Myanmar is Deeply Concerned regarding Rakhine Evacuation: VP of Myanmar

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The Vice-President of Myanmar Henry Van Thio said that its government is deeply concerned regarding the evacuation of people from Rakhine state into Bangladesh. He delivered his words at the UN General Assembly and said that Myanmar has initiated an investigation into a problem of significant magnitude. But he repeated the government line that the reason for the upheaval was unclear and that the great majority of the Muslim community had stayed behind. De facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has also downplayed the crisis this week. She is facing an increasing criticism after she delivered a speech in Myanmar on Tuesday that did not address allegations of rampant rights abuses by the army against the mostly Muslim Rohingya minority in Rakhine. She said more than half of Rakhine’s Muslims had stayed, but the Myanmar government didn’t use the term Rohingya.

VP of Myanmar

Suu Kyi also claimed that there had been no acts of violence or village clearances since 5 September 2017, which has been widely disputed. Van Thio repeated this view on Wednesday and said that he is happy to inform you that the situation has been improved. He attended the UN General Assembly in place of Aung San Suu Kyi because she refused to attend the General Assembly in order to handle and control the crisis. He also said that there are not just Muslims but other minority groups had fled, and armed forces had been told to take full measures to prevent collateral damage and harming of innocent civilians. He also said that aid would be distributed without any discrimination. Point to be noted that the Rohingya people don’t have citizenship in Myanmar and are widely neglected. At least 400 thousand have fled from Rakhine to neighboring Bangladesh amid a military crackdown. The armed operation was launched shortly after a 25th August attack on police posts by Rohingya militants.