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Kristian Stokke, human geographer at the University of Oslo who
studies democratic movements and civil society transformation, says
Norway is quiet on the Rohingya because it wants to preserve its
special relationship with the regime. Talking publicly about the
Rohingya would be like sand in the machine, he says to Development
Today. It would distract from the Foreign Ministrys agenda. If they
engaged in the Rohingya issue it would make it difficult to
influence the greater reform process. They fear they would lose
their access and influence with the regime. POLICY SHIFT? In
connection with the recent Norwegian state visit to Burma, Foreign
Minister Brge Brende published an article in three regional
Norwegian newspapers on December 2, in which he mentions Rakhine
state. Apart from Gahr Stres response to Chaudhrys intervention,
this is, as far as DT has been able to determine, one of the first
public statements by the Norwegian government expressing concern
about the situation. He writes: The situation in Rakhine State
gives reason for concern. There are reports of violations of human
rights and the humanitarian situation and conditions for the muslim
minorities are serious. I have in my discussions underlined our
concern and the importance of acting in accordance with
international standards. Crucially, the minister also writes that
Norway will support efforts that can contribute to resolving the
challenges in Rakhine State. This appears to mark an important
shift for Norway, which has through the MPSI focused exclusively on
conflicts with other ethnic groups, mainly Karen, Mon, Chin,
Karenni and Shan. The Rohingya have until now not been a part of
the peace initiative. It remains unclear what kind of support in
Rakhine state Brende now has in mind. In a recent interview with
Development Today, Claudio Feo of Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA), an
NGO that has worked on the implementation of the MPSI, said that
NPA faced a political dilemma when the Norwegian peace support
initiative started in 2012. There were, simultaneously, positive
political developments in the East of the country and outbreaks of
violence between Rohingya and Buddhist Rakhine communties in the
West. NPA made a conscious decision not to jeopardise their
possibility to engage in the process in the East by raising the
Rohingya issue. Feo notes that NPA did not have access to Rakhine
state and did not have first-hand knowledge of the situation. Did
the Norwegian government make the same strategic calculation?
Development Today asked the Foreign Ministry, but did not receive a
direct response. Hglund says MPSI will come to an end by February
2015. He notes that MPSI activities will continue under other
umbrellas and in collaboration with donors and civil society
organisations. In hindsight, Feo says, Norwegian Peoples Aid
underestimated both the severity of the Rohingya humanitarian
crisis and the political consequences and impacts on other
political processes. He worries now that the inter-religious
tensions that have spiralled in the last couple of years could
undermine the democratic process of nation building. THE SCALE OF
THE CRISIS Norways lack of active public engagement in the Rohingya
issue must be seen in the context of the scale of the crisis.
Notwithstanding the Thein Sein regimes claims to the contrary, many
reports point to a very desparate situation indeed. Human Rights
Watch calls it ethnic cleansing. In her recent report on Burma, UN
Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee cites systematic discrimination
against the Rohingya, including restrictions on freedom of
movement, access to land, food, water, education and health care,
summary executions, torture, rape and forced labour. While
acknowledging that reforms have taken place, Lee warned of signs of
possible backtracking. In an article in the Pacific Rim Law &
Policy Journal Association, authors Maung Zarni and Alice Cowley,
take it a step farther. They argue that the situation of the
Rohingya fulfills the definition of genocide in the 1948 Convention
on the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide.
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The Nobel laureate in economics Amartya Sen, speaking at a
conference at Harvard University co-organised by Maung Zarni last
month, lends his weight to this argument. I think the term slow
genocide is an appropriate fit here because you deny people health
care, you deny people nutritional opportunities, the opportunity to
work and earn an income, make a living to feed themselves and their
families. You expel the only medication organisation delivering
health care, Mdecins Sans Frontires. That is killing people. And in
that sense it is a genocide [even though] it is not like Rwanda
[or] the Khmer Rouge, Sen said at the seminar. He says the Burmese
government is responsible for institutionalised killing and says
there is evidence that the anger [among Buddhists] against the
Rohingya has been carefully cultivated by the government itself.
NORWAYS ROLE What are the implications of calling the situation of
the Rohingya a genocide? Norwegian Law Professor at the University
of Oslos Centre for Human Rights Tore Lindholm gives this response:
I dont know whether it is or not. But you dont need to shout
genocide to be able to say that the situation is totally
unacceptable and that the government must stop the needless
suffering of these people. Lindholm believes that the Norwegian
government is pursuing an overly optimistic track in Burma. Its a
kind of diplomatic approach that says: in the long run it will work
out. I think this is not justified by facts on the ground. I think
Norway should be much more outspoken [on the Rohingya situation]
... It is a risky guessing game Norway is playing. I hope the
Norwegian government will end up being right, but I dont think they
have good reasons for their optimism, he says to DT. Former Prime
Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, now President of the Oslo Center for
Peace and Human Rights, says he is not in a position to determine
whether the situation of the Rohingya is in fact genocide. However,
there is no doubt that crimes against humanity are being committed
... They live under severe and dire conditions and far too many are
victims of daily persecutions. I believe it is more important to
address these underlying issues than to find an accurate term, he
says to Development Today. Bondevik stresses that the main
responsibility lies on the government. He adds: I would like to see
Norway, as well as other stakeholders, address this issue clearly.
