INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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Jack Dorsey said he had travelled to Myanmar for a meditation retreat last month
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."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"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.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.Mr Dorsey has not
responded to the criticism, but earlier said he would track the responses to his tweets.
