Rohingyas not a topic for ASEAN: Myanmar

By APP

January 16, 2014

Myanmar does not want the Rohingya issue put on the ASEAN agenda, an official says.

Myanmar (Burma) has rejected the inclusion of talks on the country's Rohingya minority at the first meeting of South-East Asian foreign ministers to be hosted by the once pariah state. 

The country will hold its first meeting of Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in Bagan on Thursday, and its first ASEAN summit in Naypyitaw, the capital, in early May. 

"The Bengali issue is our internal affair and we will not discuss it in the ASEAN meetings, even if member countries ask for it," said Ye Htut, a spokesman for Myanmar President Thein Sein. 

Myanmar government officials refer to the Rohingya Muslim minority group as "Bengalis". 

Sectarian violence in Rakhine state in the west of the mainly Buddhist country in 2012 left at least 167 dead, mostly Rohingyas. 

The group is excluded from those eligible for Myanmar citizenship by a 1982 law. 

Myanmar considers Rohingyas, some of whom have been in the country for generations, to be ethnic Bengalis from neighbouring Bangladesh. 

Many of their ancestors were brought to the Rakhine area as labourers during the 1824-1948 British rule. 

While excluding the Rohingya issue from the ASEAN agenda, Ye Htut said the government was willing to take advice on the conflict from the separate governments. 

"They may have experience in solving such problems peacefully, so we will accept the advice that suits our country," Ye Htut said. 

The South China Sea dispute, involving conflicting territorial claims between China, Japan and various ASEAN countries, is one of the main threats to regional security and is often raised at ASEAN forums. 

"We believe all parties accept that only negotiations can solve this problem and we will try our best to step up efforts to solve the South China Sea disputes," Ye Htut said. 

Myanmar has been a member of ASEAN since 1997, but was previously prevented from playing host to the grouping's meetings and summits because of its pariah status in the international community.