If the situation continues to worsen, this can in turn lead to a
relapse in the entire peace process.
Human rights, a new red line in Norwegian aid. Signals tougher
policy on Burma Development Today Nr 17-18/2014 - December 31, 2014
www.development-today.com By Ann Danaiya Usher Foreign Minister
Brge Brende has presented a White Paper on human rights that
promises to put rights at the top of the agenda in Norwegian aid.
In the new white paper on human rights, the first on this subject
in 15 years, Norway promises to place human rights at the centre of
aid and foreign policy, and to push the issue in the UN system.
Human rights are not Western values, said Foreign Minister Brge
Brende at the launch of the White Paper. They are universal values
inherent to all people. Protection of human rights should be the
red line in everything that Norway does.
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Brende said he is concerned about the growing gap between states
commitments and the respect they show for human rights in practice.
Human rights are increasingly under threat in many parts of the
world, especially civil and political rights such as freedom of
expression and freedom of assembly, he said. The minister said
Norway will work to counteract deliberate attempts to undermine
respect for human rights by strengthening the multilateral
mechanisms for protecting human rights. CLEAR REQUIREMENTS The
White Paper states that Norway will set clear requirements for
recipients of Norwegian aid regarding their willingness to promote
human rights, democracy and the rule of law. If there are serious
violations of human rights or if countries show an unwillingness to
comply with human rights obligations, this will have consequences
for further cooperation. Brende raised the example of Afghanistan
where Norway slashed its aid for 2014 by NOK 50 million because we
saw no follow up on corruption and no will to reform from the
government of Hamid Karzai. Respect for human rights is a litmus
test for a countrys good governance and democratic space, the
minister said. He mentioned South Sudan, which has fallen into
chaos in spite of widespread optimism just three years ago. The
international community failed to take human rights issues
seriously enough, said the minister. We should have acted on this
much earlier on, he said. NEW APPROACH TO BURMA In the White Paper
specific mention is made of Burma, also known as Myanmar, which was
recently designated as one of 12 long-term cooperation countries
for Norwegian development aid. The paper acknowledges positive
reforms in Burma, but also points to the humanitarian situation of
the Rohingya muslim minority in Rakhine state as being the most
difficult. It notes that Norwegian authorities have developed a
close relationship with the Burmese government as a result of clear
support for the peace process. This relationship is made use of to
take up difficult issues, like the human rights situation, it
states. In his presentation of the White Paper, Brende referred to
Burma several times, warning that increased aid will depend on
progress on human rights. We need to see integration of human
rights for us to increase the state-to-state aid [to Burma], Brende
said. If the reforms stop up completely and the opposition is
neutralised which I hope will not happen it will not be natural for
Norway to continue with state-to-state aid. We must use our aid to
encourage countries to improve human rights ... If we do not
provide aid through state channels, we can give it to civil society
organisations. Speaking specifically on the situation of the
Rohingya, Brende added: We must organise our aid in such a way that
minority rights are protected. It has been very controversial to
take up this issue. Even the use of the word [Rohingya] is
controversial. But we have been clear with the government that one
million Rohingya people live under unacceptable conditions. It is
the governments responsibility to address this situation. Brende
has earlier noted that Norway will support efforts to resolve the
challenges in Rakhine state. Asked what concrete measures Norway
plans to take, the minister says to Development Today: Norway will
continue to raise the issue politically and offer our advice to the
government. We also discuss the situation with other countries in
the region to see how the international community can assist
Myanmar in solving the issue. In addition, our financial support to
humanitarian assistance and civil society organisations as well as
independent media will continue.
