Signs of genocide in Myanmar

SEOUL: The UN special envoy on human rights in Myanmar said yesterday the Myanmar military’s violent operations against Rohingya Muslims bear “the hallmarks of a genocide”.

Yanghee Lee told reporters in Seoul she could not make a definitive declaration about genocide until a credible international tribunal or court had weighed the evidence, but “we are seeing signs and it is building up to that”.

Her briefing described her recent visit to refugee camps in Bangladesh and other areas in the region to discuss the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority in Myanmar. Nearly 700 000 Rohingya have fled their villages into Bangladesh since the Myanmar military’s crackdown following August 25 attacks by Rohingya insurgents.

Responding to a question about an AP report yesterday that details a massacre and at least five mass graves in the Myanmar village of Gu Dar Pyin, Lee said while she did not have specific details on the village, “you can see it’s a pattern” that has emerged with the Rohingya.

She said such reports must be investigated, “and this is why we’ve called for a fact finding mission… and access for international media to” the areas in northern Rakhine, where the Rohingya live. Lee said Myanmar’s actions were “amounting to crimes against humanity”.

“I think Myanmar needs to get rid of this baggage of ‘did you or did you not’, and if proven that they did, then there has to be responsibility and accountability. No stones must be left unturned because the people, the victims, the families of the victims definitely deserve an answer,” she said. – AP