Rohingya Crisis
Myanmar minister arrives today
Amid deepening crisis over the Rohingya refugees, Myanmar is sending today one of its ministers to Bangladesh to discuss the issues. Over half a million Rohingya refugees have crossed into Bangladesh since August 25, facing atrocities in the Rakhine state of Myanmar by its security forces, which has been labeled by the international community as genocide and ethnic cleansing.
Myanmars de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi is sending Minister of the Office of Myanmars State Counsellor Kyaw Tint Swe to Bangladesh amid international pressure over the Rakhine State crisis in which her government stands accused of ethnic cleansing. The minister will arrive on Sunday night, a foreign ministry source told The Independent last night.
Minister Kyaw Tint Swe will hold a meeting with Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali on Monday before leaving Dhaka on the same day, said the source.
Only one meeting has been scheduled and no other activity has so far been discussed, he added.
Aid agencies and international bodies have been denied access to the Rakhine state where wholesale murder, rape, burning of villages and other atrocities are being carried out by security forces following alleged terrorist attacks on security outposts on August 25.
There is mounting pressure on Myanmar to bring an end to the violence in Rakhine and arrange for the return of the Rohingya people who have fled to Bangladesh. During an open debate at the UN Security Council on Thursday, Bangladesh urged the 15-body council not to shift its focus from Myanmar until a logical solution to the decades-old issue that turned into an unprecedented humanitarian crisis after the Aug 25 military crackdown.
