Yangon - The European Commission has agreed to provide 40.5
million euros (52.4 million dollars) in humanitarian aid to Myanmar
this year, with some of it aimed at assisting the Rohingya Muslims
who are living 'in terrible conditions,' officials said Tuesday.
Of the 40.5 million euros allocated, some 22 million will go to
assisting communities hard hit by Cyclone Nargis, which left 140,000
people dead and affected 2.4 million others in March 2008.
The remaining 18.5 million will target 'other highly vulnerable
populations inside Myanmar, and Burmese refugees in Thailand,' said a
statement issued by the European Commission.
'I am particularly concerned about the forgotten crisis in
Northern Rakhine State, where some 800,000 Muslim Rohingya live in
terrible conditions,' said European Commissioner for Development and
Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel.
'Despite all our efforts, the situation there remains tragically
static,' Michel said of the Rohingyas, a Muslim minority group that
has been denied citizenship by the ruling Myanmar junta.
The Rohingyas have been denied citizenship and the right to own
land or work in the Rhakine State, also called Arakan, despite having
lived in the area for generations.
Myanmar government persecution forced at least 250,000 Rohingyas
to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh in 1991 and 1992, where many
remain refugees.
The plight of the stateless Rohingyas recently came to light after
the Thai navy was accused last month of pushing back to sea about
1,000 Rohingya boat people, leaving at least 500 missing on the high
seas.
The European Commission has been providing humanitarian aid to
Myanmar since 1994.
The aid is strictly limited to humanitarian efforts, as Myanmar's
ruling military regime is the target of European Union economic
sanctions because of its atrocious human rights record.
Humanitarian aid increased substantially last year in the
aftermath of the Cyclone Nargis disaster that hit Myanmar's Irrawaddy
delta.
'The objective of our activities in Myanmar is solely
humanitarian,' said Michel.
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