Cardinal Charles Bo Maung, the Archbishop of Yangon, told the online Catholic magazine Crux that he believes there has not been any “ethnic cleansing” nor any “genocide” of Rohingyas in Myanmar.
Cardinal Bo has long been a spokesperson on behalf of religious and ethnic minorities in Myanmar, including the Rohingya. He told Crux that the Rohingya face many grave issues, including statelessness. However, his critiques of the Myanmar government and military do not extend to accusations of ethnic cleansing or genocide, apparently to surprise of one Crux contributor.
Contributor Nirmala Carvalho writes: “Bo has been a strong advocate for better treatment of the Rohingyas, and in February called on the Myanmar government ‘to allow unhindered access to all parts of Rakhine State,’ as well as to allow ‘international humanitarian aid agencies, media and human rights monitors…to work with the international community to investigate the crimes reported by the United Nations in a truly independent way that results in justice and accountability.’ So for the cardinal to now say ‘clearly there is no genocide and no ethnic cleansing’ of the Rohingyas is significant.”
A UN report in February described the situation facing the Rohingya in Rakhine State a possible “genocide” and accused Myanmar security forces of “crimes against humanity”. It also pointed out that the Rohingyas, who are kept stateless by Myanmar authorities, are facing a “campaign of terror.”
When the UN report came out, Cardinal Bo released a statement calling it “heart-breaking and very profoundly disturbing.”
He also warned: “Merchants of hatred who lived by spilling the blood of brother against brother are active again. Myanmar needs the world community to extend all support to the present democratic government with clear understanding that violence against any population is not acceptable.”
Regardless of the legal definition of the crimes being committed against ethnic minorities in Myanmar, let’s hope Cardinal Bo keeps up the fight against these “merchants of hatred”.
