ID :
48071
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 21:56
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/48071
The shortlink copeid
ONLY BENGALIS ACCEPTED, ROHINGYAS HAVE TO WAIT, SAYS MYANMAR BY D.ARUL RAJOO
HUA HIN, Feb 27 (Bernama) -- The Myanmar Government has told Asean Foreign Ministers that it is willing to accept refugees from the country if they are identified as Bengali minorities.
Thai Foreign Minister, Kasit Piromya said the refugees, who claim that they
are Rohingyas, must prove they came from Myanmar and have addresses and family
members there.
However, Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win had told his Asean counterparts
that if the boat people were Rohingyas, the issue had to be discussed further as
they were not listed as citizens of the country.
Speaking at a press conference after chairing a meeting of Asean Foreign
Ministers' on the eve of the 14th Asean Summit, Kasit said as there were no
conclusion on the Rohingya issue, further discussions would be held with
Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh governments.
He said the matter would be discussed on April 14 and 15 at the Bali Process
meeting, which is a non-binding grouping founded in 2002 to solve problems
concerning human trafficking and smuggling.
The Rohingyas, a minority group estimated to number 800,000 in the northern
part of the Arakan state in Myanmar adjacent to Bangladesh, had been running
from alleged persecution there, and their flow to Thailand and Malaysia had
increased in the past two to three years.
The issue of the Rohingya boat people came to light following reports
that
the Thai navy had pushed hundreds of them out to sea and left them to die. The
Indian navy and Indonesian authorities in Acheh had rescued hundreds of them,
and some survivors had claimed abuse by the Thai navy.
In a report published Friday, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi had told the Bangkok Post in an exclusive interview in Kuala Lumpur
that countries affected by the influx of Rohingya refugees must be firm in
turning them back.
Abdullah, who arrived here Friday to attend the Summit, said most Rohingyas
arriving on Malaysian shores came from Thailand.
"We feel that they are being pushed onto us instead of Thailand
accommodating them somehow. They come to us and when they come to us of course
we know they come from Myanmar," he said.
However, Abdullah said when Malaysia approached Myanmar on this issue,
Myanmar authorities have asked what evidence Malaysia had that they originated
from Myanmar.
-- BERNAMA
Thai Foreign Minister, Kasit Piromya said the refugees, who claim that they
are Rohingyas, must prove they came from Myanmar and have addresses and family
members there.
However, Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win had told his Asean counterparts
that if the boat people were Rohingyas, the issue had to be discussed further as
they were not listed as citizens of the country.
Speaking at a press conference after chairing a meeting of Asean Foreign
Ministers' on the eve of the 14th Asean Summit, Kasit said as there were no
conclusion on the Rohingya issue, further discussions would be held with
Malaysia, Indonesia and Bangladesh governments.
He said the matter would be discussed on April 14 and 15 at the Bali Process
meeting, which is a non-binding grouping founded in 2002 to solve problems
concerning human trafficking and smuggling.
The Rohingyas, a minority group estimated to number 800,000 in the northern
part of the Arakan state in Myanmar adjacent to Bangladesh, had been running
from alleged persecution there, and their flow to Thailand and Malaysia had
increased in the past two to three years.
The issue of the Rohingya boat people came to light following reports
that
the Thai navy had pushed hundreds of them out to sea and left them to die. The
Indian navy and Indonesian authorities in Acheh had rescued hundreds of them,
and some survivors had claimed abuse by the Thai navy.
In a report published Friday, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi had told the Bangkok Post in an exclusive interview in Kuala Lumpur
that countries affected by the influx of Rohingya refugees must be firm in
turning them back.
Abdullah, who arrived here Friday to attend the Summit, said most Rohingyas
arriving on Malaysian shores came from Thailand.
"We feel that they are being pushed onto us instead of Thailand
accommodating them somehow. They come to us and when they come to us of course
we know they come from Myanmar," he said.
However, Abdullah said when Malaysia approached Myanmar on this issue,
Myanmar authorities have asked what evidence Malaysia had that they originated
from Myanmar.
-- BERNAMA
