Suu Kyi says outside hate narratives driving Myanmar tension

A social media account run by the office of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi quotes her as saying that "hate narratives from outside the country" have fueled tensions between Muslim Rohingya and Buddhist Rakhine communities in the country's west.

The Facebook page of the State Counsellor Office said Suu Kyi made the comment in a discussion Tuesday with Christine Schraner Burgener, special envoy of the United Nations secretary-general for Myanmar.

It said topics included the situation in Rakhine state, where about 700,000 ethnic Rohingya have fled since last August to escape violent counterinsurgency activities by security forces responding to attacks by a group of Rohingya militants.

"The State Counsellor explained that the confidence building between the communities requires patience and time, and the United Nations needs to support in those efforts," said the Facebook post.

"She stated that the mistrust between the two communities exists for decades."
It said Suu Kyi "also pointed out that the hate narratives from outside the country has driven the two communities further apart and stressed the need to focus on how to resolve the issue with forward looking approach."
The account did not elaborate on what Suu Kyi meant by "hate narratives."
Last year the same Facebook account quoted Suu Kyi as telling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call that there were many fake news photographs circulating which were "simply the tip of a huge iceberg of misinformation calculated to create a lot of problems between different communities and with the aim of promoting the interest of the terrorists."