Annan later visited Rakhine and Rohingya camps in Thetkabyin village outside of Sittwe.
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Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, centre, is escorted by local authorities as he arrives in Sittwe.
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi expressed confidence Monday that former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and a commission he is leading to resolve religious conflict in western Rakhine state will help heal the “wounds of our people”, even as the state’s most powerful political party refused to meet with the panel.
Since the government announced his chairmanship of the new commission late last month, Annan has been the focus of criticism from Rakhine nationalist groups, who say a resolution to the state’s ongoing citizenship impasse and chronic underdevelopment should be devised without worldwide involvement.
According to Associated Press, members of the state’s dominant Arakan National Party and the Rakhine Women Network led the protest.
The report said that Kofi Annan’s plane was greeted by jeers and chants, which only intensified as his convoy made its way into town.
“Because of the conflict, we have been suffering for more than four years”, he said.
“I don’t know exactly what this group is and what they are doing, but I came here to protest as I don’t like them to come here”, local Rakhine Buddhist resident May Phyu was quoted saying.
Salema Khatu reacts after seeing a photograph of her son, Habil, who died in an area for Muslim refugees in north of Sittwe, Myanmar.
Many Buddhists in Rakhine and across Myanmar consider Rohingya to be Bangladeshis living in the country illegally, though the ethnic group has been in Myanmar for generations.
But the Ghanaian diplomat’s arrival Wednesday at several decrepit camps outside the state capital Sittwe, where tens of thousands of people – mostly Muslims – languish after being displaced by religious violence, was largely met with curiosity.
The plight of the Rohingya has raised questions about Myanmar leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s commitment to human rights and represents a politically sensitive issue for her National League for Democracy, which won a landslide election victory previous year.
The invitation reinforces Suu Kyi’s primacy on the global stage as the real head of a government that she is technically barred from leading.
“You will be able to assess for yourself the roots of the problems, but not in one day, not in one week”.
“I can assure you, and the people of Rakhine, that the advisory commission will deploy every effort with rigorous impartiality to find and propose ways to address these challenges”, he said.
The meeting, also attended Union Minister Kyaw Tint Swe of the Ministry of State Counsellor’s Office and commission members, was held at the National Reconciliation and Peace Centre.
“Rakhine state is in Myanmar and our country has its own sovereignty and there is no way we can accept a commission that is formed by foreigners”, ANP official Aung Than Wai said Tuesday. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
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