Rohingya crisis: Pope Francis faces tricky trip in Myanmar; to meet Suu Kyi, army chief

Amid cries over what the United Nations has called “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya Muslims, Pope Francis on Monday began his diplomatically tricky trip to Myanmar where he is expected to meet the powerful Army chief and country’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. 

After leaving Rome on Sunday night, the pope told reporters on his plane: “They say it’s too hot (in Myanmar). I‘m sorry, but let’s hope it will at least be fruitful.”

He landed in Yangon on Monday afternoon and was welcomed by children with flowers as he stepped off his plane. He waved through an open window at dozens of children waving Vatican and Myanmar flags as he set off in a light blue Toyota car for St. Mary’s Cathedral in the heart of the city.

The trip, fraught with diplomatic risk, is so delicate that some papal advisers have warned him against even saying the word "Rohingya" as it could set off a diplomatic incident that could turn the Buddhist-majority country's military and government against minority Christians.

Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya as citizens nor as members of a distinct ethnic group with their own identity, and it even rejects the term "Rohingya" and its use.

Many people in Myanmar refer to members of the Muslim minority in Rakhine state as illegal migrant “Bengalis”, referring to their origin.

Amnesty International has said that the Rohingya and Muslims generally in Rakhine state have been subjected to "systemic social and political exclusion" for decades and accused the military of "crimes against humanity" in the last two years, including murder, rape torture and forcible displacement.

Myanmar's government has denied most accusations, and the army says its own investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing by troops.

More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanamar’s Rakhine state to Bangladesh since the end of August, when Rohingya militants attacked security posts and the Myanmar army launched a counter-offensive.

Pope Francis with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a private audience at the Vatican May 4, 2017 (Image courtesy: Reuters)

Most tense moments of Pope Francis’ visit are likely to be private meetings with the army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.

Francis will also visit Bangladesh during his November 26-December 2 trip, where he is expected to meet Rohingya refugees.

Ahead of his visit Pope said on Friday said he could not to meet the people. 

“As I prepare to visit Myanmar and Bangladesh, I wish to send a message of greeting and friendship to everyone. I can't wait to meet you!” he said in a tweet.

Vatican sources say some in the Holy See believe the trip was decided too hastily after full diplomatic ties were established in May during a visit by Suu Kyi.

"I have great admiration for the pope and his abilities, but someone should have talked him out of making this trip," said Father Thomas Reese, a prominent American author and analyst at Religion News Service. 

The pope has already used the word Rohingya in two appeals from the Vatican this year. 

Asked if he would say it in Myanmar, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said Francis was taking the advice he had been given seriously, but added: "We will find out together during the trip ... it is not a forbidden word".

Thousands travel to Yangon to see Pope

Thousands of Catholics gathered in Yangon on Monday after journeys by train and bus, excited to get a glimpse of Pope Francis, who begins a trip to Myanmar fraught with diplomatic risk over its treatment of the minority Muslim Rohingya people.

There are 700,000 Roman Catholics in Myanmar which has a population of 51 million.

"We come here to see the Holy Father. It happens once in hundreds of years," said Win Min Set, a community leader who brought a group of 1,800 Catholics from southern and western states of the country. 

Large numbers of riot police were mobilised in Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city, ahead of the pope's arrival, which was expected at 1:15 p.m. local time. 

"He is very knowledgeable when it comes to political affairs. He will handle the issue smartly," he said, referring to the delicacy of the pope's discussions about the Rohingya.

More than 150,000 people have registered for a mass that Francis will say in Yangon on Wednesday, according to Catholic Myanmar Church spokesman Mariano Soe Naing. 

"I hope he will bring a change in politics," said Tunan Lahtoi, 25, who travelled by train for two days and one night from Kachin state in the far north to see the pope.

(With Reuters inputs)