Myanmar holds rare meeting over Rohingya crisis http://en.prothomalo.com/international/news/177321/Myanmar-holds-r...

Myanmar holds rare meeting over Rohingya crisis

AFP . Yangon | Update: 17:56, Jun 08, 2018

Myanmar's army and civilian leadership held a rare "national security" meeting on Friday and
discussed an internal investigation into the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine state, the president's
office said.

The meeting -- only the third of its kind since Aung San Suu Kyi's government took power in
2016 -- follows a deal to allow the UN to enter Rakhine to assess when refugees may be able
to return.

Some 700,000 of the Muslim minority have fled over the border to Bangladesh after the
military launched a violent crackdown on Rohingya insurgents last August that the UN and US
have called "ethnic cleansing".

Until this week's deal with the UN, Myanmar had dragged its feet for months over the
repatriation of the stateless minority, insisting the region is safe for their return but refusing
access to outsiders to evaluate conditions.

Pressure is also mounting from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is due to discuss
on June 20 whether to launch an investigation into the crackdown.

Myanmar, which denies the ethnic cleansing allegations, has dismissed the move, saying it is
not a signatory or member of the Rome Statute which underpins the ICC.

The country has said it will establish its own independent probe to investigate human rights
abuses.

Suu Kyi and commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing were among the 15 attendees at Friday's

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meeting in Naypyidaw, a Facebook post by the office of President Win Myint said.

It covered "national security and international relations including the crisis in

Rakhine state" and the formation of an "investigative commission" on Rakhine.

The select group last convened immediately after the 25 August attacks last year by
Rohingya militants which killed around a dozen border police and triggered the
army's campaign against the Rohingya.

Analysts say high-level meetings between the civilian government and military could
help smooth differences that perforate their power-sharing agreement.

Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a repatriation deal in November for the Rohingya
refugees.

But only around 1,000 refugees have been cleared for return, while virtually none
have gone back, demanding safety guarantees, citizenship and compensation for
razed villages and commandeered farmland.

Both countries have traded accusations over who is responsible for the delay.

New UN envoy Christine Schraner Burgener is expected to visit Myanmar shortly to

discuss the Rohingya crisis.

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