Stop squabbling and live in peace, Suu Kyi tells Rohingya
AUNG SAN SUU KYI, Burma’s de facto leader, yesterday urged people “not to quarrel” as she visited Rakhine State for the first time since a military crackdown that drove more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee the country.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner has faced international criticism for not taking a higher profile in responding to what UN officials have called “ethnic cleansing” by Burma’s army.
Burma has rejected the accusations, saying it launched a counter-insurgency operation after Rohingya militants attacked 30 security posts in northern Rakhine on Aug 25.
Yesterday, amid tight security, Ms Suu Kyi boarded a military helicopter at Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine, to be taken to Maungdaw, one of the districts worst hit by the violence.
Ms Suu Kyi met a group of Muslim religious leaders, said Chris Lewa, of the Arakan Project monitoring group, citing Rohingya sources.
“She only said three things to the people – they should live peacefully, the government is there to help them, and they should not quarrel among each other,” Mr Lewa said, quoting a religious leader who was present.
Rohingya began fleeing predominantly Buddhist Burma for neighbouring Bangladesh in late August to escape the violent military response.
A US state department delegation was due to arrive in Bangladesh today to discuss the humanitarian crisis and human rights concerns stemming from the crisis in Rakhine state.
Ms Suu Kyi had not previously visited Rakhine since assuming power last year following a landslide 2015 election victory. The majority of residents in the northern part of the state, which includes Maungdaw, were Muslims until the recent crisis.