Philippine leader tells Suu Kyi to ignore rights criticism
NEW DELHI — Philippine president said he pities Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi for being the focus of international criticism over her country’s handling of the Rohingya refugee crisis.
President Rodrigo Duterte said he told Suu Kyi to ignore human right activists, describing them as a “noisy bunch.”
Suu Kyi and Duterte met in New Delhi this week at a summit of Southeast Asian leaders on the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-India ties.
Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state for Bangladesh since the beginning of August, after Myanmar security forces began “clearance operations” in their villages in the wake of attacks by Rohingya insurgents on police posts. The U.N. has described the campaign as ethnic cleansing.