New York: United States Secretary General Antonio Guterres, has urged Myanmar to immediately stop military operations that have sent more than 500,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing to Bangladesh.
While addressing to the UN Security Council, Guterres called the crisis “the world’s fastest developing refugee emergency and a humanitarian and human rights nightmare”.
Guterres warned that the humanitarian crisis was a breeding ground for radicalization, criminals and traffickers. He said the broader crisis “has generated multiple implications for neighbouring states and the larger region, including the risk of inter-communal strife”.
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“We’ve received bone-chilling accounts from those who fled, mainly woman children and the elderly,” he said.
Rohingya Muslims are considered to be among the world’s most persecuted people. The predominantly Buddhist Myanmar considers them Bangladeshi, but Bangladesh says they’re Burmese. As a result, they’re effectively stateless.
During Thursday’s meeting, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said the time for “well meaning words in the Council have passed.” She said that action must be considered against “Burmese security forces who are implicated in abuses stoking hatred among fellow citizens,” and urged countries that now sell weapons to Myanmar to suspend their deliveries until the military provides accountability.
Visiting Myanmar National Security Advisor U Thaung Tun blamed terrorism, not religious persecution, for the unfolding crisis. He said there is “no ethnic cleansing or genocide” in Myanmar, adding that those charges should not be lobbed lightly.
Before the meeting, Amnesty International called for an arms embargo on Myanmar. The group says Myanmar has torched entire villages inside Rakhine State and fired on people trying to flee.
Myanmar issued an invitation to the UN Secretary-General to come visit the country in the “near future.” The UN said that it’s studying the offer.
The UN Secretary-General proposed three things for the Myanmar government to do. “First, end the military operations,” Guterres said. “Second, allow unfettered access for humanitarian support. And third, to ensure the safe voluntary and sustainable return of the refugees to their areas of origin.”
Myanmar’s special envoy told the Council the country realizes the humanitarian situation needs to be addressed. He said thousands fled because of fear due to terrorism, and that Myanmar is cooperating with the Red Cross.
The UN Secretary-General warned that “we should not be surprised if decades of discrimination and double standards in treatment of the Rohingya create an opening for radicalization.”
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