WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement Wednesday after the chief UN official investigating human rights abuses in Burma was denied access to the country in an upcoming trip. Earlier today, Cardin spoke out about the two Reuters reporters arrested and detained in Burma:
“Burma continues to move in the wrong direction. A genocide has taken place against the Rohingya community in Rakhine, Burma, and it is astounding that the government has the audacity to now deny entry to the international official responsible for upholding human rights standards in that country. This development compounds the disastrous decision by Burmese authorities to arrest and detain two Reuters reporters working to uncover mass graves in Rakhine, who must be released immediately. I will be working with Senator McCain to gain more traction in the New Year for our legislation, S. 2060, to impose targeted sanctions and visa restrictions on key senior Burmese military officials and hold them accountable for human rights abuses.”
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