According to a full program of the Nov. 6-Dec. 2 trip released by the Vatican on Tuesday, the Pope will visit top Buddhist monks, military generals, and the county's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Reuters reported.
The trip motto is peace and love among people of different faiths.
Being the first pope to visit Myanmar, Francis is expected to address the Rohingyas' plight as he already issued a strong defense of the right of the Muslim minority to ‘live their faith’, and criticized the country’s regime for campaign of persecution.
In a stinging attack on the Myanmarese regime in February, the Pope said the Rohingyas have been tortured and killed “simply because they want to live their culture and their Muslim faith”.
Rohingya crisis erupted on 25 August, when Myanmar’s army backed by gangs of Buddhist extremists brutally attacked Muslims in Rakhine state on the pretext of responding to the killing of security forces. In the ensuing operation, over 6,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed in what is clearly an organized campaign of ethnic cleansing and genocide.
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