Myanmar assures UN of ‘harsh’ action

Myanmar’s military has assured the United Nations of “harsh” action against perpetrators of sexual violence, state media reported on Tuesday, as UN envoys travelled to Rakhine state where the military conducted a widely criticised crackdown on Rohingyas.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Rakhine to Bangladesh to escape a military crackdown launched in August that the UN denounced as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.

Many of the refugees arriving in Bangladesh recounted incidents of killings and rape but Myanmar largely rejected those reports as well as the accusation of ethnic cleansing.

It said its forces were engaged in a legitimate security campaign in response to a string of Rohingya insurgents’ attacks on security forces.

The UN Security Council envoys met separately with Myanmar government leader Aung San Suu Kyi and military commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing.

“Sexual violence (is) considered as despicable acts,” the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper cited Min Aung Hlaing as saying.

The military was “taking harsh and stronger actions against such offenders”, he said.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, in her meeting with the envoys, pledged to investigate any credible accusations of abuse, said diplomats who attended. REUTERS

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