Rights groups voice concern over

World Banks plans for Burma

Rohingya refugees at Da Paing camp in Rakhine State. Rights groups say it is essential that
the World Bank Group sets the right precedent in Burma. Pic: AP.
By Kyle Lawrence Mullin Oct 06, 2014
While The World Bank Group (WBG) has aided swaths of
struggling economies across the globe, activists in Burma sa such assistance for the
beleaguered !outh "ast #sian nation should come with strict conditions$
The World Bank has an important role to pla in advancing access to education,
health, and electricit in Burma %also known as &anmar',( wrote )essica "vans,
senior international financial institutions researcher at activist *G+ ,uman Rights
Watch (,RW), in a press release issued this morning, before adding- .But for The
WBG to reall advance development, it needs to have its ees wide open to Burmas
ongoing rights problems and activel work to address them$(
/hief among those issues is the governments controversial new Rakhine !tate #ction
0lan$ /ritics sa the plan will push Burmas Rohinga &uslims to adopt a new
ethnicit and falsel admit to being illegal immigrants (despite having resided within
the nations borders for centuries)$ 1n the press release, "vans added that it is crucial
for these human rights issues to be addressed b WBG president )im 2im during his
slated meeting with Burmese finance officials at the annual 1nternational &onetar
3und summit on +ctober 45647 in in Washington, 8/$
But "vans is concerned that the WBG (who did not respond to interview re9uests for
this stor) will fail to make such stipulations, and instead find Burmas development
with no strings attached$ 1n a later interview with #sian /orrespondent, she pointed to
a recent ,RW case stud on the organi:ations work in "thiopia as a troubling
e;ample$ The case stud found, among other troubling revelations, that World Bank
funding intended for development of the #frican nations rural infrastructure was
misappropriated for its infamous .villagi:ation( practices, in which over a million
marginali:ed minorities were forcibl, and violentl, relocated$
"vans added that, as the largest and most famous development bank in the world, the
WBGs initial steps will set a heft precedence in Burma$
The World Bank has an opportunit to set a tone that takes full into account the
man challenges facing Burma and activel work to address them, rather than drawing
invisible lines around issues that it considers too thorn,( "vans told #sian
/orrespondent, adding- .1n doing this, it will also influence other donors$(
But even if such stipulations come to pass, the Burmese government (which did not
respond to interview re9uests) ma prove more than reluctant to embrace them$ 1n an
earlier interview, 0hil Robertson (deput director of ,RWs #sia division) told us that
the aforementioned Rakhine !tate #ction 0lan .< continues the blatantl
discriminator policies against the Rohinga that we sadl come to e;pect from the
Burma government$(
3or human rights activists like Robertson, that unsettling trend can be traced back to
7547 when mobs of Burmas Buddhist ma=orit torched thousands of Rohinga homes
and killed do:ens of the minorit &uslims with machetes$ 3rom there, over 455,555
displaced Rohinga were housed in new dwellings that activist groups liken to
internment camps$ The recentl unveiled state action plan will relocate the Rohinga
to a new, undisclosed location$ The plan will offer them citi:enship, but onl if the
admit to being of the .Bengali( ethnicit, impling that the are illegal immigrants
from Bangladesh, which ma leave them sub=ect to confinement in detention centers$
Those measures seem reasonable to much of Rakhine states Buddhists population,
according to &atthew !mith, e;ecutive director of another prominent activist *G+,
3ortif Rights$
The state and national6level authorities regard the Rohinga as invaders from
Bangladesh, and the average Rakhine Buddhist is fearful that an recognition of
Rohinga ethnicit would embolden &uslims to gain more economic and political
power,( !mith said in an interview with #sian /orrespondent, before adding that
sentiment is also driven b far deeper, and more ruthless motives$ .1f ou can den a
population their citi:enship, burn them out of their villages, and drive them from the
countr, its much easier to confiscate their propert and relative wealth, and thats
e;actl what were seeing$ These proposed policies are further to a well documented
campaign of ethnic cleansing$(
Robertson said that Rakhines circumstances have not alwas been so dire, adding that
its state capital !ittwe was almost evenl divided between Rohinga and Buddhists a
mere two ears ago, before the surge in ethnic unrest$
>nder this plan, that will never happen again,( he said$ .The idea of reconciliation has
been thrown aside in this plan, and replaced with so6called ?peaceful co6e;istence @
which will mean permanent segregation of the two communities, with the separation
enforced b the might of the Burma #rm and police, who have a long record of human
rights abuses$(
The government has deemed the current and future camps to be a necessar safe :one
for the Rohinga who fell pre to the 7547 attacks$ !mith concedes this point is true,
but onl to an e;tent- .1ts sadl accurate that Rohinga would be attacked if the
walked through downtown !ittwe tomorrow$ But if the authorities were genuinel
concerned about protection thed facilitate lifesaving humanitarian aid and stop
fueling the flames of anti6Rohinga sentiment$ The authorities have given displaced
Rohinga two options- tr to survive in s9ualid ill6e9uipped camps or flee the countr
b sea$(
!mith added that a )une 754A 3ortif Rights investigation (that included confiscated
classified documents and interviews with hundreds of fleeing Rohinga) revealed a
sstemic e;odus of the &uslim minorit b sea$ The report highlighted how that
=ourne is fraught with dangers and how the Burmese government is perpetuating the
participants departure (the report can be viewed here)$
"vans said the WBG will have a uni9ue opportunit to address those issues at its +ct$
45 meeting with Burmese officials$ !he added- .The World Bank Group should also
make a firm commitment to ensure that human rights will be respected in all of its
investments, both in the public and private sectors, thereb setting an e;ample of
rights6respecting development for donors and companies alike$(
!mith said a successful honoring of Burmas human rights would include amending its
dated 4BC7 citi:enship law, granting the Rohinga e9ual access to full citi:enship,
providing them basic protection from future attacks, and allowing the displaced to
return home$
*one of that is happening now,( he said, adding that another shortcoming has not
onl proven to be an in=ustice for the Rohinga, but also those who have been vilified
in depictions of the &uslim minorits struggle$
There should also be accountabilit for abuses b the state against Rakhine Buddhists
and Rohinga &uslims,( he said$ .The absence of accountabilit onl las the
groundwork for future abuses$ Both communities have suffered human rights
violations in one wa or another$(
!mith added that the WBG has .downplaed the situation in Rakhine !tate, and its
unclear whose interests the serve b doing so< Der little is known about what the
bank is planning to do in Rakhine !tate$ The international communit should not onl
avoid complicit< but should activel work against the ethnic and religious
discrimination and entrenched segregation were seeing$ The bank has some decisions
to make, and we hope the take the right course$(
0osted b Thavam