China backs Myanmar security force crackdown in Rakhine state
Agence France-Presse
Published at 06:45 PM September 12, 2017
Last updated at 07:15 PM September 12, 2017
A burnt house is seen in a village near Maungdaw, in the north of Rakhine state, Myanmar, September 12, 2017REUTERS
Beijing has tightened its embrace under Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government as part of its giant trade, energy and infrastructure strategy for Southeast Asia
International divisions emerged on Tuesday ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on a worsening refugee crisis in Myanmar, with China voicing support for a military crackdown that has been criticised by the US, slammed as “ethnic cleansing” and forced 370,000 Rohingya to flee the violence.
Beijing’s intervention appears aimed at heading off any attempt to censure Myanmar at the council when it convenes on Wednesday.
China was one of the few foreign friends of Myanmar’s former junta.
International pressure on Myanmar heightened this week after United Nations rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said the violence seemed to be a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
The US also raised alarm over the violence while the Security Council announced it would meet Wednesday to discuss the crisis. Britain and Sweden requested the urgent Security Council meeting amid growing international concern over the ongoing violence. The council met behind closed doors in late August to discuss the violence, but could not agree a formal statement.
But Beijing offered more encouraging words to Myanmar authorities on Tuesday, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang voicing support for the Myanmarese government’s efforts to “uphold peace and stability” in Rakhine.
“We hope order and the normal life there will be recovered as soon as possible,” he told a press briefing.
Beijing has tightened its embrace under Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government as part of its giant trade, energy and infrastructure strategy for Southeast Asia.
In a statement late Monday Suu Kyi’s Foreign Ministry defended the military for doing their “legitimate duty to restore stability,” saying troops were under orders “to exercise all due restraint, and to take full measures to avoid collateral damage.”
The exodus from Myanmar’s western Rakine state began after Rohingya militants attacked multiple police outposts and an army base on August 25, prompting a military backlash that has sent a third of the Muslim minority population fleeing for their lives.
Exhausted Rohingya refugees have given accounts of atrocities at the hands of soldiers and Buddhist mobs who burned their villages to the ground. They can not be independently verified as access to Rakhine state is heavily controlled.
Myanmar’s government denies any abuses and instead blames militants for burning down thousands of villages, including many belonging to Rohingya.
The Rohingya minority are denied citizenship and have suffered years of persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
“An estimated 370,000 Rohingya have entered Bangladesh,” since August 25 Joseph Tripura, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency, said.
The real figure may be higher as many new arrivals are still on the move making it difficult to include them in the count, the UN said, adding 60% of refugees are children.
http://www.dhakatribune.com/world/s...anmar-security-force-crackdown-rakhine-state/
Most shameless people on Earth ever....but what can you expect from the 3 million genohoax crybabies. @Aung Zaya
