Earlier it was usual to witness protest programmes by local Arakanese whenever any UN Special Rapporteur to Myanmar visit the State.

Ms Yanghee Lee herself faced such protests in her earlier visit.  The former UN Special Rapporteur to Burma Omás Ojea Quintana also faced massive protests by locals during his visit to Arakan.

The Arakanese people suspect that the UN officials may prepare bias reports in favour of Muslim settlers in the State.

“This time there was no protest against Ms Yanghee Lee by local Rakhine (Arakanese) people, because she avoided using the term Rohingya in her visit to Arakan. Moreover she remained to be sympathetic to the cause of Arakanese people,” said Daw Hla Hla, a resident of Sittwe.

It may be mentioned that Ms Yanghee Lee arrived in Sittwe, the capital city of Arakan  from Yangon on Wednesday morning and she met Rakhine State chief  minister U Nyi Pu in the Sittwe airport hall.

Both of them discussed on various Arakanese issues including the alleged human rights violations and also development of the State, informed a government source.

The chief minister informed that his government would welcome the international assistances for the development for the State, which is identified as the second poorest State of Burma.

Ms Yanghee Lee expressed her sympathy to the farmers who lost their crops in the recent wave of flood in the State.

She later visited a Muslim village named Kardi under Ponna Kyaunt township, where the Mulsim residents denied to accept the National Verification Cards provided by the immigration department.

The UN official also visited Painya Wa village where many people were taking shelters at IDP camp after they fled from their native villages due to conflicts between the Burma Army troops and Arakan Army.

She visited an Arakanese Buddhist refugee camp at Mingan quarter of Sittwe on second day of her visit on 23 June. Same day she also paid a visit to a Muslim ward in Sittwe where she met some Muslim leaders before returning to Yangon by an evening flight.