Srinagar: Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday said that her country does not fear the scrutiny of the international community as over 400,000 Rohingya Muslims have crossed into Bangladesh after fleeing the ongoing violence in Rakhine state.
“It is not the intention of the Myanmar government to apportion blame or to abdicate responsibility. We condemn all human rights violation and unlawful violence,” she said in a nationally televised address.
“We are committed to the restoration of peace, stability and rule of law throughout the state.”
The speech is the first time Suu Kyi, the country’s de facto leader, has spoken about the situation in Rakhine since the violence broke out on August 25 when Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) rebels attacked police checkposts and killed 12 security personnel, reports CNN.
Crowds gathered on Tuesday morning outside a large screen in Yangon as Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner for her non-violent resistance to the military junta that used to rule Myanmar, began to speak to the country.
At a rally in on Monday, a few hundred people gathered to show their support for the government.
Some held placards of Nobel Peace Prize winner of Malala Yousafzai’s face crossed out, as the activist called Suu Kyi’ to act.
“Shame on you”, the posters said, in reference to Malala. “If you don’t know the real situation of Myanmar, better keep quiet.”
Suu Kyi cancelled her trip to the UN General Assembly for its latest session that began on Monday to handle the situation in Rakhine, CNN reported.
Pak should take away Rohingyas: Union Minister Giriraj Singh
New Delhi: Union Minister Giriraj Singh, known for his controversial remarks, Tuesday said Pakistan should “take away” Rohingyas as Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar “is fond of them”.
Referring to militancy in Kashmir, Singh said that India does not have the capacity to bear more “infiltrators”, therefore the Rohingya Muslims will have to leave.
The minister reiterated the government’s stand that Rohingyas are illegal migrants who pose a threat to India’s internal security.
Humanity is not above the law, Singh said, in remarks that come in the backdrop of criticism of the government decision to deport the Rohingyas, who have fled the violence- hit Rakhine state of Myanmar.
“It will be better that Pakistan takes away Rohingya Muslims if Masood Azhar is so fond of them,” he said referring to the chief of Pakistan-based militant outfit JeM.
“There are some politicians in India as well who are standing in support of Rohingyas.
“They should also be told to send them (Rohingyas) to Pakistan. If Pakistan’s leader (Azhar) backed by its government is saying this, then the Pakistani government should take them (Rohingyas) away,” Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a summit organised by the CII here.
The government had told Parliament on August 9 that more than 14,000 Rohingyas are at present staying in India.
However, some inputs indicate that around 40,000 undocumented Rohingyas were staying in India, mostly in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan regions.
Singh had earlier triggered a row with his statement that “those trying to stop Narendra Modi from coming to power have no place in India and should go to Pakistan”.
Addressing the summit Tuesday, the minister for micro, small and medium enterprises said the government established agro technology clusters as part of a new scheme to tackle the food security challenges posed by a growing population.
