Burma ‘must stop Rohingya abuse’
The US has called on Burma to stop persecuting its Rohingya Muslim minority, who have fled the country in their hundreds of thousands, BBC online reports Sunday.
On a visit to neighbouring Bangladesh, Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher said the Rohingyas treatment was “a matter of concern” to the US. Hundreds of Rohingya recently fled to Thailand in boats, but were cast adrift by the Thai authorities and many died.
Burmas military rulers do not recognise the Rohingya as Burmese. And refugees who have been arriving in Thailand and Indonesia have told how the military authorities there have beaten and abused them.
Many have shown scars on their bodies they claimed were caused by Burmese soldiers whipping them as a warning not to return to Burma.
According to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) some 230.000 Rohingya now live in Bangladesh, having fled decades of abuse by Burmas military rulers.
