The European Union said on Wednesday Myanmar needed "space" to deal with human rights abuses in its restive northwest, adding it would respect the call by country leader Aung San Suu Kyi to avoid the term "Rohingya" to describe persecuted Muslims there.
The EU’s statement exposes a rift in the West’s approach toward the Rohingya issue with the United States continuation to use the term “Rohingya”, citing respect for the right of communities to choose what they should be called.
"We strongly believe that the term “Rohingya” is not the problem as it is portrayed; rather, the main problem is the state’s discriminatory policy towards “Rohingya.” Once there is a change in discriminatory state policy into inclusive policy, we can hope for the peace in Myanmar in general and in Rakhine state in particular because justice is a precondition for the peace. The question is, “Does Aung San Suu Kyi have a genuine willingness to ensure the due rights of decades-long oppressed Rohingya?” Therefore, ERC urge the EU to respect rights of “Rohingya” to self-identification, and to take necessary steps to alleviate the genocidal suffering of “Rohingya,” -says the statement.
The Rohingya are often said to be the world's most persecuted minority. They are an ethnic Muslim group in the majority Buddhist country and make up around one million of the total 50 million population.
They hail from the country's northwest and speak a Bengali dialect. Almost all live in Rakhine, one of the poorest states, with a population of three million.
About 140,000 Rohingya in the Rakhine state live in ghetto-like camps that they can't leave without government permission.
They are not regarded as one of the country's 135 official ethnic groups and are denied citizenship under Myanmar's 1982 Citizenship Law, which effectively renders them stateless.
To get citizenship, they need to prove they have lived in Myanmar for 60 years, but paperwork is often unavailable or denied to them. As a result, their rights to study, work, travel, marry, practise their religion and access health services are restricted.
They cannot vote and even if they jump through the citizenship test hoops, they have to identify as "naturalised" as opposed to Rohingya, and limits are placed on them entering certain professions like medicine, law or running for office.
Recent years have seen more Rohingya make attempts to flee the country, unable to bear the deteriorating situation further.
Since 2012, the UNHCR estimates that more than 110,000 people, mostly Rohingya, left on flimsy boats to countries such as Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.
