UNHCR Chief Travels to Mergui

By LAWI WENG

Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN’s refugee agency, is traveling today to Burma’s Tenasserim Division for a one-day visit, according to a spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Bangkok.

Guterres will travel to Mergui, capital of Tenasserim Division, and return to Rangoon this evening, UNHCR spokesperson Yante Ismail told The Irrawaddy today. He is then expected to fly to Bangkok later in the day, where will hold a brief meeting before continuing on to Geneva.

The high commissioner will report on his trip when he returns to Geneva, the spokesperson added, declining to provide further details about his planned meeting in Bangkok.

Guterres has been in Burma since Saturday. On Monday, he met with military officials at the ruling junta’s capital of Naypyidaw.

On Tuesday, he started a two-day visit to Sittwe Township, in western Burma’s Arakan State, where the UNHCR is involved in activities to protect the Muslim Rohingya minority.

During his meeting with the Burmese generals, Guterres discussed how to expand humanitarian aid in Arakan State, the UNHCR spokesperson said.

Before arriving in Burma on Saturday, Guterres met Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya in Bangkok to discuss how the UNHCR can contribute to resolving the Rohingya problem.

Guterres told reporters after his talks with Kasit that the purpose of his mission to Burma was to expand “humanitarian space” and create better living conditions to discourage migration.

The Thai government and the UNHCR in Thailand agreed to issue a “handbook” for officials to help them determine if any of the Rohingya who arrive in the country are actually illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

The Burmese junta maintains that the Rohingya are “Bengalis” and not Burmese citizens. They are forbidden to leave Arakan State and suffer other human rights abuses.

Thousands have attempted to flee in open boats to Malaysia and Indonesia. Many are believed to have drowned at sea, while more than 1,000 are being held in Thailand as illegal immigrants.

Attempts to repatriate the Rohingya are opposed by both Burma and Bangladesh, who can’t agree on their true nationality.