The outgoing UN human rights chief says Myanmar ‘s de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi should have resigned over the military’s violent campaign against the Rohingya Muslim minority last year.
Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein told the BBC the Nobel Peace prize winner’s attempts to excuse it were “deeply regrettable.”
His comments come after a UN report said Myanmar ‘s military leaders should be prosecuted for possible genocide.
Myanmar rejected this, saying it had no tolerance for human rights violations.
The army – which has been accused of systematic ethnic cleansing – has previously cleared itself of wrongdoing.
The UN report, published on Monday, blamed Ms. Suu Kyi, a long-term leader of the pro-democracy movement, for failing to prevent the violence.
“She was in a position to do something,” Mr. Hussein said in an interview with the BBC.
“She could have stayed quiet – or even better, she could have resigned.”
“There was no need for her to be the spokesperson of the Burmese military,” he said, suggesting: “She could have said look, you know, I am prepared to be the nominal leader of the country but not under these conditions.”
On Wednesday, the Nobel committee said Ms. Suu Kyi could not be stripped of the Peace Prize she was awarded in 1991.
While it is acknowledged that the 73-year-old does not control the military, she has faced international pressure to condemn the army’s alleged brutality.
The military launched a crackdown in Myanmar ‘s Rakhine state last year after Rohingya militants carried out deadly attacks on police posts.
Thousands of people have died and more than 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since August 2017.
The Rohingya are a Muslim minority in majority-Buddhist Myanmar, where they are considered illegal immigrants from Bangladesh despite calling the Rakhine state home for generations.
There have also been widespread allegations of human rights abuses against the persecuted group, including arbitrary killing, rape and burning of land over many years.
Trump accuses China of stalling progress with North Korea
US President Donald Trump has lashed out at China for undermining its work with North Korea, as criticism over progress on denuclearisation mounts.
In a series of tweets he also said the US should not be spending on war games with South Korea, but if it did restart them they would be “bigger than ever.”
The US called a halt to the military exercises which routinely infuriate Pyongyang after landmark talks in June.
But days ago his own defence secretary said military exercises might continue.
The ongoing debate about the war games comes as many observers say North Korea is not moving fast enough to dismantle nuclear or rocket sites following the summit between Mr. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Mr. Trump’s tweets appear to place the blame for these challenges squarely on China, but he also goes on to praise his personal ties with the leaders of both North Korea and China.
The confusing blend of criticism, praise and veiled threat comes as Washington faces mounting pressure to deliver results following those unprecedented talks.
Immediately after the summit Mr. Trump announced there was “no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea.”
Just days ago, Washington called off a trip to North Korea by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with the president arguing that insufficient progress had been made in dismantling the North’s nuclear programme.
In the latest statement released on Twitter, Mr. Trump says North Korea was “under tremendous pressure from China because of our major trade disputes with the Chinese government.”
It also accuses Beijing of providing North Korea with “considerable aid,” suggesting Chinese help was softening the blow of international sanctions on the regime in Pyongyang.
“This is not helpful!” Mr. Trump’s tweet says.
The US president goes on to insist his personal relationship with Kim Jong-un remained “a very good and warm one” and that hence there was no reason to restart the “war games” with the South.
But he added that if they did restart, the exercises would be “bigger than ever.”
Referring back to the trade dispute with Beijing, Mr. Trump says he remains optimistic it can be resolved by himself and China’s “great President Xi Jinping.”
Chemnitz protests: Germany to probe leak sparking mob violence
Germany has launched a probe into who leaked the arrest warrant for an Iraqi murder suspect to far-right groups in Saxony’s eastern city of Chemnitz.
A fatal stabbing of a 35-year-old German-Cuban man on Sunday sparked days of violent and xenophobic protests.
The unauthorised disclosure has increased concerns of possible links between police and anti-migrant groups.
Meanwhile, local authorities called on the help of federal police, as they brace for fresh protests on Thursday.
Police have also opened 10 cases against far-right protesters who gave the illegal Hitler salute during the first day of unrest.
A state official called the arrest warrant leak – most likely from a police or judicial source – a scandal.
“We have a bigger problem to deal with there,” said Martin Dulig, the state of Saxony’s deputy premier, to German media.
READ ALSO: Security beefed up as British Prime Minister, May, visits Lagos
The disclosure – which led to the warrant being published on far-right websites – is highly unusual in Germany, which has strict rules for judicial proceedings.
Critics believe the warrant, with details of the number of stab wounds, may have been leaked to further incite anti-immigrant sentiments.
