By AFP
TOKYO — Daw Aung San Suu Kyi vowed Monday to increase transparency over her government’s handling of the Rohingya crisis while pitching for foreign investment in Myanmar ahead of a regional summit in Tokyo.
“I’m ready to acknowledge that we have challenges to face particularly with regard to Rakhine [State] and with the struggles we have on the peace front,” Aung San Suu Kyi said in a speech before Japanese businessmen. “We are not hiding this fact from our friends,” she said.
In the speech ahead of the summit in Tokyo, Aung San Suu Kyi said she was aware that peace and stability in her country were necessary for attracting foreign investment.
“We understand that peace, reconciliation, harmony, stability, rule of law, human rights — all these have to be taken into consideration when we are looking for more investment, for greater economic opportunities,” she said.
“We wish to be very open and transparent to our friends,” she said. “If you have concerns, if you have worries, please discuss this openly with us.”
A brutal military campaign that started last year, following attacks on police outposts, drove more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh, where they now live in cramped refugee camps — fearful of returning despite a repatriation deal.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s supporters say her hands are tied by a still powerful military, which controls a quarter of parliament’s seats and three ministries.
On Tuesday she is to hold a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who chairs the regional summit drawing Southeast Asian leaders.
