‘Historic exodus’ from Myanmar
U.S. gives $32M for Rohingya
NEW YORK—The United States will contribute nearly $32 million in humanitarian aid to help Rohingya Muslim refugees, the State Department said Wednesday, in the Trump administration's first major response to the mass exodus from Myanmar.
The new money for food, medical care, water, sanitation and shelter comes as the U.S.
joins a growing chorus of international condemnation over the minority group's plight. In less than a month, some 421,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest countries, as the United Nations and others raise allegations of ethnic cleansing.
The Trump administration announced the new funds as world leaders were converging in New York for annual United Nations General Assembly meetings. Vice President Mike Pence lamented the "terrible savagery" of Myanmar's security forces as he addressed a U.N. Security Council session Wednesday focused on peacekeeping.
"We are witnessing a historic exodus," Pence said.
The crisis has threatened to jeopardize Myanmar's U.S.-aided shift toward democracy after five decades of harsh military rule. Former President Barack Obama helped shepherd that transition in what is considered one of his key foreign policy achievements. President Donald Trump has been less attentive to the country, also known as Burma.
The exodus has also emerged as a major blemish on the record of Myanmar's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who maintained close ties to the Obama administration.
Suu Kyi did not travel to New York for the U.N. meetings, but in a speech this week—her first on the crisis—she defend her country's actions and called for the Rohingya to return. She also held what's believed to be her first phone call with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who urged her to let in humanitarian aid and to ensure conditions are safe enough for the Rohingya to come home.
"While we welcome Aung San Suu Kyi's comments that returning refugees have nothing to fear, the United States of America renews our call on Burma's security forces to end their violence immediately, and support diplomatic efforts for a long-term solution," Pence said.
Last month, Rohingya insurgents attacked Myanmar security forces, leading to a military crackdown in which Rohingya villages have been burned and hundreds killed. The Rohingya live mainly in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state, near the Bangladesh border, and have had a long and difficult history in the predominantly Buddhist nation.