Myanmar Military Coup, What Is The Fate Of 600,000 Rohingya Muslims?

JAKARTA - The United Nations (UN) is concerned that a military coup in Myanmar will worsen the situation of the approximately 600,000 Rohingya Muslims who are still in the country. These conditions mean that the UN Security Council will meet on Tuesday , February 2.

Myanmar's military seized power on Monday in a coup against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was detained along with other political leaders in the early-morning raids.

The United Nations concern that the military crackdown in 2017 in Rakhine State had made more than 700.000 Rohingya muslims take refugee to Bangladesh where they are still being stranded in the refugee camps.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Western countries have accused Myanmar's military of ethnic cleansing, which he denies.

"There are about 600,000 Rohingya residents who remain in Rakhine State, including 120,000 who are effectively locked up in camps. They are unable to move around freely and have very limited access to basic health and education services", said the UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, cited from Reuters.

"So our fear is that this event could worsen the situation for them", he added.

The 15-member UN Security Council plans to discuss Myanmar in a closed meeting on Tuesday. What's interesting to look forward to is how the attitude of China and Russia.

"We want to overcome long-term threats to peace and security, of course by working with Myanmar in Asia and other ASEAN countries", said British Ambassador to the United Nations Barbara Woodward.

China, supported by Russia protected Myanmar from significant UN Security Council action following Myanmar's 2017 military crackdown. Beijing and Moscow are veto powers of the council along with France, Britain, and the United States.