WASHINGTON: Veteran US diplomat Bill Richardson has quit an international panel set up by Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi to advise on the Rohingya refugee crisis, calling it a "cheerleading squad for government policy" that fails to address the problem.In a scathing statement released on Thursday, former US ambassador to the UN Richardson claimed the panel was a "whitewash" and accused Myanmar's state counsellor Suu Kyi of lacking "moral leadership" on the issue, CNN reported.The advisory board on Rakhine state was created in 2017 to help the government implement the recommendations of a fact-finding commission helmed by former UN Secretary-Genera Kofi Annan. "It appears that the board is likely to become a cheerleading squad for government policy as opposed to proposing genuine policy changes that are desperately needed to assure peace, stability and development in Rakhine state," Richardson said.Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay told CNN: "We are very sorry about Richardson's resignation." "In the advisory board's initial meeting with (Suu Kyi), I was taken aback by the vigour with which the media, the UN, human rights groups and in general the international community were disparaged," he said. "While it is important to recognize that the military still wields significant power and that they are primarily to blame for the recent exodus of refugees in the wake of (Rohingya militant group) ARSA attacks, the absence of (Suu Kyi's) moral leadership on this critical issue is of great concern. The country does not recognise Rohingyas as citizens and considers them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

Source: Economic Times January 25, 2018 08:26 UTC