Myanmar rejects UN 'ethnic cleansing' claim

Myanmar UN ambassador insisted Monday that there is no "ethnic cleansing" or genocide taking place against Muslims and objected "in the strongest terms" to countries that used those words to describe the situation in Rakhine State.Hau Do Suan used his "right of reply" at the end of the six-day gathering of world leaders at the General Assembly to respond to what he called "irresponsible remarks" and "unsubstantiated allegations" repeated by countries in their speeches to the 193-member world body.

He didn't identify any of the nations, though many spoke out about the plight of more than 420,000Rohingya Muslims who have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh since August 25, when Rohingyainsurgent attacks on security forces prompted a military crackdown and reprisals by majority Buddhists.

Among those who accused Myanmar of trying to rid itself of Rohingya were Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, and a number of Islamic countries, including the United Arab Emirates.

"There is no ethnic cleansing. There is no genocide," he said. "The leaders of Myanmar, who have long been striving for freedom and human rights, will not espouse such policies. We will do everything to prevent ethnic cleansing and genocide." He called the issue of Rakhine State "extremely complex" and urged UN member states and the international community "to see the situation in northern Rakhine objectively and in an unbiased manner."….Read More