The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and the Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, on Friday 1 May urged the governments of the countries in the Burma region to carry out a search and rescue operation at sea for the Rohingyas and to find a solution for their safe disembarkation.
According to NGOs, governments in Southeast Asian countries are using the Covid-19 pandemic as a justification for refusing to accept these persecuted Muslims into their countries.
For several weeks now, hundreds of Rohingyas have been drifting at sea “in appalling conditions”, driven away from the coasts of the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, the High Representative and the Commissioner denounced in a joint statement. Welcoming the “continued generosity” and “humanity” of Bangladesh, which granted a “safe landing" and assistance to 400 Rohingyas, Mr Borrell and Lenarčič hoped that other countries in the region would follow this example.
They also demanded that all Burma's armed forces “urgently implement an unconditional ceasefire and recommit to an all-inclusive peace process”. Fighting has reportedly intensified in recent weeks between the army and the armed group Arakan Army. “This would address the root causes of the plight of the Rohingyas”, Europe said. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)