FOREIGN POLICY/MILITARY/REX TILLERSON/STATE: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared Wednesday [11-22-17] that Myanmar’s military operation against Rohingya Muslims constitutes ethnic cleansing and said the U.S. is weighing targeted sanctions to hold perpetrators accountable…
Mr. Tillerson’s assessment follows a visit last week to Myanmar, where he met with State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Last week, the U.S. announced an additional $47 million in assistance to Rohingya affected by the crisis.
The chief U.S. diplomat in his statement Wednesday repeated U.S. condemnation of an attack on security forces by Rohingya militants in August that sparked the crackdown, but said ‘no provocation can justify the horrendous atrocities that have ensued,’ and faulted abuses by the Burmese military for causing tremendous suffering and forcing 600,000 people to flee Myanmar for Bangladesh.”
-Felicia Schwartz, “U.S. Calls Myanmar’s Actions Against Rohingya Ethnic Cleansing,” The Wall Street Journal online, Nov. 22, 2017 10:32am