Mike Pence tells Aung San Suu Kyi that violence against the Rohingyas is "without excuse"

published

November 15, 2018 17:16:07

US Vice President Mike Pence has confronted Myanmar de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi at the ASEAN Summit on the measures taken to hold the perpetrators of the persecution of the Rohingya ethnic minority in his country accountable.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas have fled Myanmar since August 2017.

"It's a tragedy that has touched the hearts of millions of Americans," said Mr. Pence.

An independent investigative mission created by the UN Human Rights Council detailed crimes against the ethnic minority, including murder, rape, persecution and slavery.

"The violence and the persecutions perpetrated by the army and the forces of the order which resulted in 700,000 Rohingya in Bangladesh are without excuse," Pence told the assembled leaders.

"I look forward to hearing about the progress you are making, empowering those responsible for the violence that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, creating such suffering, including loss of life. "

The vice president said he also wanted to hear about the repatriation of Rohingyas who had fled to Bangladesh, which should start today, despite fears that it is still not safe for them to go home.

"People have different points of view": Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi, who has faced many criticisms for her handling of the Rohingya situation, told Mike Pence that she welcomed further talks.

"Of course, people have different points of view, but the fact is that we should exchange these points of view and learn to understand each other better," she said.

"We understand our country better than any other country … so we are in a better position to explain what happened, how we see things unfold.

"And we invite all friends to help us and support us in all that we do to make our country a safer and more prosperous place for all."

Repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh camps in Myanmar is supposed to be voluntary, but the UN says the families he spoke to do not want to be fired.

"Families in the camps are scared, many of them have fled their homes to escape this repatriation agreement," said Francisco Bencosme, advocacy officer for Amnesty International for Asia-Pacific.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, called for a halt to the process, saying it "caused terror and panic" in Cox's camps Bazaar.

"If we get our rights, we will return with pleasure, we could move now," said a refugee living in one of the camps.

"We have endured a lot of pain and if we go back to face the same thing, then why should we go?"

Mr. Bencosme told AM that the process lacked transparency.

"After all we heard, the Rohingyas were not consulted about this repatriation agreement," he said.

"Returning refugees to a place where their rights will continue to be violated and where their lives will be constantly threatened, where many of the people who have burned their villages will be living alongside them is extremely unacceptable to Amnesty International. "

Volker Turk, UNHCR's Deputy High Commissioner for Protection, said it was crucial that Rohingya refugees could make a free and informed choice about their wish to return to Myanmar.

"We are not there yet, we have not been able to confirm this desire to return people," he told RN Breakfast.

Volker said there were about 125,000 stateless Rohingyas confined to IDP camps in Rakhine State, Myanmar, where refugees will be repatriated.

"It would be better if they were the first ones to go home, that their freedom of movement was not restricted, that they could get documentation in hand and that they would get out of their lives."

"But this is not the case now," he said.

Volker said the Myanmar government needs to work in more favorable conditions for return, "but progress has been rapid."

Topics:

world politics,

international law,

human rights,

unrest-conflict-and-war

Burma,

bangladesh,

United States