Representatives meet at the "Special Meeting on Irregular Migration in the Indian Ocean" regarding the Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrant crisis at a hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, May 29, 2015.
The United States said the thousands of migrants adrift in Southeast Asian waters need urgent rescue.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard is in Thailand to attend a one-day meeting of Southeast Asian countries and rights groups that convened Friday. The meeting is part of a concerted effort to address the boat people problem in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal.
"We have to save lives urgently. We have to develop better ways of discussing and meeting on these issues and taking action when people are setting to sea in the boats and we need to go and look at the root causes of why people feel they have no alternative but to flee their own countries and take such a dangerous, dangerous trip," Richard told reporters in Bangkok.
"We have yet to get the approval we seek, I think we＇re close. Importantly, we do have cooperation with Malaysia, so the plane is up in the air, it is surveying the area and I think that this is a very good thing and so, we＇re hopeful to, we can expand that a bit," she said.
Thailand＇s Deputy Prime Minister Tanasak Patimapragorn urged all countries and groups to find ways to avoid an escalation in the humanitarian crisis.
"First, to address the immediate humanitarian situation of stranded migrants. Second, to combat the long-term problem of people smuggling and human trafficking to prevent further irregular movements. Third, to address the root causes from origin," Tanasak said.
William Lacy, director of the International Organization of Migration, said the most urgent action needed was to bring the estimated 3,900 boat people stranded at sea to dry land. He said he hopes the meeting leads to concrete steps to start to address the migrant issue.
Myanmar policies criticized
Lacy declined to criticize Myanmar – also know as Burma – for policies that activists say have worsened the situation. Many of the ethnic Rohingya migrants are denied citizenship in Myanmar and are fleeing persecution.
Myanmar officials have denied that Myanmar alone is responsible for the situation.
"[On the] issue of migration of boat people, you cannot single out my country. I said earlier on some issues falls within the domestic jurisdiction," said Htein Lynn, Myanmar’s foreign affairs minister.
Southeast Asia is battling a humanitarian crisis involving thousands of people smuggled from Bangladesh and Myanmar into Malaysia and Indonesia through Thailand. Dato Ebrahim Abdulah, Malaysia’s secretary-general of the ministry of foreign affairs, said another meeting will take place soon.
"Malaysia is also exploring the possibility to call for a summit meeting of the leaders of the four countries concerned, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand, within the next few weeks," Abdulah said.
Most of the Bangladeshis are seeking to escape poverty in their homeland, while the Rohingya mostly are looking to escape discriminatory treatment by Myanmar＇s Buddhist majority. Bangladesh was represented at the meeting by Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque, who said more cooperation was forthcoming.
"With Myanmar, we have initiated a process for setting up a border liaison office across our border. We have also proposed an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) on security cooperation and dialogue with Myanmar that includes trafficking in person, drugs and arms smuggling," Haque said.
This month, more than 3,500 Southeast Asian migrants have swum to shore or been rescued off boats along the coasts of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh.
The Dalai Lama has urged fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to speak up for her country＇s persecuted Rohingya minority. In an interview with The Australian newspaper, the Tibetan spiritual leader appealed to Myanmar＇s pro-democracy icon to add her voice to the plight of the Rohingya. |
|
