Hollywood star Yeoh calls Rohingya condition ‘despicable’
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh — Hollywood star Michelle Yeoh says she’s appalled by the plight of the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in Myanmar into Bangladesh.
Yeoh, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Development Program, visited sprawling refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar on Saturday as part of a Malaysian delegation led by the Southeast Asian nation’s military chief. The team visited a hospital set up by Malaysia and distributed relief goods in another camp.
“It is very important that we’re here, because what the Rohingya people are going through is despicable and it’s very, very tragic. It should not be allowed,” she said. “Every single one of them deserves to have the human rights that should be given to them.”
Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar since August in what the U.N. has described as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar’s military has denied the charges, saying they were conducting “clearance operations” following attacks by Rohingya insurgents on police posts.