Myanmar lifts curfew in violence-plagued Rakhine capital Ethnic tensions linger as UN calls for humanitarian assistance boost. Posted on September 12, 2014, 2:04 PM A displaced Rohingya family sits in front of their bamboo shelter at a camp on the outskirts of Sittwe in March Mandalay: Myanmar authorities have lifted a sweeping dusk-to-dawn curfew in the violence-plagued capital of Rakhine state, amid calls from the United Nations to dramatically step up humanitarian assistance. Officials in Rakhine say Thursday’s ending of the curfew in Sittwe is an indication that tensions in the city have abated to some degree. “We lifted the curfew as tensions have eased and the situation is returning to normal,” Win Myaing, the Rakhine government spokesman, told ucanews. “But security will still remain there.” The government imposed a curfew in Sittwe in June 2012, when deadly sectarian violence erupted between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims. The clashes left almost 200 people dead and displaced more than 140,000 — mostly Muslims. But aid workers say the situation for displaced communities remains dire. Following an official visit to Rakhine state, John Ging, director of operations for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said humanitarian efforts and development assistance must be increased. “It is clear that progress has been made since my last visit one year ago and that is truly impressive given the challenges and setbacks you have faced. However, we must all redouble our efforts to do more,” Ging said in a statement. “The humanitarian situation is still unacceptably dire for far too many people, but thanks to the outstanding efforts of aid organizations the humanitarian situation is now stabilizing,” he added. But in Rakhine state, where ethnicity is a politically charged issue, aid organizations have faced restrictions in going about their work. The state’s majority ethnic Rakhine community often accuses aid workers of favoring the Rohingya. In March, about 1,500 aid workers were forced to evacuate from Sittwe as unidentified Rakhine demonstrators attacked UN and international non-governmental organization offices. Most agencies have resumed limited operations, though the government’s Emergency Coordination Committee closely monitors them. The NGO M�decins Sans Fronti�res-Holland was forced to cease operations in the state earlier this year and is still in negotiations with the government to return. The intense politicization of ethnic identity in Rakhine has seen aid groups managing a delicate balance in their public statements. For example, both the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) avoid the use of the word ‘Rohingya’ in press statements — officially, the Myanmar government views Rohingya as stateless migrants from neighboring Bangladesh, and not one of the country’s officially recognized ethnic groups. The Muslim and ethnic Rakhine communities are both suffering the long-term effects of violence. Access to essential health care and clean water has been seriously affected, as has the capacity to earn a livelihood, Enrique Ochoa, head of the ICRC office in Sittwe, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 16:21:14 +0000
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