Backflip? Uturn? Limited good news for the reopened clinics. Bad news about the expulsion from Rakhine.

What may happen tomorrow?

Jamie

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Govt Allows MSF to Reopen Some Clinics, Maintains Ban on Arakan
Reuters / Irrawaddy
Monday, March 3, 2014

BANGKOK — Burma has allowed Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) to resume work in parts of the country, days after it ordered it to close its clinics, but not in the western strife-torn state of Arakan, the medical aid group said.

MSF did not give a reason for Thursday’s suspension but media reported government officials had been angered by the charity’s public comments on Arakan.

The group has been giving care there to both ethnic Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, a mostly stateless minority who live in apartheid-like conditions and who otherwise have little access to health care.

The United Nations and human rights groups say at least 40 Rohingya were killed by security forces and ethnic Arakanese Buddhist civilians in a restricted area of the state in January.

Burma’s government denies that any massacre took place. Government spokesman Ye Htut accused MSF, in comments to media on Friday, of falsely reporting that it had treated victims near the scene of the alleged mass killing.

MSF said in a statement on Saturday it had been allowed to resume work in Kachin and Shan states, as well as the Rangoon region.

“While MSF is encouraged by this and will resume these activities for now, MSF remains extremely concerned about the fate of tens of thousands of vulnerable people in Rakhine [Arakan] state who currently face a humanitarian medical crisis,” it said.

“All MSF services are provided based on medical need only, regardless of ethnicity, religion or any other factor.”

It had to close clinics serving 30,000 HIV/AIDS patients, and more than 3,000 people with tuberculosis were not able to get vital medicine, it had said.

Reports of incidents in Arakan are difficult to verify independently because large parts are off limits to journalists. The government also controls access by international aid groups, despite a wave of democratic reforms since decades of military rule ended in 2011.

Burma’s government has repeatedly rejected reports by MSF, the United Nations and human rights groups that Rohingya villagers in Maungdaw Township were attacked and their homes looted.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/burma/govt-allows-msf-reopen-clinics-maintains-ban-arakan.html

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Biased aid? MSF negotiating full access in Myanmar
Jenny Lei Ravelo
03 March 2014

First get out, then please come back, but not all the way.

In a baffling government U-turn, Medecins Sans Frontieres was first ordered to cease operations in Myanmar and then allowed to resume their work — although not in Rakhine state, home to the vast majority of the Rohingya people, a Muslim ethnic minority which the country’s Buddhist rulers refuse to grant full rights.

Despite the resumption of activities, the international medical organization remains concerned over the ban in Rakhine, and Devex learned they are currently engrossed in negotiations with the government to return to the state.

Whether that will happen or not anytime soon, however, remains to be seen — and MSF has refrained from divulging any more information on the matter to not jeopardize the ongoing talks.

The latest controversy involving foreign aid and the Rohingyas has not slipped the attention of several Western donors.

On Friday, following the government’s order, U.S. Agency for International Development Rajiv Shah raised the issue with the Myanmar government during his official visit to the country. USAID also supports several programs in Rakhine.

‘Biased’ aid groups?

Ethnic tensions between the Buddhist military and the Rohingyas have escalated in the last two years, and about 140,000 refugees live in camps in Myanmar and across the border in Thailand and Bangladesh, where human rights groups allege they are also discriminated.

Many Buddhists claim that foreign aid groups tend to be biased toward the Rohingyas. In fact, the government’s decision on Friday largely points to this.

Authorities accused MSF of “impartiality” in its aid efforts in Rakhine, with residents in the state capital arguing the organization’s aid is often lopsided in favor of the Rohingyas. Presidential spokesman Ye Htut said on Friday the organization’s presence in Rakhine “has more negative impact than benefit” and that it “could heighten tension and jeopardize peace and tranquillity in the region.”

MSF however insisted in a statement that their services “are provided based on medical need only, regardless of ethnicity, religion or any other factor.”

https://www.devex.com/en/news/biased-aid-msf-negotiating-full-access-in-myanmar/82952