Bangladesh Visit: Pope to meet Rohingya refugees
Pope Francis will meet Rohingya refugees from Myanmar in Dhaka when he visits the Bangladeshi capital next week, a Vatican spokesman said yesterday.
Francis, who has repeatedly spoken out over the persecution of the religious minority by the Myanmar authorities, will meet a small group of Rohingyas during an interfaith meeting scheduled for December 1.
The Argentine pontiff's trip to Bangladesh will be preceded by a three-day stop in neighbouring Myanmar, which will now include a private meeting with the head of the country's army, General Min Aung Hlaing.
The meeting with the military chief was organised on the recommendation of the archbishop of Yangon, Charles Bo, who also advised the pope not to use the term "Rohingya" during his visit, for fear of inflaming tensions in the predominantly Buddhist country.
Army and government officials in Myanmar decline to use the term they see as giving the Muslims of Rakhine state the status of an ethnic minority, whereas the official line is that they are illegal immigrants from mainly Muslim Bangladesh.
The Vatican spokesman said the pope was not forbidden from employing the term but added that he planned to follow his archbishop's advice.
"The pope's visit comes at a key moment for these two countries," said Vatican spokesman Greg Burke, adding that he expects a very interesting trip.
The pope will also separately meet Myanmar's de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi -- a Nobel peace laureate -- as previously scheduled during the first part of his November 26-30 trip.
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