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Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news...ress-plight-of-rohingya-in-key-speech-9228850
NAY PYI TAW: Myanmars de-facto leader and State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi will on Tuesday (Sep 19) make her first public speech on the violence in Rakhine State since the government launched "clearance operations" last month.
The message - to be delivered in English and broadcast on television - is an attempt by the Nobel Peace Prize winner to address global concern over the plight of Rohingya Muslim minorities in the conflict-ridden state.
It also comes amid mounting criticisms against her silence on the governments offensive against Rohingya militants, in which security forces have been accused of murder, mass rape, torture and arson attacks on the Muslim minority.
Violence is escalating in Rakhine State after a group of insurgents from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked 30 official posts and killed 12 people on Aug 25.
The militants claimed it was a defensive action to counter the governments atrocities against Rohingya Muslims, who have suffered decades of oppression and deprivation of citizenship as well as basic rights.
The insurgent attacks have provoked Myanmars security forces to hit back. The retaliation, however, has shocked the world with its scope of destruction and brutality.
Back in Myanmar, satellite images published by Amnesty International show at least 26 villages in Rakhine State had been burnt. The satellite also detected about 80 large-scale blazes across the northern stretch.
UN human rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein described the situation as "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing" and denounced the governments counter-insurgency operation.
However, the Myanmar government claimed the houses were destroyed by the Rohingya militants, not security forces or Rakhine Buddhists as accused by various parties.
During the weeks-long offensive, Aung San Suu Kyi remained tight-lipped about the plights of Rohingyas. Her silence has moved human rights activists, officials and fellow Nobel Laureates to make public calls for her step up and protect the Muslim minority.
In his open letter to Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu asked his "dearly beloved younger sister" to intervene in the Rohingya crisis and to speak out for justice, human rights and the unity of Myanmar people.
"Guide your people back towards the path of righteousness," he wrote.
"If the political price of your ascension to the highest office...is your silence, the price is surely too steep"
"Over the last several years, I have repeatedly condemned this tragic and shameful treatment," she said in a statement.
"I am still waiting for my fellow Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to do the same. The world is waiting and the Rohingya Muslims are waiting."