Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has blamed "hate narratives" from abroad for driving Buddhist and Muslim communities apart amid violence in the country's troubled Rakhine State.
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Nearly 700,000 minority Rohingya Muslims have fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar since a military crackdown launched in August last year, accusing security personnel and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists of a campaign of arson, murder, and rape against them.
Suu Kyi discussed with UN special envoy Christine Schraner Burgene on Wednesday a recent deal agreed by Myanmar and UN agencies to create a "conducive environment" for Rohingya to return, according to a statement posted to Suu Kyi's Facebook page.
"The State Counsellor also pointed out that the hate narratives from outside the country has driven the two communities further apart and stressed the need to focus on how to resolve the issue with forward looking approach," it said.
Conflict between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State has bubbled for decades and in 2012, waves of violence killed hundreds and displaced hundreds of thousands.
Myanmar government spokesperson Zaw Htay was not immediately available for comment on what narratives Suu Kyi was referring to.
Suu Kyi's government has regularly since August denied allegations of abuses by rights groups and the media and blamed the international community for distributing "fake news" about alleged rights abuses.
Australian Associated Press