A Canadian ambassador has deleted a tweet he posted on New Year’s Day praising Myanmar’s beaches after the Canadian government advised him that it was inappropriate considering the massive humanitarian crisis unfolding in the country.
Peter MacArthur, Canada’s ambassador to Indonesia, was on a private visit to Myanmar on Monday. His wife, Karen MacArthur, is Canada’s ambassador to Myanmar.
Just before 10am that day, Peter posted a tweet reading: “First day of 2018 unfolded on a Myanmar beach where the great surf is pleasingly turquoise coloured, warm, clean and clear — perfect for snorkelling to visit with nature and the fish.”
The tweet included three photos of empty beaches.
A spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, the government department that oversees Canada’s diplomatic relations, told CBC News: “The government of Canada takes the situation in Myanmar very seriously and is deeply concerned by the ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity that are occurring there.”
“Ambassador MacArthur was advised to delete the tweet in question,” the spokesperson added.
Canada has been a vocal critic of the Myanmar government and military over the mass displacement and other crimes against the Rohingya. More than 650,000 have fled to Bangladesh since August 25, 2017, and thousands are thought to have been killed.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has appointed former Ontario premier Bob Rae as a special envoy on the Rohingya crisis. Rae’s interim report, compiled after a visit to the Bangladeshi refugee camps last month, accuses Myanmar troops of committing sexual violence against Rohingya women in a concerted effort to inflict trauma.
“Seeing these words in print makes me realize how inadequate words are to express the extent of the damage and trauma being suffered by women and girls among the Rohingya refugees,” he wrote in the interim report. “These allegations of crimes against humanity need to be addressed directly by the international community, and there is a need for post-traumatic measures to help those who survived this ordeal.”
Rae’s next visit to the camps is planned for this month.
Myanmar’s role in the Rohingya crisis has been blamed for a steep drop in foreign tourism in the country over the last year, prompting local tourism professionals to combat the “impact of the negative media” with alternative explanations of the crisis and positive information about the country.
Responding to the ambassador’s detailed tweet, local tour company Myanmar Tourism Marketing told Coconuts Yangon: “Myanmar Tourism Marketing loves people sharing their positive experiences when traveling in Myanmar and we encourage anyone to share their pictures on Instagram using the hashtag #MyMyanmar.”
