ASEAN chairmanship could force Myanmar to review Rohingya's plight

By Radio Australia

January 6, 2014

A former secretary general of ASEAN says he hopes Myanmar's new role as chairman of ASEAN will draw attention to the plight of the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

Myanmar has begun its chairmanship of the regional grouping for 2014, symbolising the country's re-entry to the global community.

But the issue of human rights is hanging over its head, namely abuses against the ethnic Rohingya minority.

Reporter: Tom Maddocks

Speakers: Dr Surin Pitsuwan, former Secretary General of ASEAN, now Professor Emeritus at Thammasat University; Moe Thuzar, ISEAS Fellow at the ASEAN Studies Centre of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies