Thailand agrees with Yangon's request to refer Rohingya as 'Bengali'

The request was made by Myanmar during a visit by its Supreme Commander, Gen Min Aung Hlaing to Bangkok for a High-Level Committe (HLC) meeting last week.

"Bengali, following Myanmar's Supreme Commander Gen Min Aung Hlaing's visit here (last week), they asked us to call (Rohingya) Bengali," he said when asked here today, on Thailand's decision regarding the Myanmar request.

Asked if the Myanmar Government made known the reason behind their request, Prawit who is also Defence Minister, claimed ignorance, saying, "It's their reasoning, how would I know?"

The Rohingya community has been resisting attempts, especially from the Yangon Government, to address them as 'Bengali', which refers the minority group as immigrants from Bangladesh, despite most of them having lived in Myanmar for several generations.

Aung Hlaing, who heads the 'Tatmadaw' or Myanmar military as it is called, was in Thailand last week to attend the HLC meeting between the two armed forces.

While in Thailand, he also met Thai Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha and gave a briefing on the latest situation in the Rakhine State, according to the local media which reported on the meeting several days ago.

Aung Hlaing's visit to Thailand took place as the latest round of violence in the Rakhine State rages on, claiming hundreds of lives, including women and children and forcing several thousands more into refugee camps near the Myanmar-Bangladesh border.

The 'Tatmadaw' which retains a strong grip on the government has been blamed for the atrocities on Rohingya.