THE Government did not listen to warnings about the ‘systematic discrimination and persecution’ of the Rohingya people, a Bolton MP has said as she criticised the response of the international community to violence in Burma.

Yasmin Qureshi, MP for Bolton South East, said she had raised concerns several years ago about the treatment of the Rohingya.

She added: “I don’t know what proof the world needs. There is genocide and ethnic cleansing taking place right now.”

Speaking during a debate in the House of Commons, she said the world’s most powerful nations needed to get together and ‘tell the Burmese to stop doing this’.

Ms Qureshi added she was not saying ‘that we should necessarily go bombing’ but believed there seemed to be a lack of action on Burma compared with what happened in Libya.

The Labour MP added: “I’m sorry to say the international community is still sitting and watching while genocide and ethnic cleansing is taking place.”