World urges access to Myanmar displaced

YANGON  - The United States, Britain and other countries called Friday for Myanmar to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to tens of thousands of people displaced by sectarian unrest in western Rakhine state.In a joint statement, nine embassies in Yangon urged "all parties to work together to bring an immediate end to the violence".They appealed for "a full, transparent and independent investigation" to determine the roots of the Buddhist-Muslim clashes."We further encourage the government to enable safe, timely, and unhindered humanitarian access across Rakhine State to all persons in need," according to the statement, which was also signed by the embassies of Australia, Egypt, France, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.More than 100,000 people have been displaced and about 180 killed since clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims erupted in June, followed by another outbreak of violence in October.A foreign diplomat in Yangon who did not want to be named said that although Myanmar was showing "a real willingness to cooperate" in aid efforts, security concerns in certain areas were a hurdle to deliveries.The UN Refugee Agency has warned that the influx of internal refugees has pushed the Rakhine camps "beyond capacity in terms of space, shelter and basic supplies such as food and water".Doctors Without Borders said earlier this week its teams were struggling to reach most communities affected by the violence owing to "antagonism generated by deep ethnic divisions".Most of the displaced are stateless Rohingya, considered by the UN to be among the most persecuted minorities in the world.Some ethnic Rakhine leaders have campaigned against international aid agencies in recent months, arguing they favour the Rohingya.Meanwhile, the UN human rights chief called on Myanmar Friday to allow Muslim Rohingya to become citizens after deadly sectarian violence in recent months in the western state of Rakhine.The group's statelessness is at the heart of two major outbreaks of unrest between Buddhist and Muslim communities that has left 180 dead and forced more than 110,000, mainly Rohingya, into makeshift camps since June.The Rohingya have no legal status, with the government and many Burmese regarding them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh.UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay added her voice to calls for the problem to be resolved and urged a change in the law, saying the Rohingya had been excluded from the reform process."This should include a review of the citizenship law to ensure that Rohingya have equal access to citizenship," Pillay told AFP at the Bali Democracy Forum in Indonesia.She also warned that the violence could hinder Myanmar's much-heralded reform drive."While we can positively commend the government for the progress made towards democratic transition and national reconciliation, the communal violence, if not resolved, can undermine the reform process," she said.Local authorities in Rakhine told AFP Wednesday they had begun a process of verifying the nationality of all the state's Muslims, amid widespread calls for those deemed "illegal" to be sent to another country.The precise goal of the survey was unclear.The 800,000 Rohingya in the state are considered by the UN to be one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.Separately, Pillay said she pressed Myanmar's Deputy Foreign Minister U Thant Kyaw at the Bali meeting to secure the release of a local UN refugee agency employee detained in Myanmar for almost five months. He gave her no response."If the government detains UN people carrying out their professional functions, it doesn't sit very well with their reform agenda," she said.Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, told AFP that the agency had asked Myanmar for details of the charges but received no response.Other UN aid workers were detained earlier this year over their alleged roles in the sectarian unrest, but have since been released.