YANGON – Myanmar has rejected the findings of a UN investigation alleging genocide by its military against the Rohingya after the US and other countries joined growing calls for them to face justice.
“We didn’t allow the [Fact-Finding Mission] FFM to enter into Myanmar, that’s why we don’t agree and accept any resolutions made by the Human Rights Council … Our government has spoken openly to the world that we dissociate the resolution of the Human Rights Council, as a consequence, we haven’t taken part in it and denied it either,” said government spokesman Zaw Htay, according to Wednesday’s state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
On Monday, the Human Rights Council said in a report that Myanmar’s officials are accountable for “gross human rights violations” in the country’s Rakhine state as well as for an ongoing persecution of other ethnic groups in the states of Kachin and Shan.
The UN Human Right Council also urged the UN Security Council to formally refer the government of Myanmar and its top officials to the International Criminal Court for the prosecution of crimes against humanity.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/world/un-report-stresses-prosecution-of-myanmar-army-chief-over-rohingya-genocide/
The mass exodus of the Rohingya people started after Myanmar security launched a crackdown on Rohingya insurgents following an attack on the police posts which killed 12 servicemen.
The stateless minority has long been fighting discrimination and persecution, as the Myanmar government claims they are migrants from Bangladesh who occupied the Rakhine territory.
Despite the fact that most of the Rohingyas were born in Myanmar, they have no citizenship and are deprived of the social benefits such as healthcare and education.
Zaw Htay also lashed out at Facebook for pulling down the pages of Myanmar’s army chief and other top military brass, saying that it could hamper the government’s efforts with “national reconciliation”.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/technology/facebook-suspends-myanmar-army-chiefs-account-after-un-report-on-rohingya-genocide/
The social media giant has admitted it was too slow to react to the crisis, which saw its platform — which is wildly popular in Myanmar — become an incubator of hate speech against the Rohingya.
The Rohingya are one of many ethnic minorities in Myanmar and make up the largest percentage of the country’s Muslims. The government, however, sees them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and denies them citizenship.
The military launched its latest crackdown after militants from Arsa attacked police posts in August 2017, killing several policemen.
According to the medical charity MSF, at least 6,700 Rohingya, including at least 730 children under the age of five, were killed in the first month after the violence broke out.
