By Kevin M. Mathewson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

YANGON, Myanmar – Doctors Without Borders has been kicked out of Myanmar after two decades of caring for sick people in the country. The decision came after the humanitarian group reported it treated nearly two dozen Rohingya Muslim victims of communal violence in Rakhine state.

Many of the country’s 1.3 million Rohingya – identified by the United Nations as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world – have been living in the country for generations, but the government insists they are here illegally. Systematic and discriminatory policies limit their freedom of movement, access to health care, right to worship and have children.

The government defended its decision by accusing the group of creating tensions and instability in violence-scarred Rakhine.

Myanmar’s presidential spokesman Ye Htut had criticized Doctors Without Borders in the Myanmar Freedom newspaper for hiring “Bengalis,” the term the government uses for the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Ye Htut also accused the group of misleading the world about the attack last month in remote northern Rakhine, cut off to almost all foreigners, including journalists and aid workers. The United Nations says more than 40 Rohingya may have died when a Buddhist mob rampaged through a village, killing women and children. The government denies the allegation and says one policeman was killed by Rohingya and no other violence occurred.

The humanitarian group said it was “deeply shocked” by Myanmar’s decision to expel it after two decades of work in the country.

“Today for the first time in MSF’s history of operations in the country, HIV/AIDS clinics in Rakhine, Shan and Kachin states, as well as Yangon division, were closed and patients were unable to receive the treatment they needed,” the group said in a statement, using the French acronym for its name.

Due to increasing threats and intimidation from a group of Rakhine Buddhists who have been holding near daily protests against Doctors Without Borders, the organization has said its activities have been severely hampered and that it has not received enough government support.

“We urge the government to continue to work with the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to communities in need and to unsure unfettered access for humanitarian agencies,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters in Washington.

Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley, one of the most prominent voices in the U.S. Congress on Myanmar, also reacted to the reported expulsion. “It is the responsibility of the Burmese government to protect civilians. This is deeply troubling,” he said in a tweet.

For more information, please see:

arab news – Doctors Without Borders expelled from Myanmar – 1 March 2014

Associated Press – Doctors Without Borders expelled from Myanmar – 28 February 2014

abc NEWS – Doctors Without Borders Expelled From Myanmar – 28 February 2014

Yahoo! News – Doctors Without Borders expelled from Myanmar – 28 February 2014