The European parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution condemning the grave violations of human rights and the violence perpetrated against the minority Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar.
In the resolution, the MEPs urged "the government and the whole of Myanmar society to act immediately to end the human rights abuses against the Rohingya Muslims and to bring the perpetrators of the violent attacks and other related abuses to justice."
They also renewed their calls for an investigation into the allegations that members of Burmese security forces participated in the violence.
Although the MEPs recognized the steps initiated by Myanmar's new civilian government to introduce democratic reforms over the past year, they urged the government to continue implementing solutions to the underlying causes of the tensions, including measures to address the status of the Rohingya.
Thousands of Myanmar's majority Buddhists, led by monks, had participated in crimes against humanity during a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingyas and other Muslims in June and October 2012. To date, no one has been held accountable for these crimes.
Notably, the recent pro-democracy developments in Myanmar have been overshadowed to an extent by the ongoing ethnic violence between Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim communities. Continued violence had left dozens dead and thousands displaced, mainly Rohingya Muslims.
In Thursday's resolution, the MEPs also urged the European Commission to monitor closely the progress made by the Myanmar's authorities in respecting the conditions for the country's recently reinstated preferential trade status under the EU´s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).
Myanmar was readmitted to the EU Trade Scheme earlier this week in recognition of the democratic reforms implemented by the new civilian government headed by President Thein Sein. The move is meant to help the country's economic development
Incidentally, Myanmar's access to the GSP scheme was temporarily withdrawn in 1997 due to serious and systemic practices of forced labor by the previous military regime.
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