Myanmar sets up internal probe of sectarian unrest

In this Saturday, June 16, 2012 file photo, a girl and a woman carry bricks from damaged buildings in Sittwe, capital of Rakhine state in western Myanmar, after long-standing resentment between the Muslim Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhists erupted in bloody fury. She is known as the voice of Myanmar's downtrodden but there is one oppressed group that Aung San Suu Kyi does not want to discuss. (AP Photo/Khin Maung Win)

Myanmar's government has formed a commission to investigate the causes of recent sectarian violence in which at least 83 people were killed.

President Thein Sein's website announced the commission Friday, more than two months after the June clashes between Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas that displaced tens of thousands of people.

Thein Sein has rejected calls from the United Nations and human rights groups for independent investigators, saying the unrest was an internal affair.

The 27-member commission will be headed by a retired Religious Affairs ministry official and include former student activists, a former U.N. officer and representatives from political parties and Islamic and other religious organizations.

It will also propose solutions to the longstanding hatred between the communities and submit its findings by Sept. 17.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the establishment of the commission, which "could make important contributions to restoring peace and harmony in the state and in creating a conducive environment for a more inclusive way forward to tackle the underlying causes of the violence, including the condition of the Muslim communities in Rakhine," U.N. deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said late Friday.