Washington says it is concerned about the humanitarian plight in Burma's violence-hit Rakhine state.
who met with members of the U.S. delegation, warned them that long-running tensions between Rakhines and Rohingyas could easily erupt again.
“Since 1942 until today, there have been six major conflicts between Rakhine and Bengalis [Rohingyas], and another conflict could break out at any point. That's what I told them.”
He told them he felt the conflict was tied to Rakhines feeling that they were being squeezed out of their territory by Rohingya and other populations.
“When they asked me if this was an ethnic or religious conflict, I said it is not an ethnic conflict. If it were, there would be conflict only between Rakhines and Bengalis [Rohingyas]. But Rakhine, Burman, Hindu, and Maramagyi villages were all burned, so I think the issue is about encroaching on land.”
Rakhines have been leaving the area around Maungdaw and now the area is mostly settled by Rohingyas, he said, blaming “extremist” Rohingyas for the problem.
He said a solution he recommended to the delegation is to distinguish between Rohingya who are eligible for citizenship and those who are not, and settle those who are not in refugee camps.
His recommendation echoed a plan proposed by Thein Sein in July, but swiftly rejected by the U.N., to put the U.N. refugee agency in charge of the Rohingya and have them resettled in another country.
Government commission
The probe commission tasked by Thein Sein to investigate the conflict began a nine-day trip to the region on Friday, after having waited until the area was safe for travel.
“We will go to the places where the incidents happened,” writer and delegation member Maung Wuntha said. “Mainly we will listen to what the people have to say.”
He said a research and survey team was also currently undergoing training and would follow soon.
The commission, which counts Buddhist and Muslim religious leaders as well as leading dissidents among its members, was initially scheduled to conclude its investigation by Sept. 17, but waited to travel to Rakhine out of security concerns.
The commission’s mandate was extended for three months and it is expected to submit its findings and recommendations to the president’s office in mid-November.
OIC
A fact-finding team from the Saudi Arabia-based OIC, the world’s largest Muslim body, arrived in Burma on Thursday for a 10-day visit also to look into the issue.
The organization has expressed concern about rights violations against the Rohingya and has said it will bring up the team’s findings at the upcoming meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.
In August, Thein Sein said in a rare conciliatory move that the OIC would be allowed to visit Rakhine.
On Monday, Burmese government spokesman Ko Ko Hlaing, welcomed the OIC visit as a way to clear up "misperceptions," Associated Press reported.
“The Muslim world has expressed concern ... mainly because of misinformation,” Ko Ko Hlaing said.
The delegation’s visit comes ahead of a planned trip in October by OIC Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.
In a speech to OIC senior officials on Sunday, Ihsanoglu said the group condemned the “heinous behavior” of the Burmese government against the Rohingya.
The treatment includes “the displacement and expulsion, the killing of hundreds among them in the last few years.”
“An OIC humanitarian assistance office may also be established in the capital Rangoon,” Ihsanoglu said, according to the OIC website.
On Sunday, an Indonesian man turned himself in and confessed to planning a suicide bomb plot against Buddhists in Jakarta to protest against Burma’s treatment of the Rohingya, police said Monday.
"It's related to the Rohingya issue in Myanmar [Burma]. [He] believed it's unfair to Muslims there," the Indonesian national police spokesman said.
Hundreds of Indonesian Muslim hardliners have expressed anger over the unrest in Rakhine state, protesting outside the Burmese Embassy in Jakarta in July.
Reported by Ingjin Naing and Khin Khin Ei for RFA’s Burmese service. Translated by Khin May Zaw. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
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