Suu Kyi’s emissary arrives in Dhaka as Rohingya crisis snowballs

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's emissary has flown in Dhaka amid pressure over the situation in Rakhine State that has pushed over half a million Rohingyas into Bangladesh.

A senior official at the foreign ministry said U Kyaw Tint Swe, the minister of Suu Kyi's office, arrived at Shahjalal international Airport in a Thai Airways flight around 1am on Monday.

Mohammad Sufiur Rahman, Bangladesh Ambassador in Myanmar, and Manzurul Karim, Director General (South East Asia) of the foreign ministry, welcomed Swe at the airport, reports bdnews24.

The Myanmar minister is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at the state guesthouse Padma at 11am on Monday before leaving Dhaka on the same day, the foreign ministry official said.

Earlier in the day, Road Transport and Bridges Minister and ruling Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader said he hoped the Rohingya crisis would end through Swe's visit.

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to restoring democracy in Myanmar, is sending the minister of her office to Bangladesh amid international pressure over the Rakhine State crisis in which her government stands accused of ‘ethnic cleansing’.

Despite her party's win in 2015 elections, the Myanmar Army controls the majority of the government, including the defence authorities.

Over half a million Rohingyas have taken shelter in Bangladesh since Aug 25 when a military crackdown began in the northern Rakhine State over alleged terrorist attacks on security outposts.

Bangladesh is already home to another 400,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled decades of persecution in Myanmar.