Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office says Ottawa must remain “engaged” with the civilian leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, who holds honorary Canadian citizenship.
UN investigators last week released a report criticizing Suu Kyi for failing to use her moral authority to protect Rohingya Muslims from what the report called “genocidal intent” by the Myanmar military that carried out mass killings and rapes.
The Canadian government has been under pressure to revoke Suu Kyi’s honorary citizenship since the Rohingya Muslim crisis erupted in 2017.
Rohingya refugees stretch their hands to receive aid distributed by local organizations at a makeshift camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, last September (Danish Siddiqui/Reuters)
In an email to Huffington Post Canada, Matt Pascuzzo, Mr. Trudeau’s press secretary, said Canada must “leverage efficient diplomatic engagement” with Myanmar to advocate for the Rohingya Muslims.
Meanwhle the wives of the two Reuters journalists sentenced to seven years in prison in Myanmar have made a public appeal to Suu Kyi to help reunite their families
Their appeal comes amidst international condemnation of the government’s treatment of the two men.
The UN estimates that more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh following a violent crackdown by Myanmar’s military.
With files from Huffington Post, CBC, CP
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