- Title: Former U.N. head Annan urges rule of law amid Myanmar's Rohingya crisis
- Date: 6th December 2016
- Summary: YANGON, MYANMAR (DECEMBER 06, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** FORMER U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL AND CHAIRMAN OF ADVISORY COMMISSION ON RAKHINE STATE, KOFI ANNAN, WALKING IN THE PRESS ROOM ANNAN AND COMMISSION MEMBERS TAKING SEAT MEDIA IN THE PRESS ROOM ANNAN SEATED IN FRONT OF MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL, KOFI ANNAN, SAYING: "Wherever security operations might be necessary, civilians must be protected at all times and I urge the security services to act in full compliance of the rule of law." CAMERA (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL, KOFI ANNAN, SAYING: "The civilians also have their rights. They should be able to live their normal lives. In fact, I give an example that we can even deliver humanitarian assistance in a place like Syria. What I saw in northern Rakhine should allow for us to deliver humanitarian assistance while the military does its work." CAMERAMEN SHOOTING (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL, KOFI ANNAN, SAYING: "There is no trade-off between security and civil liberties. There is second balance which has to be respected." PRESS CONFERENCE ONGOING VARIOUS OF ANNAN LEAVING
- Embargoed: 21st December 2016 14:04
- Keywords: Kofi Annan security crackdown violence Myanmar Rohingya
- Location: YANGON, MYANMAR
- City: YANGON, MYANMAR
- Country: Myanmar
- Reuters ID: LVA0015BQW7K5
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Former U.N. chief Kofi Annan on Tuesday (December 6) urged Myanmar security forces to act within the rule of law in the country's northwest, where an army crackdown has killed at least 86 people and sent 10,000 fleeing over the border to Bangladesh.
The violence is the biggest challenge faced by Aung San Suu Kyi's eight-month-old government and has prompted calls for the Nobel Peace laureate to do more to help the Rohingya minority, who are denied citizenship and access to basic services.
"Wherever security operations might be necessary, civilians must be protected at all times and I urge the security services to act in full compliance of the rule of law," said Annan, who heads a government-appointed panel tasked with finding solutions to the conflict between Myanmar's Buddhists and the Muslim Rohingyas.
He was speaking to reporters in Yangon, the commercial capital, after meeting state counsellor Suu Kyi and commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing on his second visit to the country.
"The civilians also have their rights. They should be able to live their normal lives. In fact, I give an example that we can even deliver humanitarian assistance in a place like Syria. What I saw in northern Rakhine should allow for us to deliver humanitarian assistance while the military does its work," he said, adding: "There is no trade-off between security and civil liberties. There is second balance which has to be respected."
Myanmar authorities have rejected allegations by residents and rights groups that soldiers raped Rohingya women, burnt homes and killed civilians during a crackdown in response to coordinated attacks on three border posts along the frontier with Bangladesh.
Suu Kyi appointed the nine-member panel before the current fighting erupted to advise on the restive state, where ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and the Rohingya Muslims have lived separately since clashes in 2012 that killed more than 100 people.
More than 10,000 people had fled to Bangladesh in recent weeks, United Nations officials said last week. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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