Turkish President condemns abuses of Rohingya in call to Suu Kyi

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September 5, 2017 12:02 PM

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit Bangladesh on Wednesday, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday condemned escalating human rights violations targeting the Rohingya Muslim minority during a phone call with Myanmars civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Turkish presidential sources said.

The United Nations said 123,600 had crossed into Bangladesh in the past 11 days following an uptick in fighting between militants and Myanmar's military in strife-torn western Rakhine state, which raised fears of a humanitarian disaster.

The latest violence, which began last October when a small Rohingya militant group ambushed border posts, is the worst Rakhine has witnessed in years, with Erdogan last week accusing Myanmar of "genocide" against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

Erdogan has stepped up diplomacy and spoke on the phone with Muslim leaders during the Islamic Eid al-Adha festival, seeking ways to solve the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. He also spoke with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

In the phone call with Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner of Myanmar's junta, Erdogan said growing human rights violations against Rohingya Muslims "deeply concerned" the entire world, sources from his office said.

Suu Kyi has come under fire over her perceived unwillingness to speak out against the treatment of the Rohingya or chastise the military.

Erdogan said Turkey "condemns terror and operations against innocent civilians", adding that the developments in Myanmar had turned into a "serious humanitarian crisis which caused worry and resentment."

The Turkish leader had previously said he would bring up the issue at the next UN General Assembly in New York later this month.

Guterres on Friday said he was "deeply concerned" by the situation in Myanmar and called for "restraint and calm to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe".

The Rohingya are reviled in Myanmar, where the roughly one million-strong community are accused of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

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