By John Keating
PARIS, Sept 15 (KUNA) -- As 400,000 Rohingya Muslims have been forced to leave their native Myanmar, due to repression by the Burmese military and Buddhists militias, France has stepped up its call for the military and government in Rangoon to stop the violence.
The Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar has been the target of brutal repression and many have been obliged to flee their villages, burned down by the military and militias, and flee in disastrous conditions to Bangladesh, which is ill-equipped to handle the influx.
The UN's Human Rights Council has labelled the repression "genocide" and there are more and more outcries against what is being called "a crime against humanity." "France renews its strong call on the Burmese security forces to stop the violence and assure the protection of civilian populations, without discrimination, as they have this responsibility to carry out," French Foreign Ministry Deputy Press Director Helene Roos told KUNA in exclusive comments on Friday.
Roos recalled previous strong statement by Europe and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian who on September 14th expressed concern about the humanitarian situation of the Rohingyas.
"France is very concerned by the deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation of the Rohingyas in Myanmar," Le Drian declared.
"We have called several times for a halt to the violence, for free access of humanitarian aid and for the security of populations," he added.
Roos also indicated that the issue has been brought before the UN Security Council by Britain and Sweden.
She told KUNA that the "excessive violence" against the Rohingyas was "unanimously condemned" and Myanmar was urged to respect its commitments on humanitarian aid and adopt the recommendations of a UN report on the Rohingyas relative their status in Myanmar, where they are denied recognition and identity papers or nationality and are deprived of access to public services.
While the UN Security Council condemned Myanmar's behavior, there is no indication yet that a UNSC resolution imposing sanctions on this country is being considered and it is unclear how much prominence this catastrophe will get at the UN General Assembly next week in New York. (end) jk.mb