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Norway funds new centre on dialogue in conflict-ridden Rakhine
state, Myanmar Development Today Nr 4-5/2015 By Ann Danaiya Usher
Oslo is supporting a new centre that aims to promote dialogue
between Buddhists and Muslims in the troubled Rakhine state. But
offficials deny that Norway is taking the lead in the Rohingya
issue. Norway is the first donor to provide support to the
newly-established Centre for Diversity and National Harmony,
commonly known as the Rakhine Centre. The purposes of the centre
are creating awareness, providing civic education and easing
tensions by promoting dialogue between the Buddhist and Muslim
communities in Myanmars western state. The plight of the Muslim
minority in Rakhine, who call themselves Rohingya, constitutes both
a humanitarian crisis and a political tinderbox. While the Rohingya
presence in the country pre-dates British rule, the government
refers to them as Bengali, reflecting the view that they are
illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. A million Rohingya in Rakhine
lack citizenship and are denied basic rights and medical care. It
is a widely-shared view among Western diplomats and observers that
if left unresolved, the tensions in Rakhine could spiral out of
control and undermine peace in the rest of the country. RAKHINE
CENTRE The new centre was formally established last year by members
of a government commission that investigated the violent outbreaks
of 2012, which left some 140,000 Rohingya homeless. Norways overall
goal in supporting the centre is peaceful co-existence and
mitigation of violence. We want to create a space for dialogue,
says Marte Briseid, First Secretary at the Norwegian Embassyin
Yangon, to Development Today. For Norway, it has been important
that Dr Kyaw Yin Hlaing, a Burmese academic and advisor to
President Thein Sein, is leading the centre. Dr Kyaw, who was part
of the investigation commission, is seen as a man of integrity who
has trust in both camps [Buddhist and Muslim], she says. The centre
will provide analysis, produce publications on the situation and
establish a risk mitigation mechanism through an early warning
system. It will function like a think tank. Tougher issues
regarding citizenship of the Rohingya and draconian laws related to
the Muslim populations access to health and education will also be
within the centres mandate. Briseid confirms that Norway was the
first donor to support the centre with a start-up grant of NOK 2
million last December. More recently, the UN and the DfID-financed
Peace Fund have also provided support. EVOLVING ANALYSIS In late
2013, the Embassy in Myanmar, also known as Burma, conducted a
field visit to Rakhine. Officials remarked on the limitations on
the Rohingyas freedom of movement and freedom to marry, limited
access to education and pressure to have not more than two
children. They concluded that while the humanitarian situation was
serious, a political resolution was necessary. The continued total
segregation of large parts of the population in Rakhine could have
significant implications, not only in Rakhine but through the whole
of Myanmar, they wrote. In June 2014, the embassy undertook a
follow-up visit in the wake of the attacks on UN offices and the
eviction of Mdecins Sans Frontires from Rakhine State earlier that
year. The embassys report from the trip stressed that tensions
between Buddhists and Muslims ran high throughout the country.
There are strong nationalist-Buddhist, anti-Islam sentiments in the
whole of Myanmar. Any solution that takes into account the needs of
the Rohingya will be unpopular. A broad range of political actors,
including Aung San Suu Kji and Shwe Man, are reluctant to take a
stand.
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Again, Norwegian officials pointed out that a worsening of the
situation in Rakhine could potentially upset the whole peace and
democratisation process in Myanmar. They noted that the physical
separation of the two communities was necessary to ensure the
Rohingyas safety. But to avoid a permanent separation which, the
embassy noted, some media refer to as an apartheid situation a more
hollistic approach was needed. Though many actors are trying to
find more constructive ways of working, we see no immediate cause
for optimism, the officials wrote. Notwithstanding recent reports
of mass graves of Rohingya in southern Thailand and a steady stream
of boat refugees, Norways assessment of the situation in Rakhine
and Myanmar in general is now somewhat more positive than it was a
year ago. Marte Briseid says there has been a slight improvement.
There has been little violence in the past year. No major
outbreaks. The security situation appears to have improved, she
says. However, it is still extremely fragile and tense [in Rakhine]
and it is a very challenging political situation. NORWAYS ROLE
Norway played a key role among donors in opening up dialogue with
the Burmese regime and actively supported the ceasefires between
the government and armed ethnic groups through the Myanmar Peace
Support Initiative (MPSI), which started in 2012 and wound up a few
months ago. Norwegian diplomats view MPSI as a success, having
contributed to building trust and confidence in the peace process
and, ultimately, to the agreement on the landmark National
Ceasefire Agreement on March 31. Norway engaged at a very early
stage in a political dialogue with the authorities in Nay Pyi Taw,
when many were still very skeptical. We took a risk, but ice was
broken and doors opened. Looking back, it was clearly the right
thing to do, says Arne Jan Fllo, Senior Advisor at the Foreign
Ministry in Oslo. Back in 2012, Norways efforts were focused on the
formal peace process with the ethnic armed groups. The simultaneous
explosion of violence in Rakhine state was viewed as a different
type of conflict that had to be dealt with separately. Diplomats
stress that Norway has consistently raised the issue of the
Rohingya in political meetings with the Burmese government. Foreign
Minister Brge Brende has been more outspoken than his predecessor.
Norway pushed for the UN resolution of November 2014 which
expressed serious concern about the Rohingya. In his presentation
of the White Paper on Human Rights last December, Brende referred
to the situation of the Rohingya in Rakhine state as being
unacceptable and the most difficult in Myanmar. With Norways
ground-breaking support to the new Rakhine Centre, is Norway now
looking to build on its special relationship with Nay Pyi Taw and
play a leading political role in the Rohingya situation, as it did
with the MPSI? Briseid responds: We are not looking to take the
lead on the Rohingya issue. We did take the lead in the peace
process on the request of the government. In this case, we are
working with other actors. But we are definitely looking for
channels to support [in Rakhine] in a constructive manner.
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