Myanmar rebuffs Malaysia for organizing OIC meeting on Rohingya

Myanmar rebuffed Malaysia on Saturday for organizing a meeting of Muslim governments to put pressure on Myanamar over the plight of Rohingya Muslims following a military crackdown that sent at least 66,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.

Hosting a meeting of representatives from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Thursday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak called on Myanmar to stop attacking, and discriminating against the Rohingya minority.

Najib urged the OIC, which groups 57 Muslim nations, to act to end the unfolding "humanitarian tragedy".

In response, Myanmar, a mostly Buddhist country, said it was "regrettable" that Malaysia had called the meeting, and accused Kuala Lumpur of exploiting the crisis "to promote a certain political agenda" and disregard for the government's efforts to address it. (Courtesy of reuters.com)

U.N. rights expert criticizes Myanmar over Rohingya crackdown

A United Nations human rights investigator on Friday criticized Myanmar's crackdown on the Rohingya Muslim minority and urged the military to respect the law and human rights.

Authorities say the military launched a security sweep in response to what they say was an attack in October by Rohingya insurgents on border posts near Myanmar's border with Bangladesh in which nine police officers were killed.

Since then, at least 86 people have been killed and the United Nations says at least 65,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh.

Residents and refugees accuse the military of killing, raping and detaining civilians while burning villages in northwestern Rakhine State. (Courtesy of reuters.com)