President Thei Sin and Norway PM Jens Stoltenberg |
Activists say they are disappointed that the government
failed to press Thein Sein on citizenship rights for the Muslim minority in
western Burma, who are considered one the world’s most persecuted peoples by
the UN.
“Norway has performed
a shocking u-turn from being one of the countries which did the most to support
Burma’s democracy movement to one which now won’t even speak up for the most
vulnerable and desperate people in Burma,” Mark Farmaner from Burma Campaign UK told DVB.
It follows news that
both the Norwegian prime minister and foreign minister have explicitly declared
the issue of Rohingya citizenship to be an internal Burmese affair.
“We brought up this
issue [the conflict in Arakan], of course. It is a serious situation. We ask
that all people who live in Burma are treated with respect according to the
human rights,” Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told
Aftenposten.
“But there are
disagreements regarding citizenship. In that regard we have encouraged
dialogue, but we will not demand that Burma’s government give citizenship to
the Rohingyas.”
The Foreign Minister
Espen Barth Eide insisted that a nation is “not
obligated to give citizenship to everybody who is living there.”
“This is not
something we are going to demand. Some critical voices talk as if all nations
would have received people from neighbouring nations and made them citizens. We
think this is a conflict that can be resolved through economic development and
local reconciliation processes.”
President Thein Sein met Norway PM Jens Stoltenberg. |
Oddny Gumaer from Partners Relief and Development told DVB
that she was “shocked” by Eide’s comments, which seem to back the
quasi-civilian regime’s claim that Rohingyas are not legitimate citizens, even
though many have lived in the country for generations. The right to citizenship
is also enshrined in international law.
“I cannot believe
that a man with his influence would say what he did,” said Gumaer. “I am considering writing him a letter
asking him if he really believes the government’s line about the Rohingya being
illegal immigrants. It is wrong and ugly.”
Farmaner agreed that his comments “cross the line into defending the Burmese government’s violation of
international law and its treaty obligations.”
“To imply the
Rohingya are from neighbouring countries will only encourage extremists to
commit more acts of violence against them. The Norwegian government’s approach
to Burma now appears to be completely without principle.”
Only a handful of ethnic protesters showed up in Oslo and their leader is a refugee-camp-born KNU woman. |
In an exclusive interview with DVB this week, Thein Sein
thanked Oslo for its continued economic support in lifting sanctions and
waiving up to US$3 billion in debts owed to the global financial group – known
as the Paris Club. Norway was the first western country to shed economic
sanctions against the regime.
“Most significantly,
when we talked with Paris Club members regarding the debt we owed them for
decades – at first they were reluctant on the percentage they can provide and
the percentage they will wave off,” Thein
Sein told DVB.
“But then Norway,
taking the lead, waved off 50 percent of the debts and also 50 percent more
from the additional debt and other countries followed suit,” referring to another US$3 billion later dropped by the
Japanese government.
“It seems to me that
our leaders are mostly busy making sure that we get lucrative business deals in
the country now that we (Norway) have given them so much money and aid,” Gumaer told DVB.
But a spokesperson for the Norwegian government insisted that
there should be “no unclarity” on their message. “Long-term stability in Myanmar [Burma] will depend on continued
political reforms, respect for human rights and a more equitable distribution of
income and wealth.”