Myanmar Election: UK unhappy at exclusion of Rohingyas

The UK has urged Myanmar to amend its citizenship law and hold elections in parts of Rakhine and other areas where polls were cancelled on Sunday.

Nigel Adams, the British minister for Asia at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, in a statement on Monday said the 2020 elections are a significant milestone on Myanmar's path from military dictatorship to democracy. He said his country would work with the new government and civil society to this end.

However, the minister expressed disappointment that the Rohingya and other minorities were once again disenfranchised.

Some 600,000 Rohingyas live in Rakhine state of Myanmar, while about 750,000 fled a violent military crackdown there and took shelter in Bangladesh.

"Elections were cancelled in areas of conflict without a clear rationale or transparency. It is now vital to amend the citizenship laws to ensure that everyone can participate fully in Myanmar's political process," the British minister said.

Nigel urged the Myanmar authorities to ensure free and fair elections are held at the earliest opportunity in those areas where they were cancelled.

"We also condemn the kidnapping of parliamentary candidates by the Arakan Army and call for their immediate release," he added.

Meanwhile, regional rights body Fortify Rights has called upon the international community to condemn the mass disenfranchisement of Rohingyas in Myanmar's November 8 national elections.

"A core principle of elections under international law is universal and equal suffrage and that is not what took place," said Ismail Wolff, regional director of Fortify Rights, in a statement on Monday.

Human rights groups and other observers have expressed serious concerns regarding Myanmar's elections this year, including the disenfranchisement of ethnic minority voters, most notably the Rohingyas.

Other concerns include the government's continued crackdown on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, including the arbitrary arrest and detention of civil society actors and activists.

Myanmar's constitution continues to reserve 25 percent of seats in parliament for unelected military officials and grants the military control of key government ministries in contravention of democratic norms, Fortify Rights said.

Following decades of authoritarian military rule, the international community mostly lauded Myanmar's elections in 2015 as a formative step towards democratisation and restoration of human rights despite the disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya voters.

Five years on, the Rohingya suffered genocide and crimes against humanity and the National League for Democracy (NLD) government continues to imprison human rights defenders while also failing to reform key institutions, including the military and judiciary, said the rights body.

"Governments in the region and around the world must urgently step up efforts for international accountability and ensure the root causes of the Rohingya genocide are addressed and refugees are able to return to their homes in a safe, dignified, and voluntary manner," said Ismail Wolff.