Pope Francis on Tuesday
said Myanmar's future relies on a peace based on the respect for
the dignity and rights of each individual and group but did not
mention the country's Muslim Rohinga minority while addressing
authorities and the diplomatic corps on Tuesday at the
presidential palace in Nay Pyi Taw.
The pontiff was sharing the stage with Myanmar's civilian
leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
"The arduous process to build peace and national
reconciliation can only advance through a commitment to justice
and respect for human rights", the pope said, speaking after
Aung San Suu Kyi.
Justice, he said, is the "willingness to recognize what is
due to everyone" and such beliefs have led to the creation of
the UN and the Universal declaration of Human Rights.
"Religious differences need not be a source of division and
distrust, but rather a force for unity, forgiveness, tolerance
and wise nation-building," the pontiff also said at one point.
"The future of Myanmar must be peace, a peace based on the
respect, dignity and rights of every member of society, on
respect for each ethnic group and their identity, on respect for
the rule of law and a democratic order enabling each individual
and each group - nobody excluded - to offer their legitimate
contribution to the common good".
In other passages of his speech, Francis recalled the "deep
divisions" and "domestic conflicts and hostilities that lasted
too long".
"Healing these wounds is a fundamental political and
spiritual priority", the pope also said, stressing the country's
efforts to restore peace and praising the government's work to
"confront this challenge".
Pope Francis' visit to Myanmar, where Catholics are a
minority, comes after an exodus of over 620,000 Rohinga from
Rakhine state to the southern tip of Bangladesh after a military
crackdown that has prompted an international outcry.
Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as citizens or as
members of a specific ethnic group.
Diplomatic relations between the Vatican State and Myanmar
were restored last May in the wake of elections geld in November
2015 that restored a fragile democracy, after which Aung San Suu
Kyi met the pope at the Vatican.
On Tuesday, Aung San Suu Kyi praised the "invaluable"
role of the pontiff, with whom she met for 23 minutes in
private, in supporting Myanmar's democracy.
Francis is scheduled to travel to Bangladesh after Myanmar to
meet with a small group of Rohingya refugees in a symbolic
gesture.
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