Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu KyiMyanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticised and she is facing mounting international pressure for her handling of violence in Rakhine state and the Rohingya refugee crisis.
In a speech on Tuesday, the de facto leader condemned rights abuses going on around the world but did not blame the army or address allegations of ethnic cleansing in her country.
Leaders and diplomats from several countries have since expressed strong disappointment with her stance.
More than 400,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since late August.
The latest unrest in troubled Rakhine was sparked by deadly attacks on police stations across the state last month, blamed on a newly emerged militant group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa).
Scores of people were killed in an ensuing military crackdown and there are widespread allegations of villages being burned and Rohingya being driven out.
The Rohingya, a mostly Muslim minority, are denied citizenship by the Myanmar government, which says they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. It refers to them as Bengali Muslims.
In her first national address on the recent crisis, Ms Suu Kyi said there had been no clashes or clearance operations in the northern state since Sept. 5 contrary to what was going on.
The Burmese military says its operations in Rakhine are aimed at rooting out militants, and has repeatedly denied targeting civilians. Witnesses, refugees and journalists have contested this.
Read more: BBC
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