UN chief expresses shock at Myanmar army chief’s anti-Rohingya comments

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 27 (APP):UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced Myanmar’s army chief after he declared that Rohingya Mulims had nothing in common with the country’s other ethnic groups.
“The secretary-general is shocked at reports of remarks attributed to Myanmar Senior General U Min Aung Hlaing,” Farhan Haq, a United Nations spokesman, said in a statement.
At the gathering in northern Kachin state on Monday, Gen, Hlaing referred to the Rohingya as “Bengalis,” a term meant to describe them as foreigners, and said they “do not have the characteristics or culture in common with the ethnicities of Myanmar.”
“He (UN chief) urges all leaders in Myanmar to take a unified stance against incitement to hatred and to promote communal harmony,” the spokesman said.
According to Farhan Haq, the UN chief asserted that such leadership is critically needed to advance institutional measures to combat discrimination and implement the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission.

“The Secretary-General reiterates the importance of addressing the root causes of the violence and the responsibility of the Government of Myanmar to provide security and assistance to those in need,” the spokesperson added.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have been driven into neighbouring Bangladesh since last August in the wake of a military crackdown in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine state.
“It is critical that conditions are put in place to ensure that the Rohingya are able to return home voluntarily, in safety and in dignity,” the spokesman said.