(Reuters photo)MANILA: A draft of the statement to be issued after the Southeast Asian summit makes no mention of the exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar's Rakhine state following a military crackdown described by the United Nations as ethnic cleansing. The draft did not give any details of the situation in northern Rakhine state or use the term Rohingya for the persecuted Muslim minority, which Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has asked foreign leaders not to use. The government in mostly-Buddhist Myanmar regards the Rohingya as illegal migrants from Bangladesh and does not recognise the term. In September, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said the situation in Rakhine was best described as ethnic cleansing. However, in keeping with Asean's principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of one another, the issue appears to have been put aside at the summit.

Source: Bangkok Post November 13, 2017 04:52 UTC