Emily
Thornberry MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary, responding to the worsening humanitarian crisis in
Myanmar’s Rakhine State, said:
“In
the last month, tens of thousands of men, women and children have been
displaced from their homes as a result of the violence in Rakhine State, and
thousands more are joining them with every passing day, all desperately in need
of shelter, medical help, food and clean water.
"As
well as a complete end to all further violence and burning of villages, we need
to ensure that the thousands of people who have already lost their homes
urgently receive the food, water and medicine they need to survive. If the
authorities on the ground in Myanmar are deliberately preventing UN bodies and
international aid agencies from reaching those displaced families, that
decision must be immediately reversed.
"And once the cessation of violence and humanitarian access
has been achieved, the work of building a lasting peace must begin, building on
the recommendations of Kofi Annan’s Advisory Commission on Rakhine State,
including a recognition of the rights and freedoms of the Rohingya people, and
an end to restrictions on their movement.
"Britain
and the rest of the world community must stand ready to support that process,
but it will firstly rely on the civilian and military authorities in Myanmar
living up to their responsibilities within a modern democratic government. As a
long-standing, critical friend, we should expect and demand nothing less.”
Ends