19 September 2017•Update: 19 September 2017
By Kyaw Ye Lynn
YANGON, Myanmar
Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said the government will grant access to international observers in conflict-hit western Rakhine state.
Suu Kyi, who has been widely criticized for not speaking up for rights of Rohingya Muslims being persecuted by the country’s military, claimed there is no conflict or military operation in the Rakhine since Sept. 5 despite reports the contrary that show desperate villagers fleeing from the area.
Speaking with diplomats in Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday, Suu Kyi said a great majority of Muslims did not join the exodus.
“Nevertheless, we are concerned with the numbers of Muslim villagers fleeing across the border to Bangladesh,” she said, according to her televised remarks reported by the state television.
“We want to find out why this exodus is still happening.”
She invited international diplomats to join the government and learn about how there were supposedly no problems in some areas and who had Rakhine.
“If you are interested, join us in our endeavor,” she said.
Regarding repatriation of those who fled to Bangladesh and whether they would be allowed to return, she said Myanmar would only accept those who had been verified as refugees from the country.
“A verification process was set up as early as 1993, and that are the principles to which both countries agreed,” she said.
“We will abide by the criteria that we agreed at that time. We are ready to start the verification process anytime.”
Residents doubt claim
Despite the growing international criticism of Suu Kyi on the Rohingya issue, thousands of people gathered in Myanmar’s major cities, including Yangon and Mandalay on Tuesday to show support for the state counselor’s handling of the situation in Rakhine.
Ko Htay Win, a Muslim resident of Yangon’s Kyauktada Township, welcomed the move to grant international observers access to conflict-hit areas.
“If we have nothing to hide, it’s a good move to prove that [Myanmar’s military] has abided by the law in conducting its operations,” he told Anadolu Agency.
“But it is very doubtful that soldiers have not committed any rights violations. Because, as we all know, has history of right violations in ethnic areas.”
Since Aug. 25, around 410,000 Rohingya have crossed from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine into Bangladesh, according to the UN.
The refugees are fleeing a fresh security operation in which security forces and Buddhist mobs have killed men, women and children, looted homes and torched Rohingya villages. According to Bangladesh, around 3,000 Rohingya have been killed in the crackdown.
Turkey has been at the forefront of providing aid to Rohingya refugees and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he will raise the issue at the UN.
The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.
Last October, following attacks on border posts in Rakhine's Maungdaw district, security forces launched a five-month crackdown in which, according to Rohingya groups, around 400 people were killed.
The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel. In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.
