Migrants ‘not fleeing persecution’

Burma says that thousands of migrants left the country to seek better jobs elsewhere, and were not fleeing persecution, a day after bringing to shore about 730 migrants, the latest arrivals in Southeast Asia’s ongoing crisis.

Foreign affairs minister Wunna Maung Lwin’s remarks were Burma’s latest denial of any blame for the humanitarian crisis. More than 4,600 desperate and hungry boat people have been rescued in five countries since early May after a regional crackdown on smugglers prompted some captains to abandon their human cargo at sea.

The UN has said about half of those who landed were Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Burma, and the rest were Bangladeshis escaping poverty.