{"id":3973,"date":"2018-01-25T15:04:33","date_gmt":"2018-01-25T08:34:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/new-eng\/?p=3973"},"modified":"2026-01-28T12:46:53","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T06:16:53","slug":"james-mattis-says-myanmars-rohingya-crisis-is-even-worse-than-it-looks-in-the-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/?p=3973","title":{"rendered":"James Mattis Says Myanmar\u2019s Rohingya Crisis Is Even Worse Than it Looks in the Media"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/players.brightcove.net\/293884104\/SJa0Thl7_default\/index.html?videoId=5716489766001\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The suffering of Myanmar\u2019s Rohingya Muslims is\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-myanmar-rohingya-usa-mattis\/u-s-defense-chief-says-rohingya-plight-even-worse-than-media-portrayals-idUSKBN1FC1NF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">worse than it has been portrayed<\/a>\u00a0by the media, Secretary of Defense James Mattis said, countering claims by the government of Aung San Suu Kyi that the international press has been biased in its coverage of what the U.S. and U.N have called a campaign of ethnic cleansing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a tragedy that\u2019s worse than anything that CNN or BBC has been able to portray about what has happened to these people,\u201d Mattis told reporters during a trip to Indonesia, Reuters reports. \u201cAnd the United States has been engaged vigorously in the diplomatic realm trying to resolve this, engaged with humanitarian aid, a lot of money going into humanitarian aid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/reliefweb.int\/report\/bangladesh\/iscg-situation-update-rohingya-refugee-crisis-cox-s-bazar-21-january-2018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Some 688,000 Rohingya<\/a>\u00a0have been displaced to Bangladesh since Aug. 25, according to the International Organization for Migration, after fleeing a brutal counter-terror campaign by Myanmar\u2019s military following an insurgent attack on state security forces. Many of the refugees\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4994524\/myanmar-rohingya-fortify-rights-genocide\/\">recounted atrocities<\/a>\u00a0including extrajudicial killings, gang rape and arson.<\/p>\n<p>U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra\u2019ad Al-Hussein has said the violence resembles a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4936882\/myanmar-ethnic-cleansing-rohingya\/\">\u201ctextbook example of ethnic cleansing\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and that he couldn\u2019t rule out\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/5051269\/un-genocide-rohingya-zeid-raad-al-hussein\/\">\u201celements of genocide.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0In November, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-myanmar-rohingya-usa\/u-s-calls-myanmar-moves-against-rohingya-ethnic-cleansing-idUSKBN1DM1N3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">violence \u201cconstitutes ethnic cleansing,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0adding that \u201cno provocation can justify the horrendous atrocities that have ensued.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Myanmar\u2019s military says security operations in Rakhine are a legitimate counter-insurgency campaign.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more<\/strong>:\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/5031342\/bangladesh-myanmar-rohingya-refugee-crisis\/\">Rohingya Refugees: Myanmar\u2019s Crisis Is Bangladesh\u2019s Burden<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh have agreed to begin repatriating hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees over the next two years, but rights groups\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/5105524\/myanmar-bangladesh-rohingya-repatriation\/\">warn that the process is beginning too quickly<\/a>, and without adequate input from U.N. agencies risks forcing refugees to return against their will or facing further violence.<\/p>\n<p>Bangladesh said the process\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-myanmar-rohingya-repatriation\/bangladesh-says-start-of-rohingya-return-to-myanmar-delayed-idUSKBN1FB0KG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">would be delayed<\/a>\u00a0from a start date initially scheduled this week, as officials try to verify lists of people in Bangladesh\u2019s sprawling refugee camps who are eligible for return, according to Reuters. Some of the refugees have\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-myanmar-rohingya-petition-exclusive\/exclusive-rohingya-refugee-leaders-draw-up-demands-ahead-of-repatriation-idUSKBN1F80SE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">issued demands<\/a>\u00a0such as citizenship status, accountability and the return of lost property before agreeing to return.<\/p>\n<p>The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, which has not been involved in repatriation discussions, has also cautioned that the conditions for return are not in place.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe necessary safeguards for potential returnees are absent,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/news\/briefing\/2018\/1\/5a6700a84\/unhcr-steps-call-unhindered-access-myanmars-northern-rakhine-state.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">UNHCR spokesperson<\/a>Adrian Edwards said at a press briefing Tuesday. \u201cTo ensure the right of refugees to return voluntarily, and in safety and in dignity, we call again on Myanmar to allow the necessary unhindered humanitarian access in Rakhine State and create conditions for a genuine and lasting solution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/5115870\/james-mattis-rohingya-refugees-myanmar\/\">TIME<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The suffering of Myanmar\u2019s Rohingya Muslims is\u00a0worse than it has been portrayed\u00a0by the media, Secretary of Defense James Mattis said, countering claims by the government of Aung San Suu Kyi that the international press has been biased in its coverage of what the U.S. and U.N have called a campaign of ethnic cleansing. \u201cThis is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","post_format-post-format-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3973"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3975,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3973\/revisions\/3975"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/equalitymyanmar.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}