News Detail
UN alarmed at Myanmar Muslim crackdown
GENEVA: The UN human rights chief warned Friday that an initial move by Myanmar security forces to quash violence in the restive Rakhine state has turned into a crackdown against Muslim minorities.
"We have been receiving a stream of reports from independent sources alleging discriminatory and arbitrary responses by security forces, and even their instigation of and involvement in clashes," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement.
"Reports indicate that the initial swift response of the authorities to the communal violence may have turned into a crackdown targeting Muslims, in particular members of the Rohingya community."
Clashes between Buddhist ethnic Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities which erupted early June in the western Myanmar state has left at least 78 people dead and 70,000 homeless, Pillay's office said, according to official figures.
Unofficial estimates of the death toll were higher, her office added.
Pillay urged the government to "prevent and punish violent acts" and said she was dismayed at the derogatory language used against the Rohingya by state and some independent media, as well as by some users of social networking websites.
While welcoming Myanmar's invitation to UN investigator Tomas Ojea Quintana to visit from July 30 to August 4, Pillay said it was "no substitute for a fully-fledged independent investigation" into the Rakhine violence.
She also pointed out that it was "important that those affected from all communities in Rakhine are able to speak freely" to Quintana.
An estimated 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar, and the government considers them to be foreigners while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and view them with hostility. (AFP)
Highlights
-
Sharif seeks improved relations with Kabul
KABUL: Following his landslide victory in Pakistan’s parliamentary elections, Mian Nawaz Sharif on Sunday promised efforts at improving Islamabad-Kabul relations. In recent weeks, ties between.... READ MORE
-
Taliban free 4 of 8 Turkish engineers
KABUL: The Taliban have freed four of the Turkish engineers they had kidnapped last month in central Logar province, Afghan and Turkish officials said on Sunday. On April 21, the Taliban kidnapp.... READ MORE
-
MPs suggest rethink on Pakistan policy
KABUL: Members of the Meshrano Jirga -- or upper house of the parliament -- on Sunday said the incoming Pakistan government would not help Afghanistan and asked the Karzai administration to revie.... READ MORE
-
Karzai hopes new Pak govt to help fight terror
KABUL: President Hamid Karzai on Sunday telephoned Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) chief Mian Nawaz Sharif and congratulated him his “clear victory” in the elections. Karzai described Sharifâ.... READ MORE
-
Iranian guards’ fire being probed: Musazai
KABUL: The Foreign Ministry said it was dispatching a delegation to Iran on Sunday to investigate reported casualties among Afghans at the hands of Iranian guards near the shared border. At leas.... READ MORE
-
Balochs vow to resist aggression
KABUL: The Council of Baloch Elders of Afghanistan on Sunday voiced their support for the government in guarding the country's borders against Pakistani intrusions. At a meeting with President H.... READ MORE
-
Hundreds rally against Pakistan, Iran
FARAH CITY: Hundreds of people, mostly former jihadi leaders, on Sunday rallied against Pakistan and Iran, accusing the neighbouring countries of killing and torturing innocent Afghans. Nearly 5.... READ MORE
-
Abducted MDC workers shifted to Tirah
JALALABAD: The eleven employees of a mine-clearing organisation, who were abducted from the Achin district of Nangarhar province, have been taken to Pakistan’s northwestern Tirah Valley, offici.... READ MORE
Clippings
Iran and blame the victim game
Tehran is continuously interfering in Afghanistan and pressurizing Kabul under one pretext or the other. Iran’s meddling into our internal affairs while giving it name of concern as Tehran did it recently when its ambassa...
