Suu Kyi says resolving Myanmar communal violence depends on security, rule of law

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a speech at the University of Tokyo in Tokyo Wednesday, April 17, 2013. Suu Kyi is currently on a weeklong visit to Japan. (AP Photo/Yoshikazu Tsuno, Pool) (The Associated Press)

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi smiles upon arrival at the University of Tokyo to deliver a speech in Tokyo Wednesday, April 17, 2013. Suu Kyi is currently on a weeklong visit to Japan. (AP Photo/Yoshikazu Tsuno, Pool) (The Associated Press)

Myanmar opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi answers a question from a student during her lecture at the University of Tokyo in Tokyo Wednesday, April 17, 2013. (AP Photo/Kenichiro Seki, Pool) (The Associated Press)

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi says the communal violence threatening her country's fledgling reforms must be stopped by ensuring the "rule of law" so that clashing groups feel secure enough for dialogue.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, on a visit to Japan, told reporters Wednesday that she objects to violence "committed by anybody against anybody" and that Buddhist-Muslim violence threatens Myanmar's progress toward greater democracy and economic growth.

Myanmar's government has been criticized for failing to prevent attacks mostly on minority Muslims by majority Buddhists. Sectarian violence in Rakhine state has killed hundreds and driven more than 100,000 Rohingya Muslims from their homes.

Suu Kyi described the stateless Rohingya's plight as a "sad state of affairs," adding that Myanmar must face up to the citizenship issue.