Arakan News Agency
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen does not agree with the international focus being placed on the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar, saying it should be an internal issue for Myanmar alone, a senior minister said on Saturday.
“We do not agree with the internationalisation of the Rohingya issue, and according to the Asean Charter, no member has the right to interfere in the sovereignty of other member states,” Information Minister Khieu Kanharithth quoted the premier as saying during a meeting with Myanmar President Htin Kyaw.
The issue of the persecution of ethnic Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar has drawn considerable attention, especially from international rights watchdogs and other countries.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has been an outspoken critic of Myanmar’s handling of the Rohingya, and maintains that Asean has an obligation to speak out. However, some of his critics say his stand has more to do with shoring up his sagging political credibility among Muslims in his own country.
A report released Friday by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said crimes against humanity have potentially been committed against Rohingya in Myanmar’s conflict-riddled Rakhine State.
The report was based on interviews with people who recently fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, and found the majority had witnessed killings and many had family members who had been killed or were missing.
