Friday, Mar 29th 2024
Trending News

Rohingya crisis: Nikki Haley urges countries to curb military supplies to Myanmar amid concerns over violence

By Fnf Desk | PUBLISHED: 29, Sep 2017, 8:47 am IST | UPDATED: 29, Sep 2017, 8:50 am IST

Rohingya crisis: Nikki Haley urges countries to curb military supplies to Myanmar amid concerns over violence



United Nations:US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Thursday called on countries to suspend providing weapons to Myanmar over violence against Rohingya Muslims until the military puts sufficient accountability measures in place  It was the first time the United States called for punishment of military leaders behind the repression, but stopped short of threatening to reimpose US sanctions which were suspended under the Obama administration.

“We cannot be afraid to call the actions of the Burmese authorities what they appear to be - a brutal, sustained campaign to cleanse the country of an ethnic minority,” Haley told the UN Security Council, the first time Washington has echoed the UN’s accusation that the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people in Rakhine State was ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar rejects the accusations and has denounced rights abuses.

“The Burmese military must respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. Those who have been accused of committing abuses should be removed from command responsibilities immediately and prosecuted for wrongdoing,” Haley said.

“And any country that is currently providing weapons to the Burmese military should suspend these activities until sufficient accountability measures are in place,” Haley said.

Myanmar national security adviser Thaung Tun said at the United Nations on Thursday there was no ethnic cleansing or genocide happening in Myanmar. He told the Security Council that Myanmar had invited UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to visit. A UN official said Guterres would consider visiting Myanmar under the right conditions.