YANGON (Reuters) -
The Thai secretary to an international panel set up by Myanmar to advise on the
Rohingya crisis quit his post, dealing another blow to the credibility of a
body meant to demonstrate the government’s commitment to resolving the issue.
Explaining his
decision Kobsak Chutikul, a retired ambassador and former member of Thailand’s
parliament, told Reuters the panel of foreign and local experts, which met for
the third time in the capital Naypyitaw this week, had “been kept on a short
leash” and achieved little in the six months since its formation in January.
Kobsak said he quit
on July 10, but his departure has not previously been made public.
The panel was set up
by the Myanmar government and supposed to advise it on how to implement the
recommendations of an earlier commission, headed by former U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, on solving the crisis in its western Rakhine,
which has been riven by ethnic and religious tensions for years.
Kobsak said the
panel had been barred from accepting international funding or setting up a
permanent office and told to conduct meetings online. Representatives of the
army have refused to meet the board. A military spokesman did not respond to
calls seeking comment.
“Well, what are they
doing? Having lavish dinners in Naypyitaw and this and that, flying around,”
Kobsak said. “The danger now is that it’s going to divert attention from the
issues, give a false impression that things are being done.”
A local member of
the panel, Win Mra, the chairman of Myanmar’s National Human Rights Commission,
rejected the criticism, saying the panel was getting things done.
“The government is
implementing our suggestions and the developments can be seen,” he said, when
asked about Kobsak’s criticisms. “You cannot say there is no development.”
Myanmar government
spokesman Zaw Htay could not be reached for comment on Friday as his phone was
switched off.
Myanmar faced
renewed criticism from human rights investigators this week over the exodus of
around 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled a sweeping army crackdown last year in
Rakhine state that the U.N. has termed “ethnic cleansing”.
EARLY
SETBACK
Former Thai foreign
minister Surakiart Sathirathai was chosen last year by Suu Kyi to chair the
Committee for Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State, as the
panel is officially known. Surakiart did not immediately respond to a request
for comment on fellow Thai Kobsak’s departure.
While he was not a
member of the panel, as the head of its secretariat Kobsak was responsible for
preparatory work for meetings, collecting and collating background information
and gathering views from interested parties.
The panel suffered
an early setback when veteran U.S. politician Bill Richardson, one of five
original international members, walked out of its first set of meetings in
January, dubbing it a “whitewash” and “cheerleading operation” for Myanmar leader
Aung San Suu Kyi.
After he quit
Richardson accused Suu Kyi, a former friend, of lacking “moral leadership”. Suu
Kyi’s office said at the time that Richardson was “pursuing his own agenda” and
had been asked to step down from the panel.
Myanmar’s security
forces have been accused of committing mass rapes and killings during
“clearance operations” launched last August following attacks by Rohingya
insurgents. The U.N has called the campaign a “textbook example of ethnic
cleansing”. Myanmar denies most of the allegations.
“They have defended
the line ... which is always that, ‘This is an internal matter, we are handling
it, we haven’t done anything wrong, this is a false narrative’,” said Kobsak,
referring to the attitude of Myanmar government officials.
Kobsak added that
international efforts would be better focused on a new United Nations envoy
appointed to the country, Swiss diplomat Christine Schraner Burgener, who met
senior leaders on her first visit in June.
“To put it in a
positive way I think the task we set ourselves in the beginning with all good
intentions can now be better performed by this ambassador Christine Burgener
and we shouldn’t muddy the message,” he said. A U.N. spokesman in Myanmar
declined to comment.
QUESTION
SHUT DOWN
According to two
people who said they witnessed the exchange, during talks this week one panel
member, Swedish politician Urban Ahlin, tried to ask a question about giving
citizenship to the Rohingya, but was cut off by a minister in Suu Kyi’s office,
Kyaw Tint Swe. Ahlin declined to comment, referring questions to Surakiart.
Myanmar government officials also present did not respond to emails seeking
comment.
Citizenship and
rights of Rohingya have been key points of contention during negotiations to
return the refugees to conflict-ravaged northern Rakhine. The vast majority of
Rohingya are denied citizenship and prevented from traveling freely around
Myanmar.
While the government
says it has implemented most of the Annan commission’s recommendations, a
senior official told Western diplomats and members of the commission in June
that a proposal to review the citizenship law would not be possible.