Myanmar monks back president's bid to expel Rohingya Muslims

YANGON, Myanmar // Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Myanmar have staged a rally in support of the president and his proposal to send the members of a Muslim minority group to another country.

Sunday's rally in Mandalay is the latest indication of deep sentiment against the Rohingya minority after June violence with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists that left 80 people dead and tens of thousands displaced.

The monks held a banner saying, "Save your motherland Myanmar by supporting the president".

President Thein Sein suggested in July that Myanmar send all Rohingya to any country willing to take them, a proposal quickly opposed by the UN refugee agency.

Myanmar considers the Rohingya to be illegal migrants from Bangladesh but Bangladesh also rejects them, rendering them stateless.

The UN estimates that 800,000 Rohingya live in Myanmar.