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UN for prosecuting Myanmar’s military for genocide in Rakhine
DHAKA, Aug 27, 2018 (BSS) – Investigators of UN fact finding mission on Myanmar today said the top Myanmar military generals including its Commander-in-Chief must be investigated and prosecuted for genocide in the north of Rakhine State that caused influx of million Rohingya to Bangladesh.
“There is sufficient information to warrant the investigation and prosecution of senior officials in the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Military) chain of command, so that a competent court can determine their liability for genocide in relation to the situation in Rakhine State,” the report of UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar said.
In August last year, the Myanmar military led a brutal crackdown in Rakhine state in response to attacks by a rebel group on Myanmar police posts and a military base. The crackdown made some 700,000 Rohingya to flee in neighboring Bangladesh.
The UN Human Rights Council established the fact finding mission in March 2017. While the Mission was never granted access to Myanmar, the team amassed a vast amount of information from primary sources, including through 875 in-depth interviews with victims and eyewitnesses, satellite imagery and authenticated documents, photographs and videos.
The UN investigators found patterns of gross human rights violations and abuses committed in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan States that “undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law”, principally by Myanmar’s military, the Tatmadaw, but also by other security forces.
“Military necessity would never justify killing indiscriminately, gang raping women, assaulting children, and burning entire villages. The Tatmadaw’s tactics are consistently and grossly disproportionate to actual security threats, especially in Rakhine State, but also in northern Myanmar,” the report states.
“They are shocking for the level of denial, normalcy and impunity that is attached to them. The Tatmadaw’s contempt for human life, integrity and freedom, and for international law generally, should be a cause of concern for the entire population.”
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The crimes against humanity committed in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine States include murder; imprisonment; enforced disappearance; torture; rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence; persecution and enslavement. In addition, in Rakhine State, the elements of the crimes against humanity of extermination and deportation were also present, the report said.
“The crimes in Rakhine State, and the manner in which they were perpetrated, were similar in nature, gravity and scope to those that have allowed genocidal intent to be established in other contexts,” the report states.
The Mission has drawn up a list of alleged perpetrators as priority subjects for investigation and prosecution, whom it believes had effective control and bear the greatest responsibility.
Responsibility starts at the top, with the Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing and Five other military commanders.
A longer list of names will be kept in the custody of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and can be shared with any competent and credible body pursuing accountability in line with international norms and standards.
The report notes that civilian authorities had little scope to control the actions of the Tatmadaw. It also finds that “through their acts and omissions, the civilian authorities have contributed to the commission of atrocity crimes.”
Criticizing the role of Aung San Suu Kyi the report said the State Counsellor (Suu Kyi) has not used her de facto position as Head of Government, nor her moral authority, to stem or prevent the unfolding events in Rakhine State.
The Mission called for the situation in Myanmar to be referred to the International Criminal Court or for an ad hoc international criminal tribunal to be created. In the interim, it called for an independent, impartial mechanism to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence of violations.
It also recommended targeted individual sanctions against those who appear to be most responsible. The Mission travelled to Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the United Kingdom.
A fuller report, containing detailed factual information and legal analysis will be published and presented to the Human Rights Council on 18 September with significant amount of satellite imagery analysis.
After seeing the report, Social media giant Facebook banned 20 individuals and organizations in Myanmar – including Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the military’s Myawady television network.
“Specifically, we are banning 20 individuals and organizations from Facebook in Myanmar – including Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the military’s Myawady television network.
“International experts, most recently in a report by the UN Human Rights Council-authorized Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, have found evidence that many of these individuals and organizations committed or enabled serious human rights abuses in the country,” it said in a statement on its site.
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