US calls on UN to act against Myanmar

new YORK: The United States described Myanmar’s denials of ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims as “preposterous” as it called on the United Nations Security Council to hold the military accountable and pressure leader Aung San Suu Kyi “to acknowledge these horrific acts that are taking place in her country”.

“Powerful forces in the Burmese government have denied the ethnic cleansing in Rakhine state,” US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the Security Council on Tuesday.

“To make sure no one contradicts their preposterous denials, they are preventing access to Rakhine to anyone or any organisation that might bear witness to their atroci- ties, including the UN Council,” Haley said.

She also called for the release of Reuters news agency reporters arrested for reporting on the massacre of Rohingya Muslims.

The Reuters special report, published last week, lays out events leading up to the killing of 10 Rohingya men from Inn Din village in Rakhine state, who were buried Security in a mass grave after being hacked to death or shot by Buddhist neighbours and soldiers.

French UN ambassador Francois Delattre also told the council that a massacre of Rohingya Muslims reported by Reuters could “constitute crimes against humanity”.

Any push for action by the council is likely to face resistance from council veto powers Russia and China, who both said on Tuesday that the situation in Rakhine state was stable and under control.

“Using labels and attempts to use contradictory and subjective media reports ... to find out who’s guilty and condemn them only moves us farther away from a solution,” Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy warned.