Yangon, Myanmar – In a major speech in Myanmar, Pope Francis told the nation's leaders to leave conflict behind and work for peace by promoting justice and respect for the rights of all citizens, regardless of religion or ethnicity.

Amid international condemnation of Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya people, Pope Francis will visit Myanmar and Bangladesh to recognize each nation’s struggle for independence, promote interreligious respect and encourage the minority Catholic communities.

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar – Faced with a powerful military keen to have martial law declared in Rakhine state, which nearly half a million people fled in three weeks, Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, avoided any mention of ethnic cleansing of Muslim Rohingya while broadly condemning human rights violations in her first major address on the issue.