At the end of a visit to northern Rakhine state organised by the Burmese government on Monday 2 October, diplomats from ten EU member states (Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the UK) and from Australia, Canada, Indonesia, New Zealand, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA, along with the EU ambassador to Burma/Myanmar, Kristian Schmidt, called for an end to the violence in Rakhine state.
"We saw villages which had been burned to the ground and emptied of inhabitants. The violence must stop. The security forces have an obligation to protect all people in Rakhine without discrimination and to take measures to prevent acts of arson", they said in a joint statement.
The delegation of diplomats thus welcomed State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi's statement that the security forces have been instructed to adhere strictly to a code of conduct, to exercise all due restraint and to take full measures to avoid collateral damage and the harming of innocent civilians. "We welcome the commitment of the State Counsellor to address human rights violations in accordance with strict norms of justice, and call again on the Myanmar authorities to fully investigate allegations of human rights violations and bring prosecutions against those responsible", the diplomats stated, adding that their visit was not an investigation mission.
The delegation also warned the Burmese federal government, regional authorities and local people that the people they had seen during their visit "must not be subject to, and should be protected from, any reprisals, such as physical attacks or arbitrary arrest".
"We encourage the Myanmar government to move quickly to enable the voluntary, dignified and safe return to their places of origin of the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled to Bangladesh", the diplomats added. Saying that during their visit they had seen the dire humanitarian need, the diplomats called once more for unimpeded humanitarian access to northern Rakhine and the resumption of life-saving services without discrimination throughout the state. "We welcome the media access that has already been allowed but call once more for journalists to be allowed full, unimpeded access to all parts of Rakhine", they said, also calling for the UN fact-finding mission to be allowed to visit the state.
"As friends of Myanmar", the diplomats said that they remain ready to work with the Myanmar government to help Rakhine State reach its potential. They also called for full implementation of the report by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine state (see EUROPE 11849). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)