The Korea Herald

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‘Stop ethnic cleansing of Rohingya’

By Ock Hyun-ju

Published : Sept. 22, 2017 - 18:22

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Amnesty International Korea Director Catherine Heejin Kim held a one-person protest in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Seoul on Friday, calling for an end to the alleged ethnic cleansing of Rohingya in Rakhine State.

Following the protest, Kim delivered a letter addressed to Ambassador Thura Thet Oo Maung at the Myanmar Embassy to call on the Myanmar authorities to end the military’s campaign of violence and human rights abuses.

Amnesty International Korea Director Catherine Heejin Kim holds a one-person protest in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Seoul on Friday. (Amnesty International) Amnesty International Korea Director Catherine Heejin Kim holds a one-person protest in front of the Myanmar Embassy in Seoul on Friday. (Amnesty International)


More than 370,000 Rohingya, mostly women and children, have fled across the country’s borders, according to the United Nations, since the Myanmar Army launched a counteroffensive called “clearance operation” on Rohingya insurgents who attacked the border police.

Those who fled Rakhine have told of village burnings, beatings, gang rape and mass killings in the hands of the country’s security forces and the region’s Buddhists.

The Myanmar government has firmly denied the claims, saying Rohingya residents are burning their own houses to earn sympathy from the international community. The military is fighting against Rohingya “terrorists,” it said.

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)