An appeal to Gauck and Aung San Suu Kyi: There must be a political solution to the Rohingya issue, for the sake of Burma's process of democratization!

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) sent an appeal to Federal President Joachim Gauck and the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, asking them to work towards a political solution of the Rohingya issue in order to secure peace, democracy and stability in Burma." The continued attacks against the Muslim minority are stirring up violence and despotism. Also, the situation is a threat for the process of democratization in the country, which was politically isolated for decades," said the STP's Asia-consultant, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Friday. The German President will arrive in Burma on Sunday for his first visit, during which he will also talk to the Nobel Peace Prize winner and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"It is neither undiplomatic nor an interference with the Burmese internal affairs to advocate for the Rohingya's civil rights and basic constitutional rights," said Delius. "The consequences of the Rohingya conflict are not limited to Burma any more – they are a threat to peace and stability in Southeast Asia." The fact that the state continues to exclude the Rohingya leads to migration flows, to human trafficking, terrorist attacks and ethnic-religious conflicts. The significant increase in human trafficking at the borders from Burma to Thailand and to Bangladesh is alarming. "We are especially worried because radical Muslims in Indonesia and Bangladesh are carrying out terrorist attacks Buddhist institutions and embassies to emphasize their solidarity with persecuted Rohingya."

"Burma must stick to its international law obligations and put an end to the religious and ethnic discrimination," said Delius. In Burma, the Rohingya are being denied their citizenship rights based on the controversial Citizenship Law of 1982.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has not given any detailed statements about the crisis since the renewed outbreak of violence between the Muslim Rohingya and the Buddhist Rakhine in June 2012 in the state of Arakan (Rakhine). Her restraint, motivated by election tactics, is controversial – especially abroad. "In case the conflict between the Buddhists and the Muslims in Burma escalates further, the opposition will not benefit much even if they win the parliamentary elections in 2015," said Delius. "It is a dangerous game to stoke ethnic and religious tensions in a multi-national and multi-religious state."