YANGON: Myanmar鈥檚 army chief Min Aung Hlaing said he told Pope Francis his country had 鈥渘o religious discrimination鈥� after the pair met late Monday, in a papal visit framed by the exodus of the Rohingya Muslim minority.
鈥淢yanmar has no religious discrimination at all,鈥� he said in a Facebook post by his office. 鈥淟ikewise our military too... (it) performs for the peace and stability of the country.鈥�
The Tatmadaw, as his army is known, has been accused by the UN and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson of conducting a campaign of 鈥渆thnic cleansing鈥� by driving 620,000 Rohingya from western Myanmar into Bangladesh since August.
Myanmar denies any wrongdoing despite testimony by refugees pointing to a widespread campaign of rape, murder and arson.
The Rohingya, who are effectively stateless, are subject to a suffocating web of state-enforced restrictions.
Most are denied citizenship by Myanmar, which says they are illegal 鈥淏engali鈥� immigrants.
Last week Amnesty International called western Rakhine state a 鈥渃rime scene,鈥� describing the restrictions on the Rohingya as tantamount to 鈥渁partheid.鈥�
The pope, who is visiting Myanmar to spread a message of peace, has spoken up several times for the Rohingya as the crisis has unfolded calling the benighted group 鈥渂rothers and sisters.鈥�
His comments have enraged hard-line Buddhist nationalists in Myanmar, who are now waiting to see if he uses the term 鈥淩ohingya鈥� during his four-day trip.
Min Aung Hlaing鈥檚 office said the senior general had welcomed the pope during a brief 15 minute meeting in Yangon and told the pontiff there was also 鈥渘o discrimination between ethnic groups in Myanmar.鈥�
The Rohingya are not recognized as an official ethnic group.