On Wednesday, the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres addressed the crisis the Rohingya Muslims are facing in Rakhine state of Myanmar terming it “catastrophic.”
Guterres further added, “Grievances that have been left to fester for decades have now escalated beyond Myanmar’s borders, destabilizing the region.”
At an official address he said, “The humanitarian situation … is catastrophic.”
The de facto leader from Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi has cancelled her trip to the United Nations’ General Assemble this month as the crisis has been escalating.
Since August 25th, nearly 370,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled the country and gone to Bangladesh. The United Nations reported that on an average at least 20,000 people are moving per day.
Guterres demanded and said, “I call on the Myanmar authorities to suspend military action, end the violence, uphold the rule of law and recognize the right of return of all those who had to leave the country.”
He further instructed that the Rohingya Muslims, “must be granted nationality or, at least for now, a legal status that allows them to lead a normal life, including freedom of movement and access to labor markets, education and health services.”
The Myanmar government released an official statement on why Suu Kyi would be missing the 72nd U.N. General Assembly. Spokesman Zaw Htay gave two reasons, “One is the current situation in Rakhine state. We have terrorist attacks and also there are many works on public safety and humanitarian works.”
“And the second reason is we have received reports that there are possibilities of terrorist attacks in our country.”
Htay also informed that next Tuesday Suu Kyi will address the Rohingya crisis in a state of the union speech.
Read more: Bangladesh Prime Minister Lends a Hand to Rohingya Refugees
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