http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41329662
Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi is facing mounting international pressure for her
handling of violence in Rakhine state and the Rohingya refugee crisis.
In a speech on Tuesday, Myanmar’s de facto leader condemned rights abuses but did not
blame the army or address allegations of ethnic cleansing.
Leaders and diplomats from several countries have since expressed strong disappointment
with her stance.
More than 400,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since late August.
The latest unrest in troubled Rakhine was sparked by deadly attacks on police stations across
the state last month, blamed on a newly emerged militant group, the Arakan Rohingya
Salvation Army (Arsa).
Scores of people were killed in an ensuing military crackdown and there are widespread
allegations of villages being burned and Rohingya being driven out.
The Rohingya, a mostly Muslim minority, are denied citizenship by the Myanmar government,
which says they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. It refers to them as Bengali Muslims.
In her first national address on the recent crisis, Ms Suu Kyi said:
there had been no clashes or clearance operations in the northern state since 5
September
most Muslims had decided to stay and that this indicated the situation was not so severe
the government had made efforts in recent years to improve living conditions for all people
in Rakhine including Muslims
that all refugees would be allowed to return after a verification process.
Reality Check: Are Suu Kyi’s Rohingya claims correct?
Who are the Rohingya group behind attacks?
The Burmese military says its operations in Rakhine are aimed at rooting out militants, and
has repeatedly denied targeting civilians. Witnesses, refugees and journalists have contested
this.
Late on Tuesday, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina renewed her call for Myanmar to
take back the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled to her country.
“We have told Myanmar, they are your citizens, you must take them back, keep them safe,
give them shelter,” she told the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
She said the Rohingya were facing an “unbearable human catastrophe”.
Bangladesh also denies Rohingya have any right to settle on its soil – and has been criticised
for not doing more to help in the crisis.
In a phone call, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told Ms Suu Kyi that he welcomed her
statement that refugees would be able to return once verified.
9/20/2017 Rohingya crisis: Suu Kyi speech criticised by global leaders – BBC News
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But he urged her to facilitate humanitarian aid and “address deeply troubling allegations of
human rights abuses and violations”, the state department said.
Also speaking to the UN Assembly, French President Emmanuel Macron said “the military
operation must stop, humanitarian access must be guaranteed and the rule of law restored in
the face of what we know is ethnic cleansing”.
He also said he would start a Security Council initiative to ensure humanitarian access and an
end to the violence.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also urged Myanmar to “end the military operations”
and “address the grievances of the Rohingyas, whose status has been left unresolved for far
too long”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the international community to act on the
crisis warning that “unless the tragedy taking place in Myanmar is brought to a halt, humanity
will have to live with the shame of another dark stain in its history”.
What sparked latest violence in Rakhine?
Myanmar conflict: The view from Yangon
A spokesperson for the EU said Ms Suu Kyi’s invitation for international diplomats to visit the
affected areas – previously ruled out of bounds by the government – was “a step forward