Ankara
The International Crisis Group (ICG) has called for dialogue and deep reform to address issues of citizenship, improve the administrative structure, and rein in the increasing violence in Myanmar.
Ethnicity and conflict are inextricably linked in Myanmar, creating a vicious cycle of violence that continues to escalate, the Brussels-based organisation said in a report published.
‘The state’s inability to address ethnic minority grievances or provide adequate security to communities has created a literal arms race among minority groups,’ said the report released on the third anniversary of the 2017 crackdown that marked the start of the genocide of Rohingya Muslims by the Myanmar army.
It said Myanmar must initiate reforms in ‘citizenship, the country’s administrative structure and the peace process with the aim of making ethnicity less central to the political and legal domains.’
The group urged Myanmar authorities and leaders to immediately pursue more manageable changes ‘such as the language and narratives they use when discussing ethnicity and conflict.’
The report underlined that Myanmar, since its independence in 1948, has struggled to forge a national identity reflecting its ethnic diversity.—Agencies
