Inner City Press -- Investigative Reporting From the Inner City to Wall Street to the United Nations

UN Praises Myanmar Response on Rohingyas, UNclear if Ban's Called Bangladesh

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 19 -- Who if anyone is helping the stateless Rohingyas under fire in Myanmar's Rakhine State? Why, the government of Thein Sein, UN spokesman Martin Nesirky told Inner City Press on Tuesday, citing forty -- "four zero" -- temporary camps set up in six townships by the government. Video here, from Minute 34:20.

  But what about the Burmese government continuing to deny citizenship to the Rohingyas? Are the UN, its agencies and its "Good Offices" envoy Vijay Nambiar speaking out about that?

  Nambiar is slated to belatedly brief the Security Council on June 20, so perhaps we shall see. Perhaps.

  Nesirky did disclose not only that Bangladesh has "sent back" 100 Rohingyas, but also that its border remains closed. Bangladesh is a major UN troop contribution country. Has Ban Ki-moon tried to speak with Dhaka about this?

While at the G-20 in Los Cabos, so far Ban Ki-moon has issued a readout only of his meeting with Indonesia's president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
 
   The topics, contrary to some activists' expectations, did not include West Papua, but rather Syria and "post 2015 development." He talked about Iran, too, as Inner City Press asked Nesirky about on Tuesday. But on that, no readout was issued. And so it goes at the UN.