2

Kristian Stokke, human geographer at the University of Oslo who studies democratic movements and
civil society transformation, says Norway is quiet on the Rohingya because it wants to preserve its
special relationship with the regime. Talking publicly about the Rohingya would be like sand in the
machine, he says to Development Today. It would distract from the Foreign Ministrys agenda. If
they engaged in the Rohingya issue it would make it difficult to influence the greater reform process.
They fear they would lose their access and influence with the regime.
POLICY SHIFT?
In connection with the recent Norwegian state visit to Burma, Foreign Minister Brge Brende
published an article in three regional Norwegian newspapers on December 2, in which he mentions
Rakhine state. Apart from Gahr Stres response to Chaudhrys intervention, this is, as far as DT has
been able to determine, one of the first public statements by the Norwegian government expressing
concern about the situation. He writes:
The situation in Rakhine State gives reason for concern. There are reports of violations of human
rights and the humanitarian situation and conditions for the muslim minorities are serious. I have in
my discussions underlined our concern and the importance of acting in accordance with international
standards.
Crucially, the minister also writes that Norway will support efforts that can contribute to resolving
the challenges in Rakhine State.
This appears to mark an important shift for Norway, which has through the MPSI focused exclusively
on conflicts with other ethnic groups, mainly Karen, Mon, Chin, Karenni and Shan. The Rohingya have
until now not been a part of the peace initiative. It remains unclear what kind of support in Rakhine
state Brende now has in mind.
In a recent interview with Development Today, Claudio Feo of Norwegian Peoples Aid (NPA), an NGO
that has worked on the implementation of the MPSI, said that NPA faced a political dilemma when
the Norwegian peace support initiative started in 2012. There were, simultaneously, positive political
developments in the East of the country and outbreaks of violence between Rohingya and Buddhist
Rakhine communties in the West. NPA made a conscious decision not to jeopardise their possibility
to engage in the process in the East by raising the Rohingya issue. Feo notes that NPA did not have
access to Rakhine state and did not have first-hand knowledge of the situation.
Did the Norwegian government make the same strategic calculation?
Development Today asked the Foreign Ministry, but did not receive a direct response. Hglund says
MPSI will come to an end by February 2015. He notes that MPSI activities will continue under
other umbrellas and in collaboration with donors and civil society organisations.
In hindsight, Feo says, Norwegian Peoples Aid underestimated both the severity of the Rohingya
humanitarian crisis and the political consequences and impacts on other political processes. He
worries now that the inter-religious tensions that have spiralled in the last couple of years could
undermine the democratic process of nation building.
THE SCALE OF THE CRISIS
Norways lack of active public engagement in the Rohingya issue must be seen in the context of the
scale of the crisis. Notwithstanding the Thein Sein regimes claims to the contrary, many reports
point to a very desparate situation indeed.
Human Rights Watch calls it ethnic cleansing.
In her recent report on Burma, UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee cites systematic discrimination
against the Rohingya, including restrictions on freedom of movement, access to land, food, water,
education and health care, summary executions, torture, rape and forced labour. While
acknowledging that reforms have taken place, Lee warned of signs of possible backtracking.
In an article in the Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal Association, authors Maung Zarni and Alice
Cowley, take it a step farther. They argue that the situation of the Rohingya fulfills the definition of
genocide in the 1948 Convention on the Punishment and Prevention of the Crime of Genocide.

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The Nobel laureate in economics Amartya Sen, speaking at a conference at Harvard University coorganised by Maung Zarni last month, lends his weight to this argument. I think the term slow
genocide is an appropriate fit here because you deny people health care, you deny people
nutritional opportunities, the opportunity to work and earn an income, make a living to feed
themselves and their families. You expel the only medication organisation delivering health care,
Mdecins Sans Frontires. That is killing people. And in that sense it is a genocide [even though] it is
not like Rwanda [or] the Khmer Rouge, Sen said at the seminar.
He says the Burmese government is responsible for institutionalised killing and says there is
evidence that the anger [among Buddhists] against the Rohingya has been carefully cultivated by
the government itself.
NORWAYS ROLE
What are the implications of calling the situation of the Rohingya a genocide? Norwegian Law
Professor at the University of Oslos Centre for Human Rights Tore Lindholm gives this response: I
dont know whether it is or not. But you dont need to shout genocide to be able to say that the
situation is totally unacceptable and that the government must stop the needless suffering of these
people.
Lindholm believes that the Norwegian government is pursuing an overly optimistic track in Burma.
Its a kind of diplomatic approach that says: in the long run it will work out. I think this is not
justified by facts on the ground. I think Norway should be much more outspoken [on the Rohingya
situation] ... It is a risky guessing game Norway is playing. I hope the Norwegian government will end
up being right, but I dont think they have good reasons for their optimism, he says to DT.
Former Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, now President of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human
Rights, says he is not in a position to determine whether the situation of the Rohingya is in fact
genocide.
However, there is no doubt that crimes against humanity are being committed ... They live under
severe and dire conditions and far too many are victims of daily persecutions. I believe it is more
important to address these underlying issues than to find an accurate term, he says to Development
Today.
Bondevik stresses that the main responsibility lies on the government. He adds: I would like to see
Norway, as well as other stakeholders, address this issue clearly. If the situation continues to worsen,
this can in turn lead to a relapse in the entire peace process.