In the early hours, a fight broke out between “multiple nationalities” on the sidelines of a street festival, police said.
The stabbing victim, a 35-year-old carpenter named Daniel H, was critically wounded and died in hospital.
It remains unclear what triggered the brawl, but police dismissed fake news shared online saying the victim had been defending a woman from sexual assault.
Two other German men with him, aged 33 and 38, were seriously hurt, police said.
A 22-year-old Iraqi man and 23-year-old Syrian were arrested and charged with manslaughter on Monday.
A half-Cuban woman who grew up with Daniel H, Nancy Larssen, told Deutsche Welle news that media misreporting had helped fuel the “horrible” far-right protest.
Another friend of Daniel H, quoted by the Chemnitz news site Freie Presse, described him as left-wing, with a seven-year-old son.
News of the incident involving migrants, reinforced with the leaked arrest warrant, incited hundreds and then thousands of right-wing extremists and sympathisers to take to the streets.
On Monday, some 6,000 took part in a far-right demonstration, while 1,000 people gathered in a rival anti-fascist rally, police said.
Several people were injured as fireworks and objects were hurled on both sides.
Freelance journalist Johannes Grunert told Spiegel Online he had witnessed some protesters using bottles to attack people “who did not look German.”
Local authorities have come under fire for failing to contain the situation – with a police spokesperson conceding they had not initially deployed enough officers.
Saxony Interior Minister Roland Wöller said far-right activists had quickly travelled to Chemnitz not only from other parts of eastern Germany but also the capital Berlin and the western regions of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia.
The protests have exposed deep divisions in German society over the influx of more than one million migrants, mostly Muslims fleeing Middle East conflicts, after Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision in 2015 to let them in.
However, the number of people seeking asylum has fallen steeply and there are integration success stories – one in four new arrivals has a job.
Nonetheless, right-wing groups such as the AfD – which entered parliament for the first time in 2017 with 12.6% of the vote and 94 seats – deplore Mrs. Merkel’s liberal immigration policy.
Argentina asks IMF to release $50bn loan as crisis worsens
Argentina’s government has unexpectedly asked for the early release of a $50bn (£37.2bn) loan from the IMF amid a growing economic crisis.
President Mauricio Macri said the move was designed to restore confidence in the Argentine economy.
The Argentine peso has lost more than 40% of its value against the US dollar this year and inflation is rampant.
The IMF confirmed on Wednesday it was looking to strengthen the arrangement and changing its phasing.
“I stressed my support for Argentina’s policy efforts and our readiness to assist the government in developing its revised policy plans,” Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said in a statement.
Investors are concerned Argentina may not be able repay its heavy government borrowing and could default.
Correspondents say the decision to speed up the IMF bailout smacks of growing desperation.
When the terms of the loan were agreed in May, President Macri said he expected the economy to recover and did not plan to use the money.
“Over the last week we have seen new expressions of lack of confidence in the markets, specifically over our financing capacity in 2019,” Mr. Macri said in a televised address.
“We have agreed with the International Monetary Fund to advance all the necessary funds to guarantee compliance with the financial programme next year.
“This decision aims to eliminate any uncertainty.”
He added that further measures to rein in government borrowing would accompany the move.
Mr. Macri’s decision to ask the IMF for help in May was criticised by many within his country.
The IMF is widely loathed in Argentina and blamed for the country’s 2001 economic collapse after it pulled the plug and denied financial support.
The country’s opposition blames Mr. Macri’s centre-right policies, including the end of capital controls and cuts to social programmes, for the economic crisis.
Argentina, which has been plagued by economic problems for years, asked for assistance from the IMF in May after its currency hit an all-time low.
The country committed to tackle its double-digit inflation and cut public spending as part of the deal.
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said at the time that the plan had been designed by the Argentine government and was “aimed at strengthening the economy for the benefit of all Argentines.”
After speaking to President Macri on Wednesday evening, she said that she had instructed her staff to work with the Argentine authorities to strengthen the agreed arrangement and re-examine the planned phasing.
She also said she was confident the “strong commitment and determination” of the authorities would be instrumental on steering the country through the difficult financial climate.
In 2001, Argentina’s government defaulted on its debt and left the banking system largely paralysed.
The effect on Argentines was devastating, with many seeing their prosperity quickly disappear.
Those who experienced it fear a return of government restrictions imposed back then to prevent a run on the banks.
Under the constraints, which lasted for a year, people could not freely withdraw money from their accounts, making life very difficult for ordinary Argentines.