U.S. calls Myanmar operation against Rohingya 'ethnic cleansing'

A Rohingya refugee child carries firewood in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, November 21, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

  WASHINGTON, November 22 (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday labeled the Myanmar military operation against the Rohingya population "ethnic cleansing" and said it would consider targeted sanctions against those responsible.   Referring to "horrendous atrocities" against the Rohingya, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement, "After a careful and thorough analysis of available facts, it is clear that the situation in northern Rakhine state constitutes ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya."   Although a top UN official in September described the military actions as a textbook case of "ethnic cleansing," Tillerson left Myanmar, also known as Burma, after a visit last week without using the label. [caption id="attachment_317194" align="aligncenter" width="800"] In this Nov. 4, 2017, photo, Rohingya Muslim Abdul Karim, 19, uses a yellow plastic oil container as a flotation device as he swims the Naf river while crossing the Myanmar-Bangladesh border in Shah Porir Dwip, Bangladesh. Rohingya Muslims escaping the violence in their homeland of Myanmar are now so desperate that some are swimming to safety in neighboring Bangladesh, even if they have never been in the water before. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_317347" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Rohingya refugees walk after crossing the Naf River with an improvised raft to reach to Bangladesh in Teknaf, Bangladesh, November 12, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain[/caption] [caption id="attachment_314687" align="aligncenter" width="780"] Rohingya refugees shelter from the rain as they wait to receive permission from the Bangladeshi army to continue their way after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, at a port in Teknaf, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Hannah McKay[/caption] [caption id="attachment_312898" align="aligncenter" width="3500"] Mohsin, 1, a Rohingya refugee boy who crossed the border from Myanmar this week, cries on the floor of the Seagull Primary School in Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, October 27, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay[/caption] [caption id="attachment_312202" align="aligncenter" width="780"] A Rohingya refugee family sits in a queue as they wait to receive humanitarian aid at Kutupalong refugee camp near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi[/caption] [caption id="attachment_311136" align="aligncenter" width="780"] Rohingya refugees, who crossed the border from Myanmar two days before, walk after they received permission from the Bangladeshi army to continue on to the refugee camps, in Palang Khali, near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
REUTERS/Jorge Silva[/caption] [caption id="attachment_311133" align="aligncenter" width="780"] A Rohingya refugee woman who crossed the border from Myanmar a day before, carries her daughter and searches for help as they wait to receive permission from the Bangladeshi army to continue their way to the refugee camps, in Palang Khali, Bangladesh.
REUTERS/Jorge Silva[/caption] His statement made clear the U.S. stance has shifted.   "These abuses by some among the Burmese military, security forces, and local vigilantes have caused tremendous suffering and forced hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children to flee their homes in Burma to seek refuge in Bangladesh," he said.   The United States supports an independent investigation into what happened in Rakhine state and will pursue actions including possible targeted sanctions, Tillerson said.   "Those responsible for these atrocities must be held accountable," he said.   Human rights monitors have accused Myanmar’s military of atrocities, including mass rape, against the stateless Rohingya during so-called clearance operations following Rohingya militants’ attacks on 30 police posts and an army base.   More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Rakhine state in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, mostly to neighboring Bangladesh, since the crackdown, which followed the Aug. 25 insurgent attacks.   Pressure had mounted for a tougher U.S. response to the Rohingya crisis before President Donald Trump's maiden visit to Asia this month to attend a summit of Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, in Manila.   U.S. government sources told Reuters in October that officials were preparing a recommendation for Tillerson that would define the military-led campaign against the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing, which could spur new sanctions.   In early November, U.S. lawmakers proposed targeted sanctions and travel restrictions on military officials in Myanmar.   Democratic U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, part of a congressional delegation that visited Rakhine this week, told reporters there on Tuesday, "This has all the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing."   Myanmar's 2-year-old government, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has faced heavy international criticism for its response to the crisis, though it has no control over the generals it has to share power with in the country’s transition to civilian power after decades of military rule. [caption id="attachment_314187" align="aligncenter" width="900"] Pope Francis arrives during his Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi[/caption]

Pope to meet head of Myanmar army, Rohingya refugees: Vatican

  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis will meet the head of Myanmar's army and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, both late additions to a tour of the two countries next week.   Human rights monitors and U.N. officials have accused Myanmar's military of atrocities, including mass rape, against the stateless Rohingya during operations that followed insurgent attacks on 30 police posts and an army base.   Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said on Wednesday that the pope would meet army head Senior General Min Aung Hlaing on Nov. 30 in a church residence in Yangon.   Myanmar Cardinal Charles Maung Bo had talks with the pope in Rome on Saturday and suggested that he add a meeting with the general to the schedule for a trip that is proving to be one of the most politically sensitive since Francis was elected in 2013. Both the pope and the general agreed.   Some 600,000 Rohingya refugees, most of them Muslim and from Myanmar's northern Rakhine state, have fled to Bangladesh.   Burke said a small group of Rohingya refugees would be present at an inter-religious meeting for peace in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka on Dec 1.   Myanmar's government has denied most of the claims of atrocities against the Rohingya, and the army last week said its own investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing by troops.   The pope will separately meet the country's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in the capital Naypyitaw, on Nov. 28 in an encounter that was already on the schedule.   Briefing reporters on the trip, Burke gave no details of how the Rohingya who will meet the pope would be chosen. A source in Dhaka said the refugees would be able to tell the pope about their experiences.   Both events were not on the original schedule of the Nov. 26-Dec. 2 trip.   Bo, the cardinal from Myanmar, has advised the pope not to use the word Rohingya while in Myanmar because it is incendiary in the country where they are not recognised as an ethnic group.   Burke said the pope took the advice seriously but added: "We will find out together during the trip ... it is not a forbidden word".