Generals ‘should face genocide trial’
United Nations report yesterday called for the investigation and prosecution of Myanmar’s senior generals for genocide and accused Aung San Suu Kyi, the country’s civilian leader, of failing to use her ‘‘moral authority’’ to prevent violence against the Rohingya.
Among the military leaders who should go on trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, according to the report by a UN fact-finding mission, is General Min Aung Hlaing, the Myanmar army’s commander-inchief.
Investigators also concluded that the civilian government ‘‘through acts and omissions’’ had ‘‘contributed to the commission of atrocity crimes’’.
Jeremy Hunt, the British Foreign Secretary, said he would visit Burma to seek answers on the ‘‘deeply disturbing’’ treatment of the Rohingya people.
‘‘There must be never be a hiding place for those who commit these kind of atrocities. Have decided to visit Burma to seek answers at the earliest opportunity,’’ Hunt said on Twitter.
The UN report, coinciding with the first anniversary of a brutal military crackdown that forced at least 700,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee rape, mass murder and the torching of their homes in Rakhine state, sharply contradicts the Burmese army’s claim that it merely responded to security challenges in states with minority populations.
It is a culmination of a year’s worth of interviews, research and analysis by UN experts led by Marzuki Darusman, a human rights lawyer, and covers not only the atrocities against the Rohingya but also in Kachin and Shan states, home to Christian minorities.
‘‘Military necessity would never justify killing indiscriminately, gang raping women, assaulting children, and burning entire villages. The Tatmadaw’s [the Myanmar army] tactics are consistently and grossly disproportionate to actual security threats, especially in Rakhine state, but also in northern Myanmar,’’ the report states, using the country’s official name. ‘‘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.’’
The mission investigated the military’s actions dating back to 2011 and throughout the period when the West was celebrating Suu Kyi’s election and starting to cautiously allow investment after years of military dictatorship and sanctions.
UN investigators found patterns of gross human rights violations and abuses committed in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states that ‘‘undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law’’, principally carried out by the military but also by other security agencies.
Amnesty International said the report added ‘‘to a mountain of evidence of crimes under international law committed by the military [and] shows the need for . . . criminal investigation’’.
The Myanmar authorities did not respond to a request for comment.
– Telegraph Group
‘‘There must be never be a hiding place for those who commit these kind of atrocities.’’ Jeremy Hunt, British Foreign Secretary