May 3, 2017
State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday rejected a decision by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate atrocities committed by the Tatmadaw and other forces during the recent clearance operation in Northern Maungdaw.
“We do not agree with it,” Suu Kyi told a press conference in Brussels, in the presence of high ranking EU officials. She elaborated that the decision by the top UN human rights body has not taken into account ‘ground realities’, and thus Myanmar has chosen to disassociate itself from the decision.
She also said the recommendations by the UNHRC would further divide the Muslims and Rakhine Buddhists in the restive region.
About a month earlier, Tatmadaw chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing gave a speech on anniversary day saying it was their duty to prevent the UN investigation as it violated the sovereignty of the country.
The statement by the army general, widely regarded as one of the most powerful figures in the regime came days after the UNHRC agreed to dispatch a fact finding mission to the affected region of Maungdaw.
It is not clear how the investigation will proceed in face of strong defiance by the regime.
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