UN chief hits out at Myanmar army chief over Rohingya comments

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today criticised Myanmar's army chief after he declared that the Muslim Rohingya had nothing in common with the country's other ethnic groups.

Guterres said he was "shocked" at reports of General U Min Aung Hlaing's remarks at a military gathering and urged Myanmar's leaders to "take a unified stance against incitement to hatred and to promote cultural harmony."
At the gathering in northern Kachin state today, Hlaing referred to the Rohingya as "Bengalis," a term meant to describe them as foreigners, and said they "do not have the characteristics or culture in common with the ethnicities of Myanmar."
Guterres said it was "critical that conditions are put in place to ensure that the Rohingya are able to return home voluntarily, in safety and in dignity."