After continuing international pressure for not addressing the plight of boat people leaving Myanmar who got stranded at sea, Myanmar buckled and initiated its first rescue operation for the fleeing migrants on Friday.
Myanmar's navy rescued a boat near the Bangladesh border that had more than 200 people squeezed in. This was confirmed by spokesman Ye Htut when he wrote on his Facebook page, "While on patrol in Myanmar waters the Myanmar navy ship 568 found a boat loaded with about 200 Bengalis," according to Reuters.
Htut said the boat came from Ranong in the southern part of Thailand.
An official from Rakhine, Tin Maung Swe, said that the boat people have been provided with the needed medical attention and food, and that they will be given temporary shelters at a camp in Maungdaw.
Swe echoed what the Myanmar government had previously said - that everyone on board the Thai ship is from Bangladesh.
Many of the asylum seekers are actually Rohingya Muslims who are fleeing Myanmar to escape the harsh persecution from Buddhist extremist groups, while others are migrants from Bangladesh.
Myanmar has approximately 1.3 million Rohingyas. They are a minority group in the predominantly Buddhist country. They are not allowed to be Myanmar citizens; instead, they are treated as illegal immigrants and are referred to as "Bengalis."
The Rohingyas are highly persecuted by Buddhists from Rakhine state, something that Rakhine Chief Minister Maung Maung Ohn continues to deny.
"I am disappointed by, and completely disagree and reject such unfounded allegations by the United States," he told Reuters.
He added that the present exodus out of Myanmar is a form of human trafficking; political or religious discrimination is not the factor that is pushing the people to leave.
The U.S. has called on the government of Myanmar to allow Rohingyas to become citizens in order to address the root cause of the migration problem.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "They should have a path to citizenship."
He added, "Even if we address the immediate crisis, we also must confront its root causes in order to achieve a sustainable solution," according to the Malay Mail Online.
