UN slams Burma’s Nobel winner Suu Kyi in genocide investigation

A DAMNING United Nations report yesterday called for military chiefs in Burma to face charges of genocide and crimes against humanity for violence against the Rohingya people.

The report is also fiercely critical of civil leader Aung San Suu Kyi for failing to intervene and stop the atrocities in Rakhine state.

It says the Nobel Peace Prize laureate ‘has not used her de facto position as head of government, nor her moral authority, to stem or prevent the unfolding events in Rakhine’.

Genocide is the most serious charge against a government