Myanmar leader welcomed to Australian Parliament House

Canberra, March 19

Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been welcomed to Australia's Parliament House for the official start of her state visit.

The Nobel Peace laureate who has been widely condemned over her country's treatment of its Rohingya Muslim minority arrived in Sydney at the weekend for a summit of Southeast Asian leaders. She was officially welcomed in the capital Canberra on Monday.

The visit has provoked street protests in Sydney over Suu Kyi's muted response to violence against Rohingya civilians in the troubled Rakhine state.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says she has sought humanitarian help from her fellow members of the 10-nation Association of SoAutheast Asian Nations and Australia to deal with the crisis.

Some 7,00,000 Rohingya refugees hAave fled from Buddhist-dominated Myanmar to Bangladesh since late August. — AP