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Published:
29 Jan 2013
The
Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) says the Myanmar
government's policy of segregation in Rakhine state is the main
factor in the mass migration of the Rohingya people - and admits it
is also at fault for its own failure to act in the past.
Kraisak
Choonhavan, vice president of AIPMC and chair of the Thailand Caucus,
said many Rohingya people fleeing Myanmar in hope of better life are
likely to instead face detention or discrimination in other
countries.
Mr Kraisak blamed Asean for not doing enough to address the root cause of the problem, in a statement issued on Tuesday.
He
said Asean should put pressure on the Myanmar government to do more
to safely integrate the Rohingya population and ensure them their
basic rights.
At
the same time, Asean must work closely with regional law enforcement
authorities and human rights agencies to combat trafficking of
Rohingya refugees, he advised.
Recent
evidence indicated that some Thai officials were involved in the
trafficking operation, the press statement said.
AIPMC
president Eva Kusuma Sundari, who is an Indonesian MP, criticised
Asean for failing to offer human rights protection to the Rohingya.
The Myanmar government's policy had isolated Rohingya people in slums
or camps with virtually no access to work, education or medical
attention, she said.
She
plans to bring the issue up at the Asean Intergovernmental Commission
of Human Rights forum scheduled from Jan 28 to Feb 2 in Brunei.
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