Burma has told a UN rights envoy that it rejects accusations of abuse by security forces in the wake of communal unrest in western Rakhine State.

The United Nations had raised fears of a crackdown on Muslims following violent conflict between the minority Muslim Rohingya community and the Buddhists in early June.

In a press conference attended by UN Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana, Burma's foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin said the government had exercised "maximum restraint" in bringing an end to the violence.

He says Burma "totally rejects the attempts by some quarters to politicise and internationalise this situation as a religious issue".

On Tuesday Mr Quintana plans to visit Rakhine, where tens of thousands still remain displaced by fighting that erupted between Buddhist and Muslim communities in early June.

According to official figures, at least 77 people were killed in the unrest, including eight killed by security forces.

Of the more than 60,000 displaced, Burmese officials say the vast majority, around 53,000 are Muslims.

Burma considers the estimated 800,000 Rohingya in the country to be foreigners while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and view them with hostility.

Fears about their situation have spread across the Islamic world, with threats of violent reprisals against Burma from extremists.

Earlier this month, President Thein Sein told the United Nations that refugee camps or deportation was the "solution" for the Rohingya.

Mr Quintana is set to meet the Burmese leader in the capital Naypyidaw on Friday.

AFP



