Senior UN relief official calls for end to discrimination against displaced Muslims in Myanmar

any of the Muslims displaced by inter-communal violence in Myanmar are still prevented from moving freely and often denied access to local hospitals, a senior United Nations humanitarian official said on Tuesday, calling for an end to such discriminatory practices.

More than 100,000 people remain displaced by the ongoing conflict in Kachin and northern Shan States, while some 120,000 Muslims, mainly Rohingya, and 5,000 ethnic Buddhists remain displaced following the inter-communal violence of 2012 in Rakhine state, said John Ging, Director of Operations for the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as he briefed the media in New York about his recent visit to the southeast Asian country.

Despite an impressive democratic transformation, which is unlocking significant economic growth and development, not everyone in Myanmar is benefiting in this transition, he said. (Courtesy of newkerala.com)