EU condemns Rohingya ‘catastrophe’
BRUSSELS: European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has condemned the crisis in Myanmar as a “shocking catastrophe,” as the European Parliament demanded an immediate end to violence against Rohingya Muslims.
The interventions add to international pressure over the crisis that has sent nearly 380,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh, particularly on Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been pilloried by rights groups for failing to speak up for the Rohingya minority.
“What is happening in Myanmar is a shocking catastrophe really, because once again people are trying to eradicate whole ethnic groups,” Juncker said during a question-and-answer session with a young YouTube star.
“Europe is in the process of seeing with the Myanmar government and neighboring countries in what way we can be useful.”
Juncker, however, declined to say whether Suu Kyi should be stripped of the Nobel Peace Prize, an award the EU itself won in 2012.
Euro-MPs meeting in Strasbourg, France, passed a resolution urging Suu Kyi to “condemn unequivocally” all incitement to racial and religious hatred.
The European Parliament resolution “strongly urges the military and security forces to immediately cease the killings, harassment and rape of the Rohingya people, and the burning of their homes.”
It also urges the EU to make it clear it is prepared to consider sanctions against Myanmar if human rights abuses continue.
A crackdown by Myanmar’s army, launched in response to attacks by Rohingya militants on Aug. 25, has pushed vast numbers of the stateless Muslim minority across the border, triggering a humanitarian crisis.
“We have put Myanmar on notice that unless the persecution and violence stops, we will take action,” British MEP Amjad Bashir said.
Also on Thursday, the Indian government told the Supreme Court that Rohingya refugees were “a threat to national security,” pushing back against condemnation of its plans to deport them.
India’s top court is hearing a challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s decision to deport Rohingya Muslims, filed by two Rohingya living in Delhi who fled their village in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state about six years ago.
A senior lawyer representing India’s government told the Supreme Court that “the state considers that Rohingya are a threat to national security.”
Intelligence agencies suspect that Rohingya Muslim leaders in India are in touch with foreign militant groups, the lawyer said.