Draft UN resolution pressures Myanmar over Rohingya crisis

UNITED NATIONS, US: The United Nations ( UN) Security Council is weighing a draft resolution that would pressure Myanmar to address the violence that has driven hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee, according to the text obtained by AFP on Wednesday.

The proposed resolution, drafted by Britain and France, would call on Myanmar authorities to ‘ immediately cease military operations’ and allow refugees now living in makeshift camps in Bangladesh to return.

The six-page text does not threaten sanctions, but lays out a series of concrete demands.

But diplomats said the draft resolution, which would be the fi rst formal response from the top UN body, faces strong opposition from China and they expect tough negotiations ahead to reach agreement.

“The Chinese are not on board,” said a Security Council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. “They want us to say nothing and do nothing on this issue.”

China, a supporter of Myanmar’s former ruling junta, maintains that it is using private channels to pass on the message that the violence must end and the refugee crisis must be addressed, according to diplomats.

Since late August, more than 600,000 Rohingya have fled an army campaign in Myanmar’s Rakhine state that the UN has denounced as ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar authorities say the military operation is aimed at rooting out Rohingya militants who staged attacks on police posts two months ago. — AFP