Pope explains why he did not use the word ‘Rohingya’ in Myanmar

Pope Francis, the religious leader of the Roman Catholics, has cleared up his strategy for avoiding the term 'Rohingya' in public in his visit in Myanmar, saying he believed he got his message across to both the civilian and military
leadership without shutting down dialogue.
"I knew that if in the official speeches I would have used that word, they (Myanmar's civil and military administration) would have closed the door in our faces. But (in public) I described situations, rights, said that no one should be excluded, (the right to) citizenship, in order to allow myself to go further in the private meetings," he said.
Speaking to reporters aboard the plane returning to Rome from Bangladesh, the pontiff also indicated that he had been firm with Myanmar's military leaders in private meetings about the need for them to respect the rights of Rohingya refugees, Reuters news agency said.
There have been huge row and criticisms as Francis did not use the word 'Rohingya' during his Myanmar visit on Friday Francis held an emotional encounter with Muslim Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and then used the word Rohingya for the first time on the trip, although he had defended them by name twice from the Vatican earlier this year.
"For me, the most important thing is that message gets through, to try to say things one step at a time and listen to the responses," he said.
"Local (Myanmar) Roman Catholic Church authorities had advised him not to say it because it could spark a backlash against Christians and other minority groups," Pope told the journalists while going back to home Capital Vatican.
The pope met Myanmar's military leaders privately on Monday, shortly after his arrival in Myanmar.
The meeting had been scheduled for Thursday morning but the military pointedly asked at the last minute that it be pushed forward. The result was they saw the pope before the civilian leaders instead of the other way around, as had been planned.
"It was a good conversation and the truth was non-negotiable," he said of his meeting with the military leaders.
Asked if he used the word Rohingya during the private meeting with the military chiefs, the pope said: "I used words in order to arrive at the message and when I saw that the message had arrived, I dared to say everything that I wanted say."
He then gave a reporter a mischievous grin and ended his answer with the Latin phrase "Intelligenti Pauca," which means "Few words are enough for those who understand," strongly hinting that he had used the word the military detests while in their presence, the agency added.
The Catholic spiritual leader arrived in Dhaka on Thursday for his three-day official visit after wrapping up his trip to Myanmar.
"None of us can fail to be aware of the gravity of the situation, the immense toll of human suffering involved, and the precarious living conditions of so many of our brothers and sisters, a majority of whom are women and children, crowded in the refugee camps," in his keynote speech at the Bangabhaban.
On Friday he met with some Rohingya families there, Pope told the crowd where the Rohingya were that God's presence was within them and they should be respected.
He also disclosed that he cried when he met a group of Rohingya refugees on Friday in Bangladesh, where he defended their rights by name in an emotional meeting, saying "I was crying and tried to hide it," on the plane, recounting how moved he felt when the refugees recounted their ordeals to him.
Speaking to reporters aboard the plane returning to Rome from Bangladesh, the pontiff also indicated that he had been firm with Myanmar's military leaders in private meetings about the need for them to respect the rights of Rohingya refugees.
Pope Francis wrapped up his busy Bangladesh trip on Saturday afternoon when he had an emotional interaction with Rohingyas. He urged the international community to take "decisive measures" to resolve not only the political issue surrounding the refugee crisis in Bangladesh, but also to provide "immediate material assistance" to respond to the humanitarian needs.