UN Chief Urges Myanmar To Halt Military Campaign Against Rohingya

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Myanmar to put an end to its military campaign against Rohingya Muslims just hours after its de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi,

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 19 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Sep, 2017 ) : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on Myanmar to put an end to its military campaign against Rohingya Muslims just hours after its de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, failed to allay international concerns over the ongoing ethnic cleansing in the Southeast Asian country.

Addressing the 72nd annual session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, Guterres said he "took note" of Suu Kyi's promise to abide by the recommendations of a report by former UN chief, Kofi Annan, that underlined the need for granting citizenship to the Rohingya.

"But let me be clear. The authorities in Myanmar must end the military operations and allow unhindered humanitarian access ," Guterres emphasized, adding, "We are all shocked by the dramatic escalation of sectarian tensions in Myanmar's Rakhine state." On Tuesday, Suu Kyi addressed the nation for the first time since August 25, when a fresh upsurge in violence subjected the Rohingya in Muslim villages across the western state of Rakhine to mass killings, torture, rape and arson attacks, and forced more than 417,000 people to flee the country.

Myanmar's leader defended how her government was dealing with the massive human rights violations committed against Rakhine-based Rohingya Muslims, which the UN says amount to "ethnic cleansing." The Nobel Peace prize laureate, however, fell short of singling out the military in the globally-condemned violence, which has triggered a massive exodus of Muslim refugees to Bangladesh.

Myanmar's Second Vice-President Henry van Thio is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Wednesday after Suu Kyi refused to attend this year's international gathering. The leader of the Asian country's civilian government said Myanmar did not fear international scrutiny and was committed to finding a sustainable solution to the situation in Rakhine state.

Suu Kyi's silence had provoked immense international criticism in recent weeks, especially after dismissing reports of ethnic violence in Rakhine state by Myanmar's military and majority Buddhists against the persecuted Muslim community.

In her speech, Suu Kyi even refused to use the word Rohingya to refer to members of the minority group, naming them only once while making mention of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a group that purportedly fights to defend the rights of the minority group.

She claimed that peaceful conditions were disturbed only after armed groups staged terrorist attacks on dozens of police outposts in August. She claimed that Myanmar was ready to verify the national status of the Rohingya refugees who have fled violence in recent weeks, saying, "We are prepared to start the verification process at any time."