Pope’s speech in Myanmar avoids mention of Rohingya
POPE Francis has said Myanmar’s future depends on respecting the rights of each ethnic group — an indirect show of support for Rohingya Muslims — but disappointed human rights activists by failing to use the word “Rohingya”.
Francis also did not mention a recent military crackdown on the Rohingya — described by the UN as a textbook campaign of “ethnic cleansing” — as he delivered a speech to Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other diplomats in the capital Naypyitaw yesterday.
But he lamented how Myanmar’s people have suffered “and continue to suffer from civil conflict and hostilities”, and insisted that everyone who called the country home deserved to have their basic human rights and dignity guaranteed.
In August the army began what it called “clearance operations” in Rakhine state following an attack on police posts by Rohingya insurgents.
Francis arrived in Naypyitaw after meeting leaders of Myanmar’s different religious groups.
The Pope stressed a message of “unity in diversity” in his 40-minute meeting with Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders, and told them they should work together to rebuild the country, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said.
Francis’s meeting with Buddhist monk Sitagu Sayadaw was held “in an effort to encourage peace and fraternal co-existence as the only way ahead”.