Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi breaks silence on Rohingya crisis: Do not fear international scrutiny, condemn all rights violations

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's de facto leader, today told her compatriots in a State of the Union Address that her government does not fear "international scrutiny" of the Rohingya crisis, and that she condemned all rights violations.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have left Buddhist-majority Myanmar since August 25, fleeing a military response to deadly attacks by Rohingya insurgents on police posts and an army camp.

While Myanmar has said its forces are carrying out clearance operations against the insurgents of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, Rohingyas and rights monitors blame the exodus on what they say is a campaign aimed at driving out the Muslim population.

Rohingyas claim they're natives of the Burmese province of Rakhine, but Myanmar does not consider them as citizens.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, did not comment on the military operations except to say that since Sept 5, there had been "no armed clashes and there have been no clearance operations".

"We want to find out why this exodus is happening. We would like to talk to those who have fled as well as those who have stayed. I think it is very little known a great majority of Muslims in the Rakhine state have not joined the exodus."

She announced that Myanmar was ready to start a refugee verification process for those Rohingya Muslims who wished to return home. She said Naypyidaw (Myammar's capital) was making every effort to restore peace and stability in Rakhine province.

'CULPRITS WILL BE PUNISHED' 

As the world watched, Suu Kyi said her country felt "deeply for the "suffering of all groups in Rakhine," and was concerned by news of an exodus of Muslims to Bangladesh.

There have been allegations and counter allegations, and Myanmar's government will listen to them all, and punish the culprits irrespective of their race or religion, Suu Kyi said.

"We don't want Myanmar to be a nation divided by religious beliefs or ethnicities. Hate and fear are (the) main scourges," she said.

Suu Kyi invited members of the international community to visit Rohingya villages, and said a central committee had been constituted to enforce the rule of law and spur development in Rakhine.

"We have invited (former UN Secretary General) Dr Kofi Annan to lead a commission that would help us resolve long-standing problems," she said.

(Inputs from agencies)

VIDEO: Here's what the Narendra Modi government told the Supreme Court yesterday about Rohingya refugees in India.