SINGAPORE : Myanmar’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi was trying to “defend the indefensible” over alleged atrocities committed by the country’s military against minority Rohingya Muslims, says Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad as reported by Reuters.
Dr. Mahathir said that when asked on how Myanmar and Suu Kyi had been dealing with the Rohingya crisis after he delivered his speech in Singapore on Tuesday (Nov 13).
Dr. Mahathir added, it would seem that Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to defend what is indefensible.
“They are actually oppressing these people to the point of killing them, mass killing.”
A United Nations report in August detailed a military crackdown with genocidal intent that began in 2017 and drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh.
However Myanmar has denied most of the allegations in the report.
In another development, Suu Kyi has previously said her civilian government should not bear responsibility for the crisis because under the Constitution the military retains a powerful political role.
According to a statement prepared for the 33rd ASEAN Summit in Singapore, South-East Asian nations will call for those responsible for atrocities in Myanmar’s Rakhine state to be held “fully accountable”, and this reflects a stronger stand being taken within the group.
