Htut wrote on his Facebook page that the government formed an investigation commission into strife in Rakhine state and it was made up of experts with good reputations and respected people from two ethnic societies. 

The report was compiled after several field trips to the conflict-affected areas. Ye Htut said the words used by HRW in its “groundless” report were unacceptable to Nay Pyi Taw. 

The Myanmar government would place special emphasis on the findings and suggestions of the official commission, he said, regardless of the HRW report.

The Rakhine State Government was keeping a close watch on how the ethnic conflict was developing, so it was well aware of the communal violence, the state’s Attorney-General Hla Thein said. Human Rights Watch had mistakenly issued a one-sided report. The true situation had been wrongly assessed, he said.

The HRW report accused the Myanmar authorities and Buddhist monks of participating in crimes against humanity and failing to prevent ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Rakhine state. 

Rakhine State MP Aung Mya Kyaw, of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, also claimed that HRW’s statements were unfounded and unacceptable. 

Aung Mya Kyaw said: “This is unfair. Our party does not accept these statements at all. All the local people in Rakhine state know the incidents from A to Z. The violence did not occur racially or religiously. It happened between those who want to seize the territory and those who want to defend that territory. Ethnic cleansing is not the matter of that issue.” 

Dr U Maung, vice chairman of the Arakan League for Democracy, said: “I don’t know whether HRW’s wording is linked to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. We say that their use of the term ‘Rohingya’ is wrong.

 

‘No rohingya here’

“We don’t have Rohingyas in our country. We can only say that they are Bangladeshi or foreign Bengalis. 

“Now, the words used by this group have reached the level of hurting the country and its people. [They] often kept saying ethnic cleansing. Actually, it’s not a racial or religious issue. It’s called communal violence… Politically, it includes competition by groups living inside the country and abroad. We have been living together with Muslims since a long time ago and we didn’t have any problems. [HRW] would know if they come [to Myanmar],” Dr U Maung said.

The HRW report coincided with a European Union meeting on Monday that reviewed and dropped most sanctions imposed against Myanmar. 

It came out a day before the Rakhine Issue Investigation Commission, formed by President Thein Sein, released their final report to the public.

“The action of Human Rights Watch in releasing the report was in sync with the European Union’s meeting on removing restrictions imposed on Myanmar,” Ye Htut noted on Facebook. 

Zaw Htay, director of the President’s Office, wrote on his Facebook page on Monday: “Although there are some who criticised [Myanmar] quoting the Human Rights Watch report, [you can see] Myanmar has been praised recently for its human rights progress by the US, which promotes human rights activities around the world.”

A report released by the US Department of State last Friday also said Myanmar had made progress on its human rights.

US Secretary of State John Kerry had said in the launch of that report that Myanmar was one of world’s bright spots, with democratic reforms and better human rights protection ending years of isolation.

“Has it reached where we want it to be? No. But it’s on the road. It’s moving,” he said. “And by starting to embrace universal rights, the Myanmar government has opened the doors to a stronger partnership with their neighbourhood and with countries around the world.”