Myanmar Tour: Pope advised not to use the term 'Rohingya'
Leading figures in the Catholic Church and international politics have advised Pope Francis not to use the term Rohingya during a trip to Myanmar due to political sensitivities but human rights groups want him to uphold international law on self-identity.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya have fled Myanmar following a military crackdown that the United Nations has described as ethnic cleansing. Majority Buddhist Myanmar rejects the term Rohingya and does not recognise them as citizens nor as an ethnic group in its own right.
In the run-up to the his Nov 27-Dec 2 trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh, several high-profile figures including former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Myanmar Cardinal Charles Maung Bo have indicated he should not use the term Rohingya.
Francis, a strong defender of human rights and migrants, has spoken earlier this year of "the persecution of our Rohingya brothers and sisters" and has defended their right to "live their culture and Muslim faith".
The Vatican would not say if Francis might heed the advice and use a term like "Muslims in Rakhine State". Roman Catholics make up a tiny minority in Myanmar.
This month Annan met the pope along with three other members of "The Elders" group of veteran statesmen and women and later hinted strongly that he believed the pope should not say Rohingya.
Annan, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and author of an advisory commission report on Rakhine State given to the Yangon government in August, gave the pope a copy of his 63-page report. It does not use the term Rohingya to Rihingyas but refers them only to "Muslims in Rakhine State".
Human rights groups hope the pope does not pull his punches in Myanmar.
"The Rohingya have little left besides their group name after years of statelessness, discriminatory restrictions on movement and access to life-sustaining services, and being targeted by a military subjecting them to ethnic cleansing and atrocities," said Phil Robertson, deputy director for Human Rights Watch in Asia.
"The Pope absolutely should stand up for the Rohingya by using the name Rohingya," he said in an email.
Asked if the pope should say Rohingya, Laura Haigh, London-based Myanmar expert for Amnesty International, said: "International law recognises the right of a group to self-identify. It comes down to a principled stand."
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