Aung San Suu Kyi will head a new committee dedicated to restoring peace and stability to troubled Rakhine state, in western Myanmar.
The area has been a hotbed of tension since intercommunal violence broke out between the Buddhist majority and ethnic Rohingya Muslim minority in 2012. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were subsequently confined to internal displacement camps and villages.
Suu Kyi has been widely criticized internationally over her perceived inaction on the plight of those living in desperate conditions, denied citizenship by both Myanmar and neighboring Bangladesh.
According to an announcement from the President’s Office yesterday, the Rakhine State Stability, Peace and Development Implementation Committee will consist of four sub-committees tackling law enforcement, immigration and citizen identification, relocation and socio-economic development and coordination of UN agencies and international NGOs.
