For peace among people of different faiths

WHEN Pope Francis visits Myanmar and Bangladesh next month, we will see a Christian leader striving to help end a crisis between a largely Buddhist government and a Muslim minority group in what the United Nations has called a case of “ethnic cleansing.”

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh after violence flared between Myanmar security forces and the ethnic minority group living in western Myanmar. The Rohingyas trace their history as far back as the 8th century when their region was ruled by an Arakan kingdom. The official position of Myanmar, however, is that the Rohingyas are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh and calls them Bengalis.

Refused citizenship under the Myanmar Nationality Law of 1982, they became victims of hatred and religious intolerance by “ultra-nationalist Buddhists,” a United Nations (UN) report said, while Myanmar security forces subjected them to arbitrary arrests, detentions, forced labor, summary executions, and forced disappearances, the UN report added.

After Myanmar military crackdowns in 2016 and 2017, Rohingya rebels killed 12 men of the Myanmar security forces. Thus begun the government’s “clearance operations” that led to 3,000 dead, entire villages burned, and hundreds of thousands fleeing to Bangladesh.

It is into this “religious and political minefield” that Pope Francis will venture in November 26, where he will meet with Myanmar’s top civilian leader Aung Sung Kyi and other government officials. He will also meet with the supreme council of Myanmar’s Buddhist monks, which has been silent thus far on the Rohingya crisis.

From Buddhist Myanmar, the Pope will proceed to Bangladesh, a mostly Muslim nation of 160 million¸ which has its own record of political violence, including the assassination of two presidents, and has, since 2013, suffered attacks by Islamic militants.

The world – and not just the Christians whom he leads – will be praying for Pope Francis on this mission. There have been expressions of concern for his personal safety, especially in Bangladesh where Islamic militants have targeted religious minorities, gay rights activists, and foreign aid workers.

Pope Francis, however, has never been deterred by perceived threats to his person and he will proceed with his trip on November 26-December 2. If his visit will help end the humanitarian crisis involving the Rohingyas in Myanmar, he will have succeeded in what the Vatican has called a mission of peace, harmony, and love among people of different faiths.