UN Officials: Myanmar is Attempting Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya

As violence against the Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar continues, a UN official has accused the government of the country of attempting "ethnic cleansing." According to John McKissick, the representative of the UN Refugee Agency in Bangladesh, approximately 300,000 members of the Rohingya ethnic group have fled to Bangladesh following a military assault in November. In an interview with the BBC on Friday, December 5, Mr. McKissick stated that Myanmar's military is engaged in "killing men" of this minority group, "butchering children," "raping women," and "burning their homes," forcing them to cross the river to reach Bangladesh. The French news agency reported on the latest developments regarding the violence against Rohingya Muslims, stating that Bangladesh has so far resisted international calls to open its borders, insisting that Myanmar must take further action to prevent this minority group from entering Bangladesh. John McKissick remarked, "It is very difficult for the Bangladeshi government to say it has opened its borders because such an action would encourage the Myanmar government to commit more atrocities and would mean they would not stop until they achieve their ultimate goal of cleansing the Muslim minority in Myanmar." However, the statements from this UN official prompted criticism from the spokesperson for Myanmar's President. Zaw Htay told the French news agency, "UN staff must adhere to professional principles and ethics. They should speak based on objective realities, not just make accusations." This is not the first time the Myanmar government has faced such accusations. About three years ago, Human Rights Watch stated that Myanmar was seeking to cleanse the Rohingya Muslims, an accusation that Myanmar officials denied. Human Rights Watch reports that just last week, around a thousand houses belonging to Rohingya Muslims in northwestern Myanmar were burned and destroyed. The Myanmar army has denied involvement in this matter, blaming the Rohingya Muslims themselves. In this context, violence in Myanmar has displaced over "22,000" Muslims. Human Rights Watch described the violence in Myanmar as "ethnic cleansing." The UN issued a resolution in support of Myanmar's Muslims. Aung San Suu Kyi's party decisively won the elections in Myanmar.