ASIA/MYANMAR - Cardinal Bo: "Serious concern for the tragedy of the Rohingya"

Tuesday, 27 June 2017 religious minorities   islam   ethnic minorities   violence   justice   peace   human rights   politics  

Yangon (Agenzia Fides) - "I am a Pastor. I am not a expert in politics or international law. I am moved by human suffering. Thanks to a glance of faith, justice with compassion, I speak against all sorts of oppression in this country. The enormous suffering of the population in Rakhine state is one of my great concerns. This concern is shared by Pope Francis who raised his voice for the Muslim Rohingya": says Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, in a widespread message at the end of Ramadan and sent to Agenzia Fides.
The Cardinal recalls the "great potential" and the "great future" of Myanmar, which has to face crucial issues such as poverty, forced migration, modern forms of slavery, conflict and displacement of the population, but also religious extremism and minority status.
"We continue to raise our voice for the Rohingya minority. Years ago we pointed out the causes of this tragedy, we raised the question to the UN, reporting the terrible persecution they suffered, as a terrible scar on the conscience of our country".
And while human rights experts will determine human rights abuses and violations in Rakhine state and Kachin, Shan, and all over Myanmar - and they will decide if they can talk about "ethnic cleansing", "war crimes", "crimes against humanity", "genocide" - Cardinal Bo invites the government in Myanmar to "work with the international community to investigate the crimes reported by the UN in a truly independent manner, that leads to justice".
"Myanmar as a nation faces many challenges. We want all parties to pursue the path of peace. The whole world judges the government on the basis of how minorities are treated in Rakhine state. The government of Myanmar must move away from positions that do not favor peace and blur its image in the international community. We need to move on to build a peace based on justice", says the Archbishop of Yangon. "Peace is possible. Peace is the only path", he concludes. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 27/6/2017)


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