Myanmar’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs summoned Malaysian Ambassador Mohd. Haniff Bin Abd Rahman yesterday in response to the public rally led by the Malaysian prime minister on Sunday that accused the Myanmar government of perpetrating genocide and ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya.
According to a press release from the ministry, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs U Kyaw Tin expressed dismay to the ambassador over the rally and said the prime minister’s claims were “unverified” and “unsubstantiated”.
The minister also advised the ambassador “not to be misled by disinformation campaigns waged by certain groups with ulterior motives against Myanmar”.
The Myanmar minister insisted that his government is making “strenuous efforts” to resolve the issue in Rakhine State and cited the appointment of Kofi Annan and the Rakhine State Advisory Commission and the Investigation Commission, which is led by Vice President Myint Swe – a former lieutenant general who executed the crackdown against the Saffron Revolution in 2007, resulting in the deaths of between 80 and 110 civilians, according to the UN special rapporteur at the time.
The minister called for international assistance in “building better relations between the two communities” in Rakhine State instead of “unverified allegations that will only cause bigger problems than solutions”.
Read the full press release below:
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