Press statement of Hilary Clinton skips out ‘Rakhine ethnic’

EMG

With regard to unrest in Rakhine State, Secretary of State Mrs. Hilary Clinton released a statement.

However, her statement dated 11 June did not mention Rakhine ethnic.

The following is the full text of her statement.

“The United States continues to be deeply concerned about reports of ongoing ethnic and sectarian violence in western Burma’s Rakhine State and urges all parties to exercise restraint and immediately halt all attacks. The Burmese Government has announced a State of Emergency and curfews in Rakhine State, but reports of violence continue.

We join others in the international community and call on authorities to work with local leaders—together with Muslim, Buddhist, and ethnic representatives, including Rohingya—to halt the on-going violence, begin a dialogue toward a peaceful resolution, and ensure an expeditious and transparent investigation into these incidents that respects due process and the rule of law.

The United States has welcomed Burma’s recent reform efforts and the important steps President Thein Sein, Aung San Suu Kyi, and other leaders inside and outside of government have taken. The situation in Rakhine State underscores the critical need for mutual respect among all ethnic and religious groups and for serious efforts to achieve national reconciliation in Burma. We urge the people of Burma to work together toward a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic country that respects the rights of all its diverse peoples.”

In connection with the statement, Rakhine Democracy League leader U Aye Thar Aung said, “The Rakhine State is located in the western part of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Those residing in Rakhine State are the Rakhine nationals. Other nationalities also reside in that area. There are no Rohingya people. There are seven ethnic nationalities such as Rakhine, Mro, Khamee, Kaman, Thet, Dynat, and Maramargyi.  Rohingyas are the Bengali people that illegally infiltrated into Myanmar. The American Embassy and the US government must know and understand these factors, and contemplate this matter. That is my main message. If the Rohingya people are pulled into the Myanmar national, it is a conspiracy to create political crisis leading to sectarian and racial violence. It is tantamount to turning the Bengalis into Myanmar nationals."

The party leader continued, "When these people sneak into Myanmar, the Rakhine nationals showed tolerant attitude, and accepted them. They stayed in peace. They are permitted to profess as they believed. They are not harmed through empathy and on humanitarian grounds. Therefore, please do not incite and provoke by pulling in the Rohingyas as Myanmar nationals. The burnt houses in the areas were mostly owned by the Rakhine nationals. However, there are reverse and invalidated claims that the Bengalis are the sufferers. We can imagine and visualize these situations. It is due to the reason that we have had the experiences of past conflicts and riots between Kalar-Rakhine and Kalar-Bamar. At that time, the houses of Rakhine were burnt down, and many Rakhine national died or killed. The Bengalis moved in,   and the villages have turned into Bengali Villages. However, we could do nothing in advance.”

Moreover, Chairman Dr Aye Maung of Rakhine Nationalities Development Party said, “We have regarded the issue of Rakhine as an evil legacy inherited from the British. For a tribe coming from foreign countries, they, as human beings, should have human rights. But, they must respect the sovereignty of a country. They have long been trying to create armed insurgency so as to establish a self-administered region in disguise of a national race of Myanmar. This statement is cheating history. They tend to climb the political stage by recognizing another race as an ethnic group of Myanmar. If the embassy of a country or UN wants to issue a statement, it should try first to know the stance of local people and the authentic situation. Otherwise, they would face objection if their statement tarnished the image of the people of that original region. If Bengali Rohingyas were granted the right to a national race, Rakhine would have to be surrendered to others next 20 years. This is why the issue is the not the duty of a race but the duty of all national races. All the nationalities have the responsibility for this.”

In the time of President Obama, the US has changed its policy on Myanmar and adopted the approach to having good contacts with Myanmar. US-Myanmar diplomatic ties have been established since 1947.