Obama to press Burma on Rohingya rights

US officials say Barack Obama will press Burma's leaders to restore peace to the country's troubled Rakhine state during his upcoming visit to the

country.

Barack Obama will become the first US president to visit the former pariah state when he touches down on Monday.

Ahead of the historic trip, the Burmese government has released hundreds of prisoners in an apparent gesture of goodwill.

Initially the announcement was welcomed but some rights groups have now criticised the move.

They say the prisoner release doesn't include any of the estimated 300 political dissidents still detained.

"The current government is just playing a game, and they are not being sincere," said Moe Thway of Generation Wave.

And there are concerns the government may be hiding the facts.

"They're lying to Obama that they're releasing political prisoners. I think the information released in the newspaper is not accurate- they did not release political prisoners," said Nie Nie of the National League for Democracy.

The US says it will continue to push for further reforms when the president holds talks with senior officials.

America is particularly concerned about ongoing sectarian violence in Rakhine state, which claimed 89 lives last month alone.

Source:Here