Francis also addressed the plight of the Rohingya in 2015, but his latest remarks were his strongest yet on the issue. The Rohingya, who are Muslims in a primarily Buddhist nation, are denied basic rights, including citizenship, freedom of worship and freedom of travel. Pope Francis’ latest accusation came after a United Nations report, released last Friday, said that actions by members of the army and the police were “very likely” crimes against humanity. More than 200 Rohingya villagers who had fled Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh gave harrowing testimony to United Nations investigators about the treatment they received. “She could not run very well,” she told investigators, “so we saw them catching her and cut her throat with a long knife.”Myanmar’s government said it was taking the allegations in the United Nations report seriously and would take “necessary action.”

Source: New York Times February 08, 2017 17:53 UTC