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UN expert warns of threat from escalating communal violence in Myanmar |
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UNITED NATIONS, June 14 (APP): A U.N. human rights expert Thursday warned that escalating violence among communities in Myanmar’s Rakhine state represents a serious threat to the country’s future, saying that discrimination against the Muslim community was at the root of the conflict. “I urge all sides to exercise restraint, respect the law and refrain from violence,” the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, the expert, said in a press statement. The violence in Rakhine state between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims has left at least a dozen civilians dead and hundreds of homes destroyed since last Friday, according to media reports.
The violence led to the Government declaring a state of emergency in the state this past weekend. It is critical that the Government
intensify its efforts to defuse tension and restore security to prevent
the violence from spreading further, Ojea Quintana said, adding that the
authorities should lift the state of emergency as soon as order is
restored.
Having consistently stressed the need for the authorities to take significant steps to address long standing issues of deprivation of citizenship, freedom of movement and other fundamental rights, the Special Rapporteur noted that discrimination against the Muslim community, particularly the Rohingyas in northern Rakhine state, is the root cause
of these communal conflicts. The Government should also address these
concerns alongside its efforts to make progress on other human rights
issues, he added.
Policing action should be carried out impartially, in line with human
rights standards, and with respect for the principles of legality,
proportionality and non-discrimination, the Special Rapporteur said, in
relation to Myanmar President Thein Sein’s message calling on various
segments of society to jointly maintain peace and stability.
He added that, in his view, this obligation also extends to all state
security forces on the ground who are charged with the restoration of
order; and responsible media reporting is also needed to prevent
violence from escalating.
The Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, is in the South-East Asian country at the moment. On Tuesday, he met with President Thein and they discussed the state of emergency and the
need for the Government to continue to handle the situation transparently and with respect for human rights and the rule of law, consistent with President Thein Sein’s recent statement in order that the cycle of
violence is broken and the broader reform process not adversely
affected, according to a UN spokesperson.
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called on Bangladesh to keep its borders open in light of the violence in Rakhine state, following media reports quoting a statement of the Bangladeshi Border Guard force that it had turned away a number of boats carrying people from Myanmar.
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Chinese Premier Visit to Pakistan |
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Presidential address to the joint sitting of parliament |
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