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South-east Asian countries agree to intensify 'boatpeople' rescue efforts South-east Asian countries agree to intensify 'boat people' rescue efforts
(about 1 hour later)
South-east Asian countries agreed on Friday to intensify search and rescue efforts to help vulnerable stranded in the region’s seas, as Burma said its navy had seized a vessel off its coast with more than 700 migrants aboard. A regional conference called to address the swelling tide of boat people in south-east Asia ended Friday with no major breakthroughs, as Burma criticised those blaming it for fuelling the crisis and warned that “finger pointing” would not help. Delegates agreed that discussions would continue.
More than 4,000 migrants have landed in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma and Bangladesh since Thailand launched a crackdown on people-smuggling gangs this month. Around 2,000 may still be adrift in boats on the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal, the UN said. In Myanmar, state television announced the navy had seized 727 migrants, 45 of them children, found on a boat a few dozen miles off the coast of the Irrawaddy Delta region, the latest vessel found in the last few weeks. The report identified those on board as “Bengalis” a reference to Bangladesh, where the Burmese government claims the Rohingya people are from, and said they were taken to a nearby island.
Related: Asian refugee crisis: trafficked migrants held off Thailand in vast 'camp boats'Related: Asian refugee crisis: trafficked migrants held off Thailand in vast 'camp boats'
Countries affected by the crisis agreed at a meeting in Bangkok to set up an anti-trafficking task force and approved a wide-ranging list of recommendations to tackle the “root causes” of the crisis – although the plan was carefully worded to avoid upsetting Burma, which denies it is the source of the problem. Friday’s meeting in Bangkok was attended by representatives of 17 countries directly or indirectly affected by the growing crisis, along with the US and Japan and officials from international organisations such as the UN refugee agency and the International Organisation for Migration. That so many countries including Burma participated was considered progress in itself.
Just as the meeting was wrapping up in Bangkok, Burma’s ministry of information announced its navy had intercepted a boat with 727 “Bengalis” aboard and was taking them to a base on an island off its southern coast to determine their identity. “The most encouraging result was the general consensus that these discussions need to continue,” said William Lacy Swing, director general of the IOM. “It cannot be a one-off.”
“That the summit took place at all with this wide participation is itself a good result,” William Lacy Swing, director general of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), told Reuters.
“It’s a very important first step. Having Myanmar [Burma] there was key. I’m pretty optimistic. We’re pleased that they’ve retained an emphasis on intensifying search and rescue operations.”
While some of the migrants are Bangladeshis escaping poverty at home, many are members of Burma’s 1.1 million Rohingya Muslim minority who live in apartheid-like conditions in the country’s Rakhine state.
Burma does not consider the Rohingya citizens of Burma, rendering them effectively stateless, while denying it discriminates against them or that they are fleeing persecution. It does not call them Rohingya but refers to them as Bengalis, indicating they are from Bangladesh.
The final statement from the meeting on Friday included a paragraph that called for addressing factors in the areas of origin of migrants, including “promoting full respect for human rights” as well as investing in economic development. It did not mention Burma by name.
Burma signed off on the agreement, Htein Lin, director general at Burma’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and head of the country’s delegation said.
Related: South-east Asia migrant crisis: numbers are now 'alarming', talks toldRelated: South-east Asia migrant crisis: numbers are now 'alarming', talks told
“It’s not only about Rohingya, in your terms – in our terms, not only for Bengalis,” he said. South-east Asia has been beset for years by growing numbers of desperate migrants from Bangladesh and Myanmar. In the last several weeks alone, at least 3,000 people have been rescued by fishermen or have made their way ashore in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Several thousand more are believed to still be at sea after human smugglers abandoned their boats amid a regional crackdown that has unearthed the graves of dozens of people who died while being kept hostage in illegal trafficking camps.
“The language (in the document) speaks for itself. For Burma, root causes are development and a sense of security for all people living in Rakhine state and the rest of Burma.” Some are Bangladeshis who left their impoverished homeland in hope of finding jobs abroad. But many are Rohingya Muslims who have fled persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which has denied them basic rights, confined more than 100,000 to camps and denies them citizenship. There are more than 1 million Rohingya living in the country formerly known as Burma.
In his opening remarks to the meeting earlier, he had sharp words for those that blamed Burma for south-east Asia’s migrant crisis. At the start of the meeting, the U.N.’s assistant high commissioner for refugees responsible for protection, Volker Turk, said there could be no solution if root causes are not addressed.
“You cannot single out my country,” he told delegates. “In the influx of migration, Myanmar is not the only country.” “This will require full assumption of responsibility by Myanmar toward all its people. Granting citizenship is the ultimate goal,” he said. “In the interim ... recognizing that Myanmar is their own country is urgently required (as well as) access to identity documents and the removal of restrictions on basic freedoms.”
The Bangkok gathering brought together 17 countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and elsewhere in Asia, along with the United States, Switzerland and international bodies such as the UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, and the IOM. Htin Linn, the acting director of Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, shot back in a speech afterward, saying Turk should “be more informed.” He also cast doubt on whether “the spirit of cooperation is prevailing in the room. ... Finger pointing will not serve any purpose. It will take us nowhere.”
The word “Rohingya” did not appear on the invitation for the meeting, after Myanmar threatened to boycott the talks if it did, and most people who spoke at Friday’s meeting avoided saying it. Myanmar’s government does not recognize Rohingya as an ethnic group, arguing instead they are really Bangladeshis. Bangladesh also does not recognize the Rohingya as citizens.
An official summary of the meeting included a list of proposals and recommendations that were “put forward,” including ensuring the U.N. has access to migrants and addressing the issue’s root causes. It was not clear that any of them had been agreed on, however, or that they would be implemented.
There were small signs of progress. Thai Foreign Minister Thanasak Patimaprakorn said Bangkok agreed to allow the U.S. military to operate flights out of Thailand to search for migrants stuck on boats one week after Washington put in a request to do so. And the U.S. pledged $3 million to help the IOM deal with the crisis, while Australia pledged close to $4 million toward humanitarian assistance in Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Southeast Asian governments have largely ignored the issue for years. The problem has recently attracted international attention amid increased media scrutiny as more migrants and refugees pour out of the Bay of Bengal. In many cases, they pay human smugglers for passage to another country, but are instead held for weeks or months while traffickers extort more money from their families back home. Rights groups say some migrants have been beaten to death.