The Trip of UN Special Envoy Mr. Vijay Nambiar to Myanmar Ends

December 21, 2012 

(Translated into English by M.S. Anwar)

Yangon, Myanmar- UN Special Envoy Mr. Vijay Nambiar visited refugee camps in Arakan, Myanmar from December 16 to December 20. During his trip to Arakan, he was accompanied by U Khin Yi, the Minister for Immigration and Population Affairs of the country. 

Even though Mr. Nambiar visited Maung Daw in Arakan, he did not visit Rohingya refugees over there according to the locals of Maung Daw. Although there are only few Rakhine refugees in Maung Daw, government set up some temporary tents with the unemployed and poor Rakhines along the road of HaisshuRate (Alay Than Kyaw)-Maung Daw Highway in order to portray that there are many Rakhines affected by the recent violence. And government showed these unemployed Rakhines to Mr. Nambiar as though they are genuine refugees displaced during the violence. 

And then, he visited refugee camps in Akyab (Sittwe) and Mye-bun. He, together with U Khin Yi, held a meeting and discussion with five representatives from Rakhine community and five from Rohingya community respectively. (That meeting was stated by Radio Free Asia (RFA), Burmese Program, as “Five Representatives from Rakhine Community and other Five Representatives from ILLEGAL INVADERS attended the meeting.” RFA used the term ROHINGYA instead of ILLEGAL INVADERS in translating the same news into English. Besides, in the news by RFA, they have written the report as if Mr. Vijay Nambiar has prevented using the term “Rohingya.” However, it is found that the news by RFA is different from the news officially released by UN News Centre. Even the President of the Country, U Thein Sein, himself, has admitted that there were NO Rohingyas (Bengali in his term) entered and settled in Arakan after the independence of the country. Therefore, the staffs of Radio Free Asia (RFA) in Burmese Language Section have become worse extremists than the Myanmar government has. And hence, it has become clearer that they have intentions to create more problems in Arakan. It is really SHAMEFUL for such a World-Famous Media like RFA to make such arbitrary and baseless accusations. However, the accusation was made by the staffs in its Burmese Language Section and they must bear the responsibility for that.) 

In the meeting, the representatives of the two communities criticize and blamed each other. Moreover, as to whether to or not to use the term “Rohingya,” Rohingya representatives demanded to hold meetings with internationals scholars and historians to discuss the matter.

On Myanmar visit, UN envoy meets civilians uprooted by Rakhine violence

A group of internally displaced people in Myanmar's Rakhine state. Photo: UNHCR Myanmar

UN News Centre
December 20, 2012

A United Nations envoy, Vijay Nambiar, has wrapped up a visit to Myanmar during which he was able to meet with people displaced by the inter-communal violence this year in Rakhine state, as well as discuss with the Government how to address the problems facing the communities there. 

Several waves of clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, the first of which occurred in June, have left 115,000 people displaced, as well as more than 100 dead, according to UN estimates.

Mr. Nambiar, the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Myanmar, accompanied the Minister for Immigration and Population Affairs, U Khin Yi, on a visit to Rakhine state, located in the Asian nation’s west.

“This visit helped the Special Adviser see the current conditions of the internally displaced persons from both communities in the area and also allowed him to participate in the discussions which the Minister was holding with the representatives of the two communities, together and separately,” said a news release issued in Yangon.

During those discussions, the Minister presented some ideas on the way forward, especially on a framework for addressing the problems afflicting the communities there. 

In his comments to the communities, Mr. Nambiar underlined his initial impression that the Minister’s outline of his proposal was “forward-looking and realistic, while taking into account the dignity and essential interests of the affected communities.”

Mr. Nambiar’s visit, which began on 16 December, was at the invitation of the Myanmar Government, which has pledged to take measures to address the violence in Rakhine. 

Last month, President Thein Sein wrote to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that his Government was prepared to address “contentious political dimensions, ranging from resettlement of displaced populations to granting of citizenship.” 

It would also look at “issues of birth registration, work permits and permits for movement across the country for all, in line with a uniform national practice across the country ensuring that they are in keeping with accepted international norms.”

In addition, the President underlined the commitment of the Government to meet the humanitarian needs of individuals and communities in the affected areas of Rakhine state and sought wider international assistance and cooperation in this regard.