UN investigators demand 'full, unfettered' access to Myanmar
UN human rights investigators on Tuesday said they needed "full and unfettered" access to Myanmar to probe a grave and ongoing crisis, urging the government to rethink its rejection of the probe.
"It is important for us to see with our own eyes the sites of these alleged violations," the head of UN-backed fact-finding mission, Marzuki Darusman, told the Human Rights Council, asking for "full and unfettered access to the country".
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. "There is a grave humanitarian crisis underway that requires urgent attention," added Darusman, who is leading an investigation that Myanmar has vowed to reject.
Earlier in a televised address to the nation, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi today condemned any human rights violations in troubled Rakhine State and said anyone responsible would face the law, and that she felt deeply for the suffering of everyone caught up in the conflict there.
She said Myanmar did not fear international scrutiny and was committed to a sustainable solution to the strife. The United Nations has branded the military operation in the western state ethnic cleansing.
Suu Kyi did not address that accusation but said her government was committed to the rule of law.
The Nobel Peace laureate's remarks came in her first address to the nation since attacks by Rohingya Muslim insurgents on August 25 sparked a military response that has forced more than 410,000 Rohingya into neighbouring Bangladesh.
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