By VOA News
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says the United
Nations must supervise the return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar because many
are scared to come home on their own.
Johnson spoke to reporters Sunday after his meeting with
Aung San Suu Kyi, de facto leader of the country formerly known as Burma
"I saw real apprehension both in camps in Bangladesh
and amongst the remaining villagers," Johnson said. "The Burmese
authorities need to work very hard with international agencies to overcome the
real alarm that people feel about coming back to Burma."
A military crackdown on Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim
minority sent hundreds of thousands fleeing to refugee camps in neighboring
Bangladesh. Those who stayed behind in their destroyed villages still fear for
their lives.
Along with the refugee camps, Johnson toured some of
those villages attacked by Burmese forces.
"I've seen nothing like it in my life. Hundreds and
hundreds of villages torched. It's absolutely clear that what is needed now
is...some calm leadership working with the U.N. agencies to get these people
back home."
Myanmar's Nobel Peace Prize winning leader Aung San Suu
Kyi has a shaky power-sharing agreement with the powerful Burmese military. She
and her image as a woman of democracy and peace have come under global
criticism for her reluctance to speak out against the tough crackdown on the
Rohingya.
Rohingya Muslims say they are a long-persecuted minority
in Buddhist-majority Myanmar and are denied many basic rights and educational
and job opportunities.
The latest action by the Burmese military and others came
after Rohingya rebels attacked police stations and army posts last August.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has accused Myanmar
authorities of "ethnic cleansing" – a charge they strongly deny even
as they refuse to allow U.N. investigators into the affected region.