ASEAN TO DISCUSS ROHINGYAS AS PART OF INDIAN OCEAN MIGRANTS

BY: D. ARUL RAJOO

HUA HIN, March 2 (Bernama) -- The tricky issue of Rohingya refugees took a
new twist at the 14th Asean Summit here after regional leaders decided to treat
them as just one of the migrant groups in the Indian Ocean.

However, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva denied that the Rohingya
issue had become taboo among the region's leaders.

"It's not a taboo," he said when asked if the word Rohingya was not used
because it's taboo.

Abhisit, whose government came under fire following reports that the Thai
Navy towed the stateless Rohingyas' boat into the sea, said they had to be
treated according to their nationalities.

"We want to include all illegal migrants whether they are from the Indian
Ocean or not. Which is why we specifically mentioned illegal migrants, whether
they are Bengalis or other people who happen to go through this predicament," he
told a press conference after the Summit.

In the Chairman's statement, the leaders said the issue should be addressed
in a larger context, such as the contact group of affected countries and the
Bali Ministerial Conference on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and
Related Transnational Crimes.

Abhisit said the leaders had a productive discussion on the issue of illegal
migrants in the Indian Ocean and agreed that cooperation among countries of
origin, transit and destination was of great importance.

The Myanmar Government, which refused to accept the Rohingyas as their
citizen despite the fact that they came from the Arakan state, had told Asean
Foreign Ministers during a meeting here two days ago that they were willing to
take them back if they were Bengalis.

There are an estimated 14,000 Rohingyas in Malaysia, as well as in Thailand,
Indonesia and Bangladesh.

Abhisit also said the leaders had asked Asean secretary-general Surin
Pitsuwan to coordinate with Myanmar to obtain relevant statistics related to
these illegal migrants in the Indian Ocean.

He also said that they had open discussions on Myanmar where its Prime
Minister Thein Sein briefed them on recent political developments and the
progress made in the implementation of the seven-step Roadmap to Democracy.

"We encouraged the Myanmar Government to facilitate the national
reconciliation process to be more inclusive so as to strengthen national unity,
thereby contributing to peace and prosperity in Myanmar," he said.

The leaders also hoped that the release of political detainees and the
inclusion of all political parties in the political process leading to the
general elections in 2010 would contribute significantly to the national
reconciliation process there.

In a separate press conference, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi said the Leaders also decided that member countries should not pass
the Rohingya problem to their neighbours and instead tackle the issue together.

"Myanmar did not mention anything (about Rohingya). We recognised the issue,
otherwise it's not good for us," he said.

Asked about human rights and democracy in Myanmar, Abdullah said the meeting
did ask Thein Sein about the progress in the country, adding that the issue
of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was not brought up.

"But it's better (for media) to ask the Myanmar Prime Minister to talk. I
can't speak on his behalf," he said, adding that the Myanmar Government had
told Asean during the last Summit in Singapore that it preferred to deal with
the United Nations rather than Asean on the matter.

Abdullah pointed out the progress made by UN Special Envoy to Myanmar,
Ibrahim Gambari who had made seven visits to the military-ruled nation.

According to the premier, Myanmar had released 6,000 political detainees as
requested by Gambari, who is also the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights.

-- BERNAMA