Three months after Pope Francis condemned the almost relentless persecution of Rohingyas, the Vatican has established “full diplomatic” relations with Myanmar. This is the critical upshot of the Pope’s meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi ~ at the helm of the country though not as President ~ in Vatican City on Thursday. It is yet another step towards ending the country’s unsplendid isolation within the comity of nations. There are at least two facets to this surprise initiative in international relations. It will at once widen the diplomatic reach of Naypidaw; second it shall enable the Papacy to exercise its diplomatic influence over Myanmar where the decline in human rights violations has unfortunately been minimal. A year after the country’s momentous transition to democracy, this must rank as a bitter irony of Asian geopolitics.

From the heyday of the junta to Suu Kyi’s regime, Myanmar has been facing international scrutiny over the atrocities on Rohingyas, a Muslim minority segment in bordering Bangladesh. For far too long have they languished as nowhere people, floundering from shore to shore in search of a base. While playing the host, Pope Francis has effectively placed Suu Kyi on notice not least because of her intriguing silence over the continuing repression. Ahead of the elections in November 2015, her compulsion was not to rock the junta applecart lest she be deprived of the opportunity to head the democratic dispensation. There is no such underpinning now; yet her withers remain unwrung ~ a thread that somehow links her National League for Democracy to the generals. As in Pakistan or to a lesser degree in Bangladesh, the soldiers are loath to give up their power to call the shots.

Markedly, the Vatican has not merely established ties but has agreed to upgrade bilateral relations. Both the Vatican and Myanmar will each appoint a full-fledged ambassador. The decision is definitely a forward movement from the present level of diplomatic representation ~ the Vatican is represented by an apostolic delegate to the local church ~ an essentially papal office that is based in neighbouring Thailand. Myanmar boasts an estimated 700, 000 Catholics out of a total population of 51.4 million.

For all the grandstanding at the Vatican City’s Apostolic Palace, Thursday’s forging of ties must fructify in an essay towards a better life for the Rohingyas. The diplomatic gambit can be contextualised with the Vatican’s stout condemnation of the persecution… in contrast to the silence of the West generally. It bears recall that two years ago, there was not a shore in Europe that had offered refuge to the Rohingyas, whom the putatively democratic government in Bangladesh would not accept. It will be a profound achievement if the Papacy can help the helpless of Myanmar. Sad to reflect, Suu Kyi has squandered the opportunity she spent 25 years fighting for.