14 June 2018•Update: 14 June 2018
By Kyaw Ye Lynn
YANGON, Myanmar
Myanmar’s government said Thursday that State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and a UN envoy discussed the development of western Rakhine state, where a brutal military crackdown has forced nearly a million Rohingya Muslims to flee to neighboring Bangladesh over the past few months.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ special envoy, Christine Schraner Burgener, arrived in the country Tuesday. She will meet with Myanmar authorities, leaders of ethnic armed organizations, civil society groups and religious leaders, and diplomats to discuss issues such as the Rakhine crisis, the peace process, the democratization process, and human rights issues, said a UN statement.
Suu Kyi and Burgener met Thursday in the country’s political capital Nay Pyi Taw, according to a statement from Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.
During the meeting, they exchanged views on cooperation between the country and the UN in addressing the challenges facing Myanmar, including the Rohingya crisis, it said.
“The State Counselor stressed the need for the Special Envoy to try to get to know the ground situation and its complexities in an objective manner, said the statement.
Burgener is on her first visit to the country to liaise with Myanmar’s government to enhance its cooperation with the UN in a constructive manner to address the issues of Rakhine state and to provide assistance in bringing the Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities closer.
From Myanmar, Ms Burgener will proceed to other countries in the region, including Bangladesh.
Since Aug. 25, 2017, more than 750,000 refugees, mostly children and women, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community, according to Amnesty International.
At least 9,400 Rohingya were killed in Rakhine from Aug. 25 to Sept. 24 last year, according to Doctors Without Borders.
In a report published recently, the humanitarian group said the deaths of 71.7 percent or 6,700 Rohingya were caused by violence. They include 730 children below the age of 5.
The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.
The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel.
In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.
