China urges others to avoid ‘complicating’ Myanmar dispute

Rohingya in a tent in Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh

China urged other governments yesterday to “constructively help” Myanmar and Bangladesh resolve the fate of Rohingya Muslims “instead of complicating the issue” after Myanmar blocked a visit by U.N. human rights official.

Events in Rakhine state, where more than 630,000 Rohingya fled a military crackdown, are an internal affair for Myanmar that “contains complicated historical, national and religious factors,” said a foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying.

“We think the international community should constructively help Myanmar and Bangladesh to solve the issue instead of complicating the issue,” said Hua at a regular briefing.

International rights groups blame the government and military for being unwilling to investigate possible wrongdoing by government officials and have urged the government to accept the assistance of international investigators.

The U.N. official, Yanghee Lee, said Wednesday that Myanmar’s government barred her from the country. She said officials told her that was in response to her criticism of official restrictions on her movement when she visited in July.

Lee, who was due to visit Myanmar in January, has had her access to the country revoked for the rest of her tenure, the U.N.’s human rights agency said.

“This declaration of non-cooperation with my mandate can only be viewed as a strong indication that there must be something terribly awful happening in Rakhine, as well as in the rest of the country,” she said in a statement, adding that she hopes the government will reconsider.

Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed last month that some Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh could start returning on about Jan. 21. A Bangladeshi official said Tuesday that might be delayed.

Human rights groups warn the Rohingya may face more violence if they are sent back.

The government of Buddhist-majority Myanmar has refused to accept Rohingya Muslims as a minority group, though they have lived in the country for generations. Rohingya were stripped of their citizenship in 1982. MDT/AP