United Nations: More than a dozen Nobel laureates urged the United Nations to "end the human crisis" of Myanmar's Rohingya minority group, whose members have been fleeing to Bangladesh to escape a bloody military crackdown.
In an open letter addressed to the UN Security Council, 23 Nobel laureates, politicians, philanthropists and activists said "a human tragedy amounting to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity is unfolding in Myanmar."
They also criticized the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi -- herself a Nobel Peace Prize winner -- for what they called a lack of initiative to protect the Rohingyas.
"We are frustrated that she has not taken any initiative to ensure full and equal citizenship rights of the Rohingyas," the group wrote.
"The Rohingyas are among the world's most persecuted minorities, who for decades have been subjected to a campaign of marginalization and dehumanization," said the authors -- among them peace prize winners Desmond Tutu, Shirin Ebadi and Jose Ramos-Horta.
They asked the 15-member Security Council to add the said "crisis" to its agenda "as a matter of urgency, and to call upon the secretary-general to visit Myanmar in the coming weeks" -- either current UN chief Ban Ki-moon, or his successor Antonio Guterres, who will take over the post next month.
