U.N. TO MEET OVER ROHINGYA CRISIS
Violence a textbook example of ethnic cleansing, says body’s rights chief
COX’S BAZAR (Bangladesh)
THE United Nations Security Council will hold an urgent meeting to discuss violence barrelling through western Myanmar, after the UN rights chief warned that “ethnic cleansing” appeared to have driven the flight of over 300,000 Rohingya Muslims from the country.
The remote border region was plunged into crisis after Rohingya militants attacked police posts last month, prompting a military backlash that has sent nearly a third of the Muslim minority population fleeing to Bangladesh.
Rohingya refugees fleeing the unrest have told stories of soldiers and Buddhist mobs burning entire villages to the ground, while the government blames militants for the arson.
On Monday, the United Nations rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, said the violence seemed to be a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
Hours after the warning, the Security Council announced it would meet today to discuss the crisis, which has heaped global opprobrium on Myanmar’s civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
A Nobel peace laureate, Suu Kyi has been pilloried by rights groups for failing to speak up for the Rohingya.
On Monday, her office said Myanmar “welcomes the statements issued by the UN and a number of countries firmly condemning the terrorist attacks”, without mentioning UN’s charge of ethnic cleansing.
The statement also defended the military’s operations as part of their “legitimate duty to restore stability”, saying troops were under orders “to exercise all due restraint, and to take full measures to avoid collateral damage and the harming of innocent civilians”.
The UN council met behind closed doors late last month to discuss the violence, but there was no formal statement.
UN diplomats have said China, one of Myanmar’s top trade partners, has been resisting involvement by the council in addressing the crisis.
Last Sunday, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, the militant group whose attacks sparked the latest crackdown, declared a unilateral ceasefire to allow aid to reach the increasingly desperate refugees.
There was no direct response from Myanmar’s military, though government spokesman Zaw Htay tweeted: “We have no policy to negotiate with terrorists.” AFP