YANGON, July 29: The United Nations expert on human rights in Myanmar
arrived in the country late Sunday, days after the UN voiced fears that
efforts to end unrest in Rakhine state had turned into a crackdown on
Muslims.
UN Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana flew into the
main city of Yangon for a visit set to include a trip to the restive
western state as well as meetings with Myanmar`s president and civil
society.It comes after a warning by UN human rights chief Navi Pillay
that Muslim communities in Rakhine, particularly the Rohingya minority,
were being targeted by security forces.
`We have been receiving a
stream of reports from independent sources alleging discriminatory and
arbitrary responses by security forces, and even their instigation of
and involvement in clashes,` she said in a statement Friday.
Quintana
says that Myanmarhas made `significant` progress on reforms under
President Thein Sein, who came to power last year, but said the country
faced `ongoing human rights challenges` Violence between Buddhist ethnic
Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities erupted in early June and have
left at least 78 people dead and 70,000 homeless, according to official
figures.
Unofficial estimates of the death toll were higher, the UN said.
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