Amid delays over refugee
returns, government seeks long-term answers to crisis
As international pressure on
Myanmar intensifies over its handling of the refugee crisis in western Rakhine
State, the government of Aung San Suu Kyi is seeking fresh options after
attacks by Muslim militants triggered a military crackdown and exodus of more
than 650,000 Rohingya refugees into neighboring Bangladesh last year.
It is clear that Naypyitaw
realizes that its declared national priorities of peace and economic
development have been damaged by worsening global perceptions of the country.
A new, 10-member high-level
advisory commission, headed by former Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart
Sathirathai, could provide possible solutions in addressing a complex political
and humanitarian crisis.
The commission is due to
hold its inaugural meeting, just as the first refugees to return to Myanmar
from Bangladesh are planned to come back under a delicate deal agreed between
the two governments.
It comes amid signs that
Myanmar's Asian partners are looking to support Naypyitaw even though the
country faces criticism and possible sanctions threats in the West, led by the
U.S. and EU.
Suu Kyi appointed the panel,
called the Advisory Board of the Committee for Implementation of the
Recommendations on Rakhine State, in response to recommendations offered last
August by a panel headed by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
on how to reduce ethnic conflict in Rakhine State. The new committee will hold
its first meeting with Suu Kyi in Naypyitaw in coming days. The move will buy
some time and provide additional space for the government and Myanmar's
military, or Tatmadaw, to work out acceptable and deliverable results of
Annan's recommendations. Among the 88 proposals submitted by Annan are those to
reform the citizenship process and grant freedom of movement for stateless
Muslim Rohingya.
During his tenure as Thai
foreign minister, Surakiart adopted a "softly softly" approach toward
Myanmar, trying to engage with the then-junta's Prime Minister Khin Nyunt and
befriend the Tatmadaw, moves which quickly improved bilateral ties. Various
bilateral programs, including increased loans, were initiated between Thailand
and Myanmar and helped to end international sanctions that had been in place
since the 1990s.
With his regional
experience, Surakiart could play a crucial role in building bridges among
domestic and overseas stakeholders. His fellow members include former South
African Defense Minister Roelof Petrus Meyer, former New Mexico Governor Bill
Richardson and the speaker of the Swedish parliament, Urban Ahlin.
There have been concerns
whether the Myanmar government and military would implement any of Annan's
earlier recommendations. The appointment of the follow-up commission suggests
that the authorities have now agreed on carrying out at least some
recommendations.
Source: http://s.nikkei.com/2BlhGwJ