24 October 2017•Update: 28 October 2017
By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Canada
Canada will donate the equivalent of $9.5 million extra in humanitarian aid to help Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday.
He also appointed Bob Rae, a former premier of Ontario and interim leader of the Liberal Party, as special envoy to Myanmar.
Rae, who at a news conference Monday promised no “miracles” in solving the crisis in Myanmar, will leave for that country next week to gather facts from officials and report back to the prime minister.
“Canada is deeply concerned about the urgent humanitarian and security crisis in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, particularly the brutal persecution of the Rohingya Muslim people,” Trudeau said in a statement on his website.
“I am confident that Bob Rae’s vast experience as a lawyer, advisor, negotiator, arbitrator and public servant will help Canada work more effectively with Myanmar.”
However, Rae warned that the task would not be straightforward.
“I don’t pretend to be somebody who can work miracles,” he said. “I do think it is worthwhile for us to keep on as many paths as possible in reinforcing messages about the extent of the crisis within Myanmar.”
The UN has said that more than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to neighboring Bangladesh since late August following a security crackdown in Rakhine in which security forces and Buddhist mobs have killed men, women and children, looted homes and torched Rohingya villages.
According to Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali, around 3,000 Rohingya have been killed in the crackdown.
Turkey has been at the forefront of providing aid to Rohingya refugees and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has raised the issue at the UN.
Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.
Last October, following attacks on border posts in Rakhine's Maungdaw district, security forces launched a five-month crackdown in which, according to Rohingya groups, around 400 people were killed.
The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel. In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.
Trudeau announced Rae’s appointment on the same day that UN officials, envoys from various governments and advocacy groups met for a one-day conference to discuss ways to raise money to help the Rohingya in Bangladesh.
The new 12 million Canadian dollar fund bolsters Canada’s contribution in humanitarian aid for the Rohingya to 25 million Canadian dollars ($19.7 million).