Human rights, a new red line in Norwegian aid.

Signals tougher policy on Burma
Development Today Nr 17-18/2014 - December 31, 2014
www.development-today.com
By Ann Danaiya Usher
Foreign Minister Brge Brende has presented a White Paper on human rights that promises to put
rights at the top of the agenda in Norwegian aid.
In the new white paper on human rights, the first on this subject in 15 years, Norway promises to
place human rights at the centre of aid and foreign policy, and to push the issue in the UN system.
Human rights are not Western values, said Foreign Minister Brge Brende at the launch of the
White Paper. They are universal values inherent to all people. Protection of human rights should be
the red line in everything that Norway does.

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4
Brende said he is concerned about the growing gap between states commitments and the respect
they show for human rights in practice. Human rights are increasingly under threat in many parts of
the world, especially civil and political rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,
he said. The minister said Norway will work to counteract deliberate attempts to undermine respect
for human rights by strengthening the multilateral mechanisms for protecting human rights.
CLEAR REQUIREMENTS
The White Paper states that Norway will set clear requirements for recipients of Norwegian aid
regarding their willingness to promote human rights, democracy and the rule of law. If there are
serious violations of human rights or if countries show an unwillingness to comply with human rights
obligations, this will have consequences for further cooperation.
Brende raised the example of Afghanistan where Norway slashed its aid for 2014 by NOK 50 million
because we saw no follow up on corruption and no will to reform from the government of Hamid
Karzai.
Respect for human rights is a litmus test for a countrys good governance and democratic space,
the minister said. He mentioned South Sudan, which has fallen into chaos in spite of widespread
optimism just three years ago. The international community failed to take human rights issues
seriously enough, said the minister. We should have acted on this much earlier on, he said.
NEW APPROACH TO BURMA
In the White Paper specific mention is made of Burma, also known as Myanmar, which was recently
designated as one of 12 long-term cooperation countries for Norwegian development aid.
The paper acknowledges positive reforms in Burma, but also points to the humanitarian situation of
the Rohingya muslim minority in Rakhine state as being the most difficult. It notes that Norwegian
authorities have developed a close relationship with the Burmese government as a result of clear
support for the peace process. This relationship is made use of to take up difficult issues, like the
human rights situation, it states.
In his presentation of the White Paper, Brende referred to Burma several times, warning that
increased aid will depend on progress on human rights.
We need to see integration of human rights for us to increase the state-to-state aid [to Burma],
Brende said.
If the reforms stop up completely and the opposition is neutralised which I hope will not happen
it will not be natural for Norway to continue with state-to-state aid. We must use our aid to
encourage countries to improve human rights ... If we do not provide aid through state channels, we
can give it to civil society organisations.
Speaking specifically on the situation of the Rohingya, Brende added:
We must organise our aid in such a way that minority rights are protected. It has been very
controversial to take up this issue. Even the use of the word [Rohingya] is controversial. But we
have been clear with the government that one million Rohingya people live under unacceptable
conditions. It is the governments responsibility to address this situation.
Brende has earlier noted that Norway will support efforts to resolve the challenges in Rakhine state.
Asked what concrete measures Norway plans to take, the minister says to Development Today:
Norway will continue to raise the issue politically and offer our advice to the government. We also
discuss the situation with other countries in the region to see how the international community can
assist Myanmar in solving the issue. In addition, our financial support to humanitarian assistance and
civil society organisations as well as independent media will continue.

