Myanmar ruling party stages harmony rally as Rohingya flee

YANGON, Myanmar— Myanmar’s ruling party has held an interfaith rally that it said would promote religious harmony as thousands of Rohingya Muslims continue to flee persecution in northern Rakhine state.

In Yangon, around 20,000 people lit candles in a soccer stadium on Tuesday night and said prayers.

A Muslim religious leader, Hafiz Mufti Ali, addressed the crowd from a podium. Video showed Buddhist monks and men wearing Muslim skullcaps sitting apart.

More than half a million Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh after Myanmar security forces carried out what they called clearance operations in response to attacks on police posts by Muslim insurgents in August.

Myanmar’s Buddhist majority denies that Rohingya Muslims are a separate ethnic group and regards them as illegal immigrants.

Pope headed to region

VATICAN CITY—Pope Francis will wade into the religious and political minefield of Myanmar’s crackdown on Rohingya Muslims and the effects of their exodus to Bangladesh when he visits both countries next month.

The Vatican on Tuesday released the itinerary for the Nov. 26-Dec. 2 trip.

Francis is likely to refer to the Rohingya’s plight as he has already denounced the “persecution of our Rohingya brothers.”

The trip motto is peace and love among people of different faiths.