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Aung San Suu Kyi to miss UN general assembly amid criticism over Rohingya crisis Myanmar says 40% of Rohingya villages targeted by army are now empty
(about 7 hours later)
Aung San Suu Kyi will not attend the UN general assembly later this month, her spokesman has said, as the Nobel laureate faces a barrage of criticism over her failure to speak up for Rohingya Muslims fleeing Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Scores of villages that were inhabited by Myanmar’s Muslim Rohingya minority are completely empty, a government spokesman has said.
A crackdown by Myanmar’s army, launched in response to Rohingya militant attacks on 25 August, has sent some 370,000 Rohingya refugees scrambling across the border to Bangladesh in less than three weeks. Of 471 villages targeted in “clearance operations” by the Burmese army since late August, Zaw Htay said, 176 are now completely empty and at least 34 others partially abandoned.
The violence has incubated a humanitarian crisis on both sides of the border. The violent crackdown, launched in response to attacks by militants, has sent at least 370,000 Rohingya scrambling across the border to Bangladesh and prompted a barrage of criticism of Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de facto leader.
The Nobel laureate had been due to attend the UN general assembly next week, but will now skip the event, Zaw Htay said.
“The first reason is because of the Rakhine terrorist attacks,” he said. “The second reason is there are people inciting riots in some areas … The third is that we are hearing that there will be terrorist attacks and we are trying to address this issue.”
The second vice-president, Henry Van Tio, will represent Myanmar at the UN, Zaw Htay said.
Suu Kyi will give a speech in Myanmar next week that will cover the same topics that she would have addressed at the UN, he added.
Bangladesh has urged Myanmar to take back the Rohingya who have fled, but Zaw Htay suggested that not all of them would be able to return immediately.
“We have to verify them; we can only accept them after they are verified,” he said. His comment was an apparent reference to plans announced on Tuesday to speed up progress on verifying Rohingya under Myanmar’s citizenship laws.
When Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to parliament in 2012 there were high hopes that the Nobel peace prize winner would help heal Myanmar's entrenched ethnic divides.  When Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to parliament in 2012 there were high hopes that the Nobel peace prize winner would help heal Myanmar's entrenched ethnic divides.  
Some defenders at the time tried to argue that she was gagged by temporary political concerns because she had to hold on to the votes of nationalist Buddhists. However, her NLD party won a landslide victory in elections in 2015 and yet she remained conspicuously silent.Some defenders at the time tried to argue that she was gagged by temporary political concerns because she had to hold on to the votes of nationalist Buddhists. However, her NLD party won a landslide victory in elections in 2015 and yet she remained conspicuously silent.
She has defended the government that she is part of in response to the recent wave of violence, sparking further widespread condemnation.She has defended the government that she is part of in response to the recent wave of violence, sparking further widespread condemnation.
Her exact motivations remain opaque but the only thing she obviously stands to lose by speaking out is the support of the military power brokers who still ultimately control Myanmar. The only thing she could obviously hope to gain by her silence is more power and influence.Her exact motivations remain opaque but the only thing she obviously stands to lose by speaking out is the support of the military power brokers who still ultimately control Myanmar. The only thing she could obviously hope to gain by her silence is more power and influence.
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Bangladesh is struggling to provide relief for exhausted and hungry refugees – some 60% of whom are children – while nearly 30,000 ethnic Rakhine Buddhists as well as Hindus have been displaced inside Myanmar. As criticism of Myanmar mounts, a humanitarian crisis is brewing on both sides of the border. Bangladesh is struggling to provide humanitarian relief for the refugees, 60% of whom are children, while nearly 30,000 ethnic Rakhine Buddhists as well as Hindus have been displaced inside Myanmar.
The UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, accused Myanmar of waging a “systematic attack” on the Muslim Rohingya minority and warned that “ethnic cleansing” seemed to be under way. On Wednesday the UN secretary general, António Guterres, called on Myanmar to suspend its military action, describing the humanitarian situation as “catastrophic” and calling on all countries to supply aid. Earlier this week his colleague, the UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, accused Myanmar of waging a “systematic attack” on the Rohingya that appeared to amount to “ethnic cleansing”.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s first civilian leader in decades, does not control the actions of the powerful military, which ran the country for 50 years before allowing free elections in 2015. Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s first civilian leader in decades, does not control the actions of the military, which ran the country for 50 years before allowing free elections in 2015.
