Japan conveys concern over Rohingya to Suu Kyi

Rohingya refugee children carry wood at Kutupalong refugee camp in the Bangladeshi district of Ukhia, in this January 9, 2018 photo. (AFP)

Japan’s Foreign Minister Taro Kono (L) shakes hands with Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Jan. 12, 2018. (Reuters)

TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono conveyed serious concern over Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims to the country’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in a meeting on Friday in the capital Naypyidaw, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported.
Separately, the Japanese government announced emergency grant aid of 330 million yen ($2.97 million) to Myanmar to help members of the minority who return to Myanmar from Bangladesh.
Myanmar’s army launched a sweeping offensive in the north of the western state of Rakhine in response to Rohingya militant attacks on Aug. 25, triggering an exodus of more than 650,000 Rohingya villagers to Bangladesh.
Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement on the repatriation of Rohingya refugees on Nov. 23, and Myanmar said it would start the process by Jan 23. The exact numbers and extent of the repatriation is still unclear.
“We have decided to provide the aid in response to the agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh to represent an international message of support so that the repatriation can be carried out promptly,” said Foreign Ministry official Shinobu Yamaguchi in a statement.
Kono’s three-day visit to Myanmar includes traveling to Rakhine state.
More than 650,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh to escape a brutal crackdown in which security forces have been accused of systematic abuses tantamount to ethnic cleansing.
During Friday’s meeting, Kono asked Suu Kyi’s government to allow humanitarian and media access to the affected area, the resettlement of returned refugees, and the implementation of recommendations made by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Kono also said Japan plans to give further aid to improve humanitarian conditions and development in Rakhine state.
“We are thankful to Japan for its willingness to support the needs both for short term and long term,” Suu Kyi said at the joint news conference.
Yamaguchi stressed that Japan will monitor how the repatriation will be carried out. “The money will be paid in a timely manner based on the progress of repatriation,” Yamaguchi added.
Myanmar’s state-run media on Wednesday said authorities have started the land work to construct buildings to accommodate returned refugees from Bangladesh in northern Rakhine, where refugees will be temporarily placed after their citizenship is scrutinized.