www.development-today.com

Norway funds new centre on dialogue in conflict-ridden Rakhine

state, Myanmar
Development Today Nr 4-5/2015
By Ann Danaiya Usher

Oslo is supporting a new centre that aims to promote dialogue between Buddhists and Muslims in
the troubled Rakhine state. But offficials deny that Norway is taking the lead in the Rohingya issue.
Norway is the first donor to provide support to the newly-established Centre for Diversity and
National Harmony, commonly known as the Rakhine Centre. The purposes of the centre are
creating awareness, providing civic education and easing tensions by promoting dialogue between
the Buddhist and Muslim communities in Myanmars western state.
The plight of the Muslim minority in Rakhine, who call themselves Rohingya, constitutes both a
humanitarian crisis and a political tinderbox. While the Rohingya presence in the country pre-dates
British rule, the government refers to them as Bengali, reflecting the view that they are illegal
immigrants from Bangladesh. A million Rohingya in Rakhine lack citizenship and are denied basic
rights and medical care. It is a widely-shared view among Western diplomats and observers that if
left unresolved, the tensions in Rakhine could spiral out of control and undermine peace in the rest
of the country.
RAKHINE CENTRE
The new centre was formally established last year by members of a government commission that
investigated the violent outbreaks of 2012, which left some 140,000 Rohingya homeless.
Norways overall goal in supporting the centre is peaceful co-existence and mitigation of violence.
We want to create a space for dialogue, says Marte Briseid, First Secretary at the Norwegian
Embassyin Yangon, to Development Today.
For Norway, it has been important that Dr Kyaw Yin Hlaing, a Burmese academic and advisor to
President Thein Sein, is leading the centre. Dr Kyaw, who was part of the investigation commission,
is seen as a man of integrity who has trust in both camps [Buddhist and Muslim], she says.
The centre will provide analysis, produce publications on the situation and establish a risk mitigation
mechanism through an early warning system. It will function like a think tank. Tougher issues
regarding citizenship of the Rohingya and draconian laws related to the Muslim populations access
to health and education will also be within the centres mandate.
Briseid confirms that Norway was the first donor to support the centre with a start-up grant of NOK 2
million last December. More recently, the UN and the DfID-financed Peace Fund have also provided
support.
EVOLVING ANALYSIS
In late 2013, the Embassy in Myanmar, also known as Burma, conducted a field visit to Rakhine.
Officials remarked on the limitations on the Rohingyas freedom of movement and freedom to marry,
limited access to education and pressure to have not more than two children. They concluded that
while the humanitarian situation was serious, a political resolution was necessary.
The continued total segregation of large parts of the population in Rakhine could have significant
implications, not only in Rakhine but through the whole of Myanmar, they wrote.
In June 2014, the embassy undertook a follow-up visit in the wake of the attacks on UN offices and
the eviction of Mdecins Sans Frontires from Rakhine State earlier that year. The embassys report
from the trip stressed that tensions between Buddhists and Muslims ran high throughout the
country. There are strong nationalist-Buddhist, anti-Islam sentiments in the whole of Myanmar. Any
solution that takes into account the needs of the Rohingya will be unpopular. A broad range of
political actors, including Aung San Suu Kji and Shwe Man, are reluctant to take a stand.

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6
Again, Norwegian officials pointed out that a worsening of the situation in Rakhine could potentially
upset the whole peace and democratisation process in Myanmar. They noted that the physical
separation of the two communities was necessary to ensure the Rohingyas safety. But to avoid a
permanent separation which, the embassy noted, some media refer to as an apartheid situation
a more hollistic approach was needed.
Though many actors are trying to find more constructive ways of working, we see no immediate
cause for optimism, the officials wrote.
Notwithstanding recent reports of mass graves of Rohingya in southern Thailand and a steady stream
of boat refugees, Norways assessment of the situation in Rakhine and Myanmar in general is now
somewhat more positive than it was a year ago. Marte Briseid says there has been a slight
improvement.
There has been little violence in the past year. No major outbreaks. The security situation appears
to have improved, she says. However, it is still extremely fragile and tense [in Rakhine] and it is a
very challenging political situation.
NORWAYS ROLE
Norway played a key role among donors in opening up dialogue with the Burmese regime and
actively supported the ceasefires between the government and armed ethnic groups through the
Myanmar Peace Support Initiative (MPSI), which started in 2012 and wound up a few months ago.
Norwegian diplomats view MPSI as a success, having contributed to building trust and confidence in
the peace process and, ultimately, to the agreement on the landmark National Ceasefire Agreement
on March 31.
Norway engaged at a very early stage in a political dialogue with the authorities in Nay Pyi Taw,
when many were still very skeptical. We took a risk, but ice was broken and doors opened. Looking
back, it was clearly the right thing to do, says Arne Jan Fllo, Senior Advisor at the Foreign Ministry
in Oslo.
Back in 2012, Norways efforts were focused on the formal peace process with the ethnic armed
groups. The simultaneous explosion of violence in Rakhine state was viewed as a different type of
conflict that had to be dealt with separately. Diplomats stress that Norway has consistently raised
the issue of the Rohingya in political meetings with the Burmese government.
Foreign Minister Brge Brende has been more outspoken than his predecessor. Norway pushed for
the UN resolution of November 2014 which expressed serious concern about the Rohingya. In his
presentation of the White Paper on Human Rights last December, Brende referred to the situation of
the Rohingya in Rakhine state as being unacceptable and the most difficult in Myanmar.
With Norways ground-breaking support to the new Rakhine Centre, is Norway now looking to build
on its special relationship with Nay Pyi Taw and play a leading political role in the Rohingya situation,
as it did with the MPSI?
Briseid responds: We are not looking to take the lead on the Rohingya issue. We did take the lead in
the peace process on the request of the government. In this case, we are working with other actors.
But we are definitely looking for channels to support [in Rakhine] in a constructive manner.

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