New Delhi (Mizzima) – Mr. Antonio Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is currently in Burma on an official visit to discuss the displacement of Rohingya boatpeople with Burmese authorities.
Yante Ismail, UNHCR spokesperson in Bangkok, told Mizzima in an email that the UNHCR chief would discuss a wide range of issues with Burmese authorities and would meet with UNHCR’s partners and beneficiaries in Burma during his six day trip beginning March 7th.
“This visit will be an opportunity to explore how problems of displacement in Northern Rakhine State and the Southeast of Myanmar (Burma) can be addressed and to see what additional steps can be taken to help stabilize these situations and improve prospects for solutions,” she added.
The Geneva-based International Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) last week reported that there were at least 451,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in eastern Burma alone in October 2008. The displaced are confronted with ongoing human rights violations allegedly committed by the Burmese military government and the continuation of armed conflicts between the Burmese army and insurgent groups.
According to the report, IDPs in eastern Burma’s Karen, Karenni, Shan and Mon states, in addition to the Tenasserim Division, continue to increase in number.
The report further says that IDPs in western Burma who are denied citizenship, such as those in Chin and Arakan states and including Rohingya, continue to flee the country to India, Thailand and Malaysia to avoid human rights violations.
While in Burma, Guterres “will be meeting with several Government officials while in Myanmar including officials of the Ministry of Foreign affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs and Immigration and Population, and the Ministry of Progress of Border Areas,” said Ismail.
Navanethem Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), earlier called for a thorough investigation into reports that indicate the ill-treatment meted out to Rohingya.
While speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 5, Ms. Pillay said, “I urge all neighboring countries to ensure their appropriate reception, processing and protection, in line with international standards.”
More than 800 Rohingya boatpeople have been rescued by Indian and Indonesian authorities in their territorial waters since last December.
Indian officials in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands earlier told Mizzima that when they first encountered the boatpeople they were on vessels with no engines and those rescued testified to the abuses of Thai authorities.
Thailand’s Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, however, denied Thailand’s ill-treatment of the Rohingya, though he later admitted that the Thai army might have pushed back Rohingya boatpeople as they attempted to illegally enter the country.
Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win, during last month’s 14th ASEAN Summit in Thailand, argued Burma does not have a Rohingya minority, but said his country agreed to accept the boatpeople if they identify themselves as “Bengalis” born in Burma.
