Bill Richardson quits Myanmar's 'whitewash' Rohingya crisis panel

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

#WORLD NEWS JANUARY 24, 2018 / 1:34 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO

Exclusive: Richardson quits Myanmar's 'whitewash' Rohingya crisis panel

Bill Tarrant
7 MIN READ

YANGON (Reuters) - Veteran U.S. diplomat Bill Richardson has resigned from an international panel set up by Myanmar to advise on the Rohingya crisis, saying it was conducting a “whitewash” and accusing the country’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi of lacking “moral leadership”.

Richardson, a former Clinton administration cabinet member, quit as the 10-member advisory board was making its first visit to western Rakhine State, from where nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled in recent months.

“The main reason I am resigning is that this advisory board is a whitewash,” Richardson told Reuters in an interview, adding he did not want to be part of “a cheerleading squad for the government”.

Richardson said he got into an argument with Suu Kyi during a meeting on Monday with other members of the board, when he brought up the case of two Reuters reporters who are on trial accused of breaching the country’s Officials Secrets Act.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-rohingya-richardson-exclusive/exclusive-richardson-quits-myanmars-whitewash-rohingya-crisis-panel-idUSKBN1FD2OJ

[applegrove]

1. Anthony Bourdain, I think it was him, interviewed a Buddhist monk in Myanmar

years ago for Parts Unknown. It was really surprising because the Buddhist monk was so anti Muslim. I was shocked at the time and thought this does not bode well. I can't remember what the monk said. But this hatred is longstanding.

[JI7]

2. this was cover of Time a few years ago

[applegrove]

3. There you go.

[mr_lebowski]

5. Guessing there's a decent chance that the Muslims are the larger assholes in the conflict ...

But I'd be keen to learn more.

Anytime I think to myself 'religion just universally sucks' ... then I think 'well, actually Buddhism seems reasonably cool'

Then I see something like this cover and wonder ... maybe there's NO decent religions left, and despite doing some good for some ... overall ... they really do ALL suck.

[applegrove]

6. Well some Islamic terrorists in Myanmar did kill police. So there is that.

You don't take it out on innocents though. That is genocide. And the Myanmar government says the people will be allowed back if they can prove citizenship. The Rohingya do not have papers. The government knows this and is obviously frighteningly detached from morals and the world community in spirit. Like a rabid dog wondering towards you slowly but with difficulty in orientation. So it is not just the Buddhist monks.

https://www.google.ca/amp/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/rohingya-burma-myanmar-muslim-attack-ambush-police-dead-machetes-rakhine-a7911601.html%3famp

Like you I had always had a generalization that Buddhists were always more than decent. I guess there are bad apples in every group.

[JI7]

4. GOOD