‘Burma must share liability for migrant crisis’

Navy ships from Indonesia and Malaysia are scouring south-east Asian waters for boats believed to be carrying thousands of migrants, as a senior US diplomat said Burma needs to shoulder some responsibility for the crisis.

Deputy secretary of state Anthony Blinken said Rohingya Muslims fleeing the predominantly Buddhist nation are risking perilous journeys and putting their lives in the hands of human traffickers because “they are in despair and don’t see a future” at home.

They have been denied citizenship and chased off their own land, and have little access to education or adequate medical care and cannot move around freely.