THE United Nations expert on human rights in Burma has arrived in the country, days after the UN voiced fears that efforts to end unrest in Rakhine state had turned into a crackdown on Muslims.
UN
Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana flew into the main city of
Rangoon late on Sunday for a visit set to include a trip to the
restive western state as well as meetings with Burma's president and
civil society.
It
comes after a warning by UN human rights chief Navi Pillay that
Muslim communities in Rakhine, particularly the Rohingya minority,
were being targeted by security forces.
"We
have been receiving a stream of reports from independent sources
alleging discriminatory and arbitrary responses by security forces,
and even their instigation of and involvement in clashes," she
said in a statement on Friday.
Quintana
says Burma has made "significant" progress on reforms under
President Thein Sein, who came to power last year, but said the
country faced "ongoing human rights challenges".
Violence
between Buddhist ethnic Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities
erupted in early June and have left at least 78 people dead and
70,000 homeless, according to official figures.
Unofficial
estimates of the death toll were higher, the UN said.
Burma's
government considers the estimated 800,000 Rohingya in the country to
be foreigners while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from
neighbouring Bangladesh and view them with hostility.
Earlier
this month, Thein Sein told the UN that refugee camps or deportation
was the "solution" for the Rohingya, according to his
official website.
Quintana
is set to meet the Burmese leader in the capital, Naypyidaw, on
Friday following a trip to Rakhine state.
Quintana's
visit is due to last until Saturday.
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