US envoy Power urges Myanmar action to stop Rakhine violence
Samantha Power urges Yangon to prevent religious violence between Buddhists and stateless Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine state
US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power on Thursday urged the Myanmar government to intervene in Rakhine State to stop violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Power’s remarks came after UN special adviser on Myanmar Vijay Nambiar briefed the 15-member UN Security Council on Thursday on the crisis in the country also known as Burma.
At least 237 have been killed in religious violence in Myanmar since June 2012 and more than 140,000 displaced, many of them stateless Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, one of Myanmar’s poorest regions that is home to 1 million Rohingya.
“We continue to support Burma’s reforms, but are greatly concerned that ... violence in Rakhine could worsen.”
UN officials have warned that the violence poses a serious threat to the country’s dramatic economic and political reforms as it emerges from a half century of military rule.
“We continue to support Burma’s reforms, but are greatly concerned that without effective government intervention violence in Rakhine could worsen, lives will be lost, and the critically needed humanitarian presence will not be sustainable,” Power said in a statement.
Aid agencies were forced to halt operations in Rakhine late last month when hundreds of ethnic Rakhine Buddhists destroyed staff homes, offices and warehouses as well as boats used to transport supplies.
Aid groups have long drawn the ire of some Rakhine Buddhists who accuse them of favouring the Rohingya. Humanitarian groups reject accusations of bias toward Muslims and many workers say they have been threatened and intimidated.