Pope Francis to meet Rohingya refugees
Pope Francis will meet Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar in Dhaka when he visits the Bangladeshi capital next week, a Vatican spokesman said on Wednesday.
Francis, who has repeatedly spoken out over the persecution of the religious minority by the Myanmar authorities, will meet a small group of Rohingyas during an interfaith meeting scheduled for Friday December 1st.
The Argentine pontiff's trip to Bangladesh will be preceded by a three-day stop in neighbouring Myanmar, which will now include a private meeting with the head of the country's army, General Min Aung Hlaing.
The pope will also separately meet Myanmar's de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi – a Nobel peace laureate – as previously scheduled during the first part of his November 26-30 trip.
The meeting with the military chief was organised on the recommendation of Charles Bo, the archbishop of Yangon, who also advised the pope not to use the term "Rohingya" during his visit, for fear of inflaming tensions in the predominantly Buddhist country.
A sign in Yangon welcoming Pope Francis. Photo: Ye Aung Thu/AFP
Army and government officials decline to use a term they see as giving the Muslims of Rakhine state the status of an ethnic minority, whereas the official line is that they are illegal immigrants from mainly Muslim Bangladesh.
The Vatican spokesman said the pope was not forbidden from employing the term but added that he planned to follow his archbishop's advice.
"The pope's visit comes at a key moment for these two countries," said Vatican spokesman Greg Burke, adding that he expects a very interesting trip.
More than 600,000 Rohingya, around a third of them children, have fled to Bangladesh since the military launched counter-insurgency operations in Rakhine state in August.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, as well as UN officials, have described what is happening as ethnic cleansing.
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Francis, who has repeatedly spoken out over the persecution of the religious minority by the Myanmar authorities, will meet a small group of Rohingyas during an interfaith meeting scheduled for Friday December 1st.
The Argentine pontiff's trip to Bangladesh will be preceded by a three-day stop in neighbouring Myanmar, which will now include a private meeting with the head of the country's army, General Min Aung Hlaing.
The pope will also separately meet Myanmar's de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi – a Nobel peace laureate – as previously scheduled during the first part of his November 26-30 trip.
The meeting with the military chief was organised on the recommendation of Charles Bo, the archbishop of Yangon, who also advised the pope not to use the term "Rohingya" during his visit, for fear of inflaming tensions in the predominantly Buddhist country.
A sign in Yangon welcoming Pope Francis. Photo: Ye Aung Thu/AFP
Army and government officials decline to use a term they see as giving the Muslims of Rakhine state the status of an ethnic minority, whereas the official line is that they are illegal immigrants from mainly Muslim Bangladesh.
The Vatican spokesman said the pope was not forbidden from employing the term but added that he planned to follow his archbishop's advice.
"The pope's visit comes at a key moment for these two countries," said Vatican spokesman Greg Burke, adding that he expects a very interesting trip.
More than 600,000 Rohingya, around a third of them children, have fled to Bangladesh since the military launched counter-insurgency operations in Rakhine state in August.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, as well as UN officials, have described what is happening as ethnic cleansing.
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