A cabinet minister from Myanmar’s parallel government has publicly apologized to all Rohingya Muslims in a pre-taped video for ignoring the suffering of the persecuted minority group during the past five years of civilian-led government that was overthrown on Feb. 1 in a military coup. Susana Hla Hla Soe, minister for women, youth, and children’s affairs under the week-old National Unity Government (NUG) acknowledged failings by the civilian government under national leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi with ignoring human rights in ethnic minority areas, including the Rohingya Muslims.
“I myself personally apologize for that,” she said Thursday, adding that while she had been a member of parliament for five years she did not “raise a voice for our brothers and sisters from the ethnic areas, including Rohingya brothers and sisters.”
“I’m really sorry for that,” Hla Hla Soe said during a press conference organized by the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and the Altsean-Burma (Alternative Asean Network on Burma) NGO advocacy group.
