Sunday, August 5, 2012

Myanmar Murdering Its Muslims

They must not be toeing the line because it's been ignored for so long.

"Group alleges atrocities in Myanmar" Associated Press, August 02, 2012

SITTWE, Myanmar — A human rights group said Myanmar government forces opened fire in June on crowds of ethnic Rohingya in a campaign of violence during recent sectarian strife, as a UN envoy visited the area Wednesday to investigate the unrest.

Human Rights Watch called for a strong international response to ‘‘atrocities’’ committed during fighting in June between Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya. The violence in western Myanmar that left 78 people dead has subsided, but tens of thousands remain homeless.

The official spokesman for Rakhine state rejected the group’s criticism of the government’s response to the violence. Win Myaing said that allegations that government forces stood and watched as violence wracked the area were ‘‘absolutely untrue.’’

‘‘Security conditions obviously improved day by day when government forces were deployed to control the situation,’’ Win Myaing said.

The report coincided with a visit by UN human rights envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana to Rakhine state. His evaluation of the conflict is likely to be regarded as a yardstick for measuring the reforms undertaken by elected President Thein Sein after Myanmar ended decades of military rule.

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"UN official asks rights investigation

YANGON— A United Nations human rights expert called Saturday for an independent investigation into recent bloody sectarian violence in Rakhine state, which he said was one of many human rights challenges facing the country (AP)."

I'll bet I know just the lady who can solve the problem:

"Clinton, business leaders meet with Myanmar president" by Bradley Klapper  |  Associated Press, July 14, 2012

SIEM REAP, Cambodia — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton declared Myanmar open to American investment Friday, introducing the reformist president to leaders of some of the biggest US corporations, including Coca Cola, Ford Motor Co., General Electric, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, and Google, and prodding him to do more to expand democracy in his long-reclusive country....

That's right, Americans; the U.S. government is a business agent for large multinationals.

In their talk, Thein Sein told Clinton he would manage his country’s expected new wealth responsibly, sharing it among its people, said a US official who was present at their meeting and who spoke on condition of anonymity because of its private nature.  

Bankers and their representatives never like hearing that. And now the U.N. calls for a human rights investigation?

Although the spotlight was on business, Clinton also pressed Thein Sein on human rights issues, said the official, specifically raising the fate of a Muslim ethnic group in western Myanmar.

I'll bet we have killed more Muslims than them with our illegal and immoral invasions and missile attacks!

The Rohingyas have been the target of discrimination, and tensions with Rakhine Buddhists last month exploded into violence that left at least 78 people dead and tens of thousands homeless.

Clinton stressed that the United States considers the Rohingya ‘‘internally displaced persons.’’

Do they consider Palestinians the same?

Thein Sein this past week had proposed that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees resettle the Rohingya in a third country or take responsibility for them, a suggestion rejected by the United Nations as unsuitable....  

Why?

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I notice Suu Kyi's name never came up. 

Related: Thein Sein Steamed at Suu Kyi

I guess Clinton does have some tact.