VIENTIANE — In a meeting with President Thein Sein on Tuesday at the sidelines of
the Asia-Europe Summit in Laos, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague urged “all
political parties in Burma to do what they can to end the violence and address
the issue of Rohingya citizenship.”
Hague and Thein Sein are
attending the ninth ASEM summit in the Laotian capital, along with leaders of
European and Asian countries.
Burmese Foreign Minister Wunna
Maung Lwin told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday afternoon that the Arakan (Rakhine)
strife was “not the fault of the government or the people of Myanmar” while
admitting that action was being taken to avoid the spread of violence.
“There was an unfortunate
incident that happened in the last week of May and that created anger among the
native people. This led to communal violence between two communities,” he said.
“Because of this anger there were
revenge incidents that spread to other parts of Rakhine State. The government
has been handling with great caution and care so this cannot spread to other places
and affect peace and stability in the country.”
Thein Sein would not comment on
the summit when approached by The Irrawaddy while leaving a lunchtime meeting
on Tuesday.
Hague’s comments were echoed by
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natelagawa, who told The Irrawaddy that “one
core issue in resolving the conflict is citizenship, and this is a matter the
Myanmar government must address in the future.”
However, the recent violence in
Arakan State and the plight of Burma’s Rohingya minority was not discussed at
the summit, Natalagawa added. “There has not been any more specific discussion
of the issue of Rakhine State and the Rohingya,” he said.
Expressing hope that Indonesia’s
example in resolving sectarian strife could be emulated in Burma, Natalagawa
said that the Arakan violence “is not a conflict of religion, but is a communal
conflict, a horizontal one.”
Discussing their Tuesday meeting
in Vientiane, William Hague said that, “I was pleased to meet President Thein
Sein to follow up our meeting in Burma in January. I congratulated him on the
progress Burma has made so far on vital political and economic reforms.”
The British government hopes that
Thein Sein will visit the UK next year, with Hague adding that, “I encouraged
continued cooperation between the UK and Burmese governments to promote
responsible trade with and investment in Burma. And I expressed my hope that
the president would be able to visit the UK early next year.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak expressed unease for the plight of
Muslims in western Burma. “Malaysia remains extremely concerned about ongoing
tensions between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine State of
Myanmar,” he said.
“We urge all parties to exercise
restraint and avoid provoking further hostilities and hope that authorities,
including the government and religious leaders, can work towards a peaceful
resolution. Malaysia stands ready to lend assistance, so that further
displacement and loss of life can be prevented.”
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