TOKYO: Myanmar’s charismatic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said yesterday the estrangement of minority Muslims in her country was “a very sad state of affairs” and the community must be made to feel secure.
Sectarian violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmar killed 43 people last month. Thousands, mostly Muslims, were driven from their homes and businesses as bloodshed spread across the central region of one of Asia’s most diverse countries.
At a news conference during her visit to Japan, Suu Kyi, a devout Buddhist, said: “I’ve met Muslim leaders... It is very sad, because none of them has been to any other country apart from Burma (Myanmar). They did not feel they belonged anywhere and it was sad for them that they were made to feel that they didn’t belong in our country either.”
She also said the government should review Myanmar’s citizenship laws. Agencies
