Pence Condemns Myanmar's Suu Kyi For Treatment Of Rohingya, Imprisoned Journalists
- by Leona Burton
- in World Media
- — Nov 15, 2018
Pence also said that Washington wanted to see a free and democratic press in Myanmar, and the jailing of two journalists previous year was "deeply troubling" for millions of Americans.
As she has, she again defended Myanmar in the face of Pence's stern words: "We understand our country better than any other country does".
Forcibly returning or expelling refugees and asylum seekers to their home country would violate worldwide law that forbids it to places where returnees face threats of persecution or their lives would be endangered, she said.
Amnesty criticized the Nobel laureate in a press release for failing to use her "political and moral authority" to safeguard human rights in the country, citing her "apparent indifference" to military atrocities in ethnic areas and "increasing intolerance of freedom of expression".
After the meeting, senior USA administration officials said Pence and Suu Kyi had discussed the importance of having Rohingya return home, but only on a voluntary basis, with safety and dignity. "I'm sure you will say the same of yours, that you understand your own country better than anybody else".
More news: Prince Charles turns 70 with party, new family photosSuu Kyi said only Myanmar was in a position to explain what happened and how it saw things, just as Americans could best understand what is happening there.
Pence also urged Suu Kyi to pardon the imprisoned journalists.
Burma's government and most of the nation's Buddhist majority claim the members of the Muslim minority are Bengalis who migrated illegally from Bangladesh, and do not acknowledge the Rohingya as a local ethnic group even though they have lived in Burma for generations.
The two countries agreed on October 30 to begin the returns in mid-November to Myanmar, also known as Burma.
The UN rights office said it continued to receive reports of ongoing violations against Rohingya still in Myanmar and urged Dhaka to reconsider.
More news: Pokemon Go Dev's Harry Potter Game, Wizards Unite, Gets First TrailerIt said 130,000 people, including many Rohingya, remain internally displaced in central Rakhine.
In Geneva, the United Nations human rights chief said Tuesday that Bangladesh should halt plans to repatriate over 2,200 of the Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, saying such a move would endanger their lives. But it did not call for a halt to the repatriation plans.
Despite the fact that the refugees have repeatedly said they do not wish to return under the current conditions, some 2,260 of them are scheduled to enter Myanmar from Cox's Bazar in the first repatriations starting Thursday.
More than 723,000 Rohingya have fled state-sponsored violence against their communities since August 2017.
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