UN to Increase Focus on Burma's Muslim Migrants

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Friday, March 13, 2009

RANGOON — The UN refugee agency said it will increase its focus on areas of Burma from which Muslim migrants have recently fled.

The announcement on Thursday came after High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres’ visit to the country, which began Saturday.

The group's plight gained widespread attention earlier this year following reports from the Indian Navy that hundreds were believed to have drowned after being sent out to sea in rickety boats by the Thai military.

Other Rohingyas were detained after landing in Thailand, and more came ashore in Indonesia, fanning regional concern they could become an economic burden.

Both Thailand and Indonesia refused to accept those who landed as refugees, and Burma's military government has agreed to accept them back only if they can prove their nationality. Rights groups have also urged against returning them to Burma, which they say persecutes minorities. The Rohingyas' status in Burma is particularly precarious because they do not hold full citizenship.

The UN said in a statement that Guterres traveled to Sittwe, capital of northwestern Arakan (Rakhine) State near the Bangladesh border, where most Rohingya are settled. It said he also visited Myeik, a southeastern port town on the Andaman Sea from which many refugees are believed to have departed.

"On the basis of his observations and the discussions held, the High Commissioner came to the conclusion that UNHCR's current level of activities in northern Rakhine State does not correspond to the actual needs and a decision was taken to upgrade the program with immediate effect," said the agency's statement, issued after Guterres' departure Thursday night.

It said the agency had agreed with the government "on the importance of a continued presence of UNHCR in northern Rakhine State and the South East."