Quintana arrives in Rakhine state to assess the recent conflicts

Photo: @ AP

Tomas Ojea Quintana and representatives from the United Nations Human Rights visited Western part of Myanmar last Tuesday where the reported incident of communal conflict occurred. This is being investigated by the group wherein tens of thousands left their homes for fear of their lives and 78 casualties were reported to have suffered in this warfare.

The violence and hostility in Rakhine state which happened last month involved the Muslim Rohingyas and Rakhine Buddhists, AP news reported.

According to reports, the conflict has already stopped but the Islamic groups and various human rights groups have made their appeal to provide security measures and safeguard the rights of the Rohingya community because they still experience abuse.

It is known that the Rohingya’s are not acknowledged by the Myanmar government as member of their ethnic minorities and most people in the country treated them as illegal immigrants coming from Bangladesh. There are about 800,000 Rohingya found in Myanmar and according to the United Nations.

Quintana who spearhead the investigating team stressed that this incident in the Rakhine state will be his priority. This also brings to test the series of reforms the Myanmar government has implemented.

On Tuesday he is scheduled to visit townships of Maungdaw and Buthidaung near Bangladesh’s border where majority of Muslim stays and on the next day he will visit the state capital Sittwe where large numbers of refugees are situated, news report from AP said.

The United Nations group focused on this unpleasant incident since there were reports that five members of their refugee agency allegedly were involved in this gruesome incident and they were detained along with 858 people more. Another five personnel for international aid agencies were also arrested and are detained as revealed by Border Affairs Minister Lt. Gen. Thein Htay.