Tillerson steers clear of ‘ethnic cleansing’ label in Burma

REX TILLERSON yesterday called for an independent investigation into Burma’s treatment of the Rohingya – but refused to follow Theresa May’s lead and describe the military’s action as “ethnic cleansing”.

The US secretary of state met Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto head of Burma’s civilian administration. He also met the head of the army.

Mr Tillerson said the crisis, which has seen more than 600,000 Rohingya flee their homes and seek refuge in Bangladesh, concerned the US, but added that sanctions against Burma, also known as Myanmar, were “not advisable” at this time.

“I have a hard time seeing how (broad-based sanctions) help this crisis,” he said

“What we know occurred in Rakhine state has a number of characteristics of crimes against humanity,” he said. “It’s difficult when you’re sitting halfway around the world and you see the images from the refugee camps in Bangladesh to not want to just rush to do something. Whether it meets all the criteria of ethnic cleansing we continue to determine ourselves.”

On Monday night, Mrs May was more outspoken, stating that the situation was “a major humanitarian crisis which looks like ethnic cleansing”. Her words echoed those of the UN and EU.

Ms Suu Kyi has been accused of not doing enough to try to rein in the military.

But, speaking alongside Mr Tillerson, she said she had “not been silent”.

“What people mean is what I say is not interesting enough,” she said. “What I say is not meant to be exciting, it’s meant to be accurate, not set people against each other.”