AS IT IS 2016-05-10 Myanmar Wants US to Stop Calling Minority Group ‘Rohingya’

AS IT IS 2016-05-10 Myanmar Wants US to Stop Calling Minority Group ‘Rohingya’

A Myanmar government official says the country wants the U.S. Embassy to stop using the term “Rohingya” to refer to the nation’s mainly Muslim minority.

The official, Myanmar’s permanent secretary for the Ministry¹ of Foreign Affairs, Aung Lin, spoke² to VOA on Wednesday.

He said Myanmar would prefer that the U.S. Embassy no longer use the term because it is not helpful to the government. Myanmar’s government claims that those calling themselves Rohingya are Bengalis who entered the country illegally.

But the U.S. Ambassador to Myanmar, Scot Marciel, said during a press conference last week that the United States does not plan to stop using the term.

He said communities all over the world should be able to choose for themselves what name they are called.

“The normal U.S. practice and the normal international practice is that communities anywhere have the right, or have the ability to decide what they are going to be called. And normally when that happens, we would call them what they asked to be called. It’s not a political decision, it’s just a normal practice.”

The name “Rohingya” was chosen by the mainly Muslim minority itself. Members are mostly based in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.

Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist³ country, has been criticized for its treatment of the Muslim minority. Many Rohingya people are not given citizenship⁴ and are denied other basic human rights.

Nationalists in Myanmar criticized the U.S. Embassy after it issued a statement of condolence for a recent accident during which as many as 40 Rohingya drowned.

The victims were killed while traveling to a market and a hospital from a camp for internally displaced people in Rakhine state.

The embassy statement linked the accident to restrictions⁵ on basic services in the state. It said the restrictions can lead community members to risk their lives in search of better living conditions.

Some foreign observers had expressed hope that the plight⁶ of the Rohingya community might improve after Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s party took power last month.

But others noted⁷ that neither Aung San Suu Kyi nor her National League for Democracy party gave clear signs that policies would change regarding the Rohingya people.

U.N. agencies estimate one-tenth of the Rohingya population has fled Myanmar since 2012, when an outbreak of religious violence left more than 200 people dead.

Words in This Story

practice – n. something that is regularly done, often as a habit, tradition or custom

predominantly – adv. mainly; for the most part

condolence – n. an expression of sympathy

displace – v. to force people to leave their homes, especially due to war, persecution⁸ or natural disaster

plight – n. a dangerous, difficult or unfortunate situation

outbreak – n. a sudden increase of fighting or disease

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

4 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

5 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

6 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。