'It looks like ethnic cleansing': Theresa May vows to tackle 'inhuman destruction of the Rohingya people'

Tom Powell14 November 2017

Theresa May has said the Rohingya crisis “looks like ethnic cleansing” and vowed to do "everything possible" to fight it.

The Prime Minister described images of young Rohingya children "emaciated and pleading for help" as "heartbreaking".

She pledged that Britain would continue to play a "leading role" to stop the violence in Rohingya villages which began in August, prompting more than 600,000 people to cross the border into Bangladesh.

Addressing the Lord Mayor's Banquet at the City of London's Guildhall, Mrs May said the UK must "step up our efforts to respond to the desperate plight of Rohingyas - brought home to us again on our TV screens so graphically, with heart-breaking images of young children emaciated and pleading for help".

Theresa May addressing the annual Lord Mayor's Banquet at the Guildhall in London
PA

She went on: "This is a major humanitarian crisis which looks like ethnic cleansing. And it is something for which the Burmese authorities - and especially the military - must take full responsibility.

"The UK is already the largest donor in response to this crisis. And we will continue to play a leading role in bringing the international community together - working through the UN and with regional partners to do everything possible to stop this appalling and inhuman destruction of the Rohingya people."

Mrs May's comments came after Live Aid founder Bob Geldof handed back his freedom of the city of Dublin in protest at the same honour being held by Burma's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

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