Visiting Brussels on Tuesday 2 May, Burma’s State Counsellor and Minister for Foreign Affairs Aung San Suu Kyi rejected the decision of the UN Human Rights Council to carry out an investigation into the alleged crimes of the Burmese security forces against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine State. She thus disagreed with the EU, which supports the conduct of the UN inquiry.
“We don’t agree with the UN Human Rights Council resolution. We accept the recommendations of the Kofi Annan [former UN secretary general] committee. But we can’t accept the other resolution. We don’t think that the resolution is in keeping with what is actually happening on the ground”, Suu Kyi told press after her meeting with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.
Burma “would be happy to accept [recommendations] that were in keeping with the real needs of the region. But we will not accept recommendations that will further divide the two communities of Rakhine State, because this would not help resolve the problems that are arising there all the time”, she said.
Suu Kyi also rejected the accusations that the Burmese authorities are deliberately ignoring these atrocities. “I’m a little confused when you say that we have done nothing on this. We have been investigating them and have been taking action”, she said.
“We try to change our system, changing the mindset of people, which is very difficult. If you care about democracy, you can’t impose it”, she added.
"The establishment of the fact-finding mission is one of the very few issues of disagreement between us. This [mission] can contribute in establishing the facts for the past, provided that we fully agree on the need to work together on the way forward", Mogherini said, calling for "full implementation" of the Kofi Annan recommendations as the Burmese authorities are only implementing "a few" of these, Suu Kyi stated.
Despite this disagreement, Mogherini underscored that the EU would continue to support the ongoing democratic transition process in Burma, and she announced a visit to Burma "in the coming weeks".
During her first official visit to Brussels since the formation of a democratic transition government in spring 2016, Suu Kyi also met European Council President Donald Tusk and Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)