Arakan News Agency
Boris Johnson has called on Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi to use her “moral capital” to end the persecution of her country’s Muslim minority, which he described as an “abomination”.
The Foreign Secretary described events in Burma as a “tragedy” involving “gross abuses of human rights”.
He spoke after the UK announced it will provide an additional £25 million – on top of £11m already promised – to help hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims driven out of their homes by violence in Arakan state.
Mr Johnson was criticised last week for describing Nobel Peace Prize-winner Ms Suu Kyi as “one of the most inspiring figures of our age” as he urged her to stop violence against the Rohingyas, who have reportedly been driven out by the Burmese armed forces and local militias.
Ms Suu Kyi has faced international condemnation for her failure to act over growing evidence of atrocities and has announced she will not attend the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York.
Speaking at a press conference in London alongside US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Mr Johnson said: “Let’s be clear, she led Burma after a period of decades of repression by a military junta and I yield to no-one in my admiration of what she stood for and the way she fought for democracy. I think many people around the world share that admiration.
