Trump, Pompeo Must Do More To End Ethnic Cleansing Of Rohingyas In Myanmar - 17 Senators

Trump, Pompeo Must Do More To End Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingyas in Myanmar - 17 Senators

President Donald Trump and his administration must take more effective actions to end the ethnic cleansing persecution against the Muslim Rohingya people of northwestern Myanmar, also known as Burma, 17 senators wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2018) President Donald Trump and his administration must take more effective actions to end the ethnic cleansing persecution against the Muslim Rohingya people of northwestern Myanmar, also known as Burma, 17 senators wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday.

We urge you and the President to speak out forcefully and publicly about these atrocities, the letter said. Strong condemnation from both the President and his top diplomat would be critical signals to Burma and to the international community that the United States prioritizes human rights.

Over the past year, more than 700,000 Rohingya refugees had fled violence in Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh, where they lived in refugee camps on the border in horrific conditions, the letter noted.

Signatories of the letter included Senators Jeff Merkley, Marco Rubio, Ben Cardin, Chris Van Hollen, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Dianne Feinstein, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren.

Earlier on Friday, the Trump administration sanctioned four people from Myanmar and two divisions of the country's army under the Global Magnitsky Act in an effort to stop brutal human rights violations including ethnic cleansing, massacres and sexual assault.