AMN /Nay Pyi Taw
Following intense international pressure, Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi today condemned all human rights violations and said anyone responsible for abuses in troubled Rakhine State would face the law.
In her first address to the nation on the violence in northern Rakhine state Suu Kyi said, Myanmar did not fear international scrutiny and is committed to a sustainable solution to the conflict. Suu Kyi, who is designated as the State Counsellor of the country, appealed to the global community to help her nation unite across religious and ethnic lines. She also offered a pathway back to the country for the Rohingya Muslims forced to flee by army operations.
The Myanmar leader said in the capital Nay Pyi Taw, that she wanted to speak to both Muslims that had fled and those that had stayed to find out what was at the root of the crisis. However, she did not address the allegations against the military, saying only that there had been no armed clashes or clearance operations since 5 September.
The current spate of violence began through Rakhine state since August, when there was an armed attack on police posts, blamed on Rohingya militants. That lead to a massive security crackdown by the military, which UN has decried as ethnic cleansing. More than 400,000 Rohingya Muslims cross into Bangladesh, with tales of their villages were being burned and saying were facing persecution at the hands of the military.
While Ms Suu Kyi is the de facto head of the civilian government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, it is the military which holds real power in Rakhine state as it is in charge of internal security.