Pope sidesteps Rohingya crisis during Myanmar address

In recognition of those tensions his public speech was “very carefully worded”, Myanmar-based political analyst Richard Horsey told AFP, speculating “he is likely to have been more forthright in private meetings with Myanmar’s leaders.”

But the pontiff’s words were of little comfort to Rohingya stuck in dire conditions in Bangladesh.

“We are very much disappointed that he did not mention the Rohingya crisis,” said activist Mohammad Zubair from Kutupalong refugee camp, speaking of a religious leader who previously “even held prayers for the Rohingya”.

– The Pope, The Lady and a General –

Late on Monday the 80-year-old pontiff received a “courtesy visit” from Myanmar’s powerful army chief — whose troops, according to the UN and US, have waged a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Rakhine.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing has firmly denied allegations of widespread brutality by his forces, despite the flight of hundreds of thousands who have recounted rape, murder and arson.

His office said the general told the pope there was “no discrimination” in Myanmar, and he praised his military for maintaining “the peace and stability of the country”.

Known fondly as The Lady, in Myanmar, Suu Kyi finally came to power after elections in 2015 but has fallen from grace abroad for not doing more to stand up to the army in defence of the Rohingya.

Rights groups have clamoured for Suu Kyi to be stripped of her Nobel prize. Oxford, the English city she once called home, on Monday removed her Freedom of the City award for “inaction” in the face of oppression of the Rohingya.

Just days before the papal visit, Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a deal to start repatriating Rohingya refugees within two months.

But details of the agreement — including the use of temporary shelters for returnees, many of whose homes have been burned to the ground — raise questions for Rohingya fearful of returning without guarantees of basic rights.

The pontiff has received a warm welcome in Myanmar, whose Catholic community numbers just over one percent of a 51 million population.

But around 200,000 Catholics from all corners of the country are pouring into the commercial capital Yangon ahead of a huge, open-air mass on Wednesday morning.

Francis will travel on to Bangladesh on Thursday.