UK to suspend training of Burmese military over treatment of Rohingya

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Theresa May has announced that the UK will suspend the training of Burmese military amid concerns about the treatment of the Muslim Rohingya population.

Speaking at the UN general assembly in New York, she said the UK would end all engagement with the Burmese military until military action against civilians in Rakhine state had stopped.

The prime minister has been under pressure to halt the programme since the country’s army was accused of driving hundreds of thousands of Rohingya into Bangladesh.

“The British government is announcing today that we are going to stop all defence engagement and training of the Burmese military by the Ministry of Defence until this issue is resolved.”

Asked if the action was coordinated with international allies, May said: “There has been very clear international concern about the issue of the Rohingya people and what is happening to them.

The UK programme in Myanmar does not include combat training but is aimed at educating soldiers in democracy, leadership and the English language at a cost of around £305,000 last year.

Earlier on Tuesday, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel peace prize winner who leads Myanmar, broke her silence on the crisis but did not criticise the army.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...tment-rohingya