The brutal crackdown started in August last year and left hundreds of Rohingya villages razed to the ground. Kobsak Chutikul said his position became untenable ahead of a second full meeting of the panel with officials in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw this week. "I verbally gave my resignation in a staff meeting last Tuesday (10 July)," he told AFP by phone from Bangkok. Suu Kyi's reputation lies in tatters internationally for her failure to speak up on behalf of the Rohingya Muslims, a stateless group persecuted over decades in Myanmar. Kobsak Chutikul said the international community should rally round new UN special envoy Christine Schraner Burgener, who he said "offers the best hope in the circumstances".

Source: The Nation Bangkok July 21, 2018 05:48 UTC