Twitter's
chief executive has been criticised for promoting Myanmar as a tourist
destination despite widespread allegations of human rights abuses in the
country.
In a series
of tweets, Jack Dorsey said he had travelled to northern Myanmar last month for
a meditation retreat.
Myanmar is an absolutely beautiful country. The people are full of joy and the food is amazing. I visited the cities of Yangon, Mandalay, and Bagan. We visited and meditated at many monasteries around the country. pic.twitter.com/wMp3cmkfwi— jack (@jack) December 9, 2018
"The
people are full of joy and the food is amazing," he said, before
encouraging his 4m followers to visit.
But some
accused him of ignoring the plight of the Muslim Rohingya minority.
Last year,
Myanmar's military launched a violent crackdown after Rohingya militants
carried out attacks on several police posts.
Thousands of
people have been killed, and human rights organisations say the army has burned
land and committed arbitrary killings and rape.
"Writing
what is effectively a free tourism advert for them at this time is
reprehensible," one Twitter user wrote in response to Mr Dorsey's tweets.
"The
tone-deafness here is... wow," another user said.
"This
is an extremely irresponsible recommendation," one response reads.
"Does he pay no attention to the news and the outcry on his own
platform?"
Twitter post
by @jack
The military
crackdown sparked an exodus of more than 700,000 Rohingya who have since fled
to neighbouring Bangladesh to escape the violence and the destruction of their
homes.
The UN has
described the operation as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing"
and says senior Myanmar officials should be investigated and tried for
genocide.
The army has
previously cleared itself of all wrongdoing and rejects the UN's allegations.
Mohammed
Jamjoom, a correspondent for Al Jazeera who has interviewed Rohingya refugees,
said he was left "utterly speechless" by Mr Dorsey's tweets.
Twitter post
by @MIJamjoom
Others
pointed to the role social media platforms, such as the one Mr Dorsey heads up,
have played in the Rohingya crisis.
Last month,
Facebook said it agreed with a report that found it failed to prevent its
platform from being used to "incite offline violence" in Myanmar.
"Social
media [is] amplifying the genocide and meanwhile, Jack Dorsey proudly tweets
about the amazing silent retreat he did," one tweet reads.
"While
you were meditating in Myanmar, any revelations on how you're going to stop
their [government] and supporters from using your platform?" another user
wrote.
Twitter post
by @liamstack
Mr Dorsey
has not responded to the criticism, but earlier said he would track the
responses to his tweets.
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