There is also scant sympathy among Myanmar’s Buddhist majority for the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim group branded “Bengalis” – shorthand for illegal immigrants.There is also scant sympathy among Myanmar’s Buddhist majority for the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim group branded “Bengalis” – shorthand for illegal immigrants.
But outside of her country, her reputation as a rights defender is in ruins over the Rohingya crisis. But outside her country, Aung San Suu Kyi’s reputation as a rights defender is in tatters.
Rohingya refugees have told chilling accounts of soldiers firing on civilians and razing entire villages in northern Rakhine state with the help of Buddhist mobs. Refugees have given chilling accounts of soldiers firing on civilians and razing villages in northern Rakhine state with the help of Buddhist mobs.
The army denies the allegations while Aung San Suu Kyi has also played down claims of atrocities, instead blaming “a huge iceberg of misinformation” for complicating the conflict. The army denies the allegations and Aung San Suu Kyi has also played down claims of atrocities, instead blaming “a huge iceberg of misinformation” for complicating the conflict.
“The state counsellor won’t attend the meeting of the United Nations general assembly,” said government spokesman Zaw Htay on Wednesday, using her formal title. Associated Press reporters on the Bangladesh side of the border said they had seen an elderly woman with devastating leg wounds, one half-blown off and the other also badly injured. Relatives said she had stepped on a landmine.
The spokesman did not explain the decision but said one of the country’s vice-presidents, Henry Van Thio, would attend the summit, which runs through next week. Responding to reports that Myanmar’s military has planted landmines in the path of Rohingya fleeing violence, Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, said it would be a “gross violation of international law” if confirmed.
Responding to reports that Myanmar’s military has planted landmines in the path of Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence, Australia’s foreign minister, Julie Bishop, said it would be a “gross violation of international law” if confirmed. Her comments came amid a growing chorus of international pressure on the country, with the White House issuing a statement calling for “Burmese security authorities to respect the rule of law, stop the violence and end the displacement of civilians from all communities”.
Her comments came amid a growing chorus of international pressure on the south-east Asian nation, with the US calling for an end to violence and Bangladesh demanding refugees be allowed to return home. The US senator John McCain said he would seek to “remove military cooperation” with Myanmar by changing the language of an upcoming bill authorising increased US defence spending. Senate lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the bill this week.
The UN security council is due to meet on Wednesday behind closed doors for the second time during the recent crisis, although China has backed its southern neighbour and trade partner, making swift action appear unlikely. At the European parliament, the British MEP Amjad Bashir called for international sanctions against Myanmar and said he would present an urgent resolution to the parliament on Thursday.
Bishop said Australia was focusing efforts on providing humanitarian assistance through UN agencies.
She said the government had provided funding to the Red Cross in Myanmar and also Bangladesh, where many of the refugees and those seeking humanitarian assistance were heading.
Asked whether Australia would take in refugees to ease the crisis, Bishop pointed to the humanitarian assistance being provided by the Turnbull government.
Accounts from refugees crossing the border into Bangladesh have mainly detailed violence such as shooting by soldiers and the burning of villages.
But reporters from Associated Press on the Bangladesh side of the border said they had seen an elderly woman with devastating leg wounds: one leg half-blown off and the other also badly injured. Relatives said she had stepped on a landmine.
The White House issued a statement calling for “Burmese security authorities to respect the rule of law, stop the violence, and end the displacement of civilians from all communities”.
US senator John McCain said he would seek to “remove military cooperation” with Myanmar by changing the language of an upcoming bill authorising increased US defence spending. Senate lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the bill this week.
Given human rights abuses against Rohingya, I will seek to remove military cooperation w/ #Burma from #FY18NDAA https://t.co/n1cyCx9M6s
At the European parliament, British MEP Amjad Bashir called for international sanctions against Myanmar and said he will present an “urgent resolution” to the parliament on Thursday.
The Conservative MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber said the resolution would seek an “immediate halt to any trade and investment discussions between Europe and Myanmar”, including a trade mission scheduled for next week.The Conservative MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber said the resolution would seek an “immediate halt to any trade and investment discussions between Europe and Myanmar”, including a trade mission scheduled for next week.
“The world is waking up to the horrors being visited upon the Rohingyas. This is ethnic cleansing in the 21st century,” he said.“The world is waking up to the horrors being visited upon the Rohingyas. This is ethnic cleansing in the 21st century,” he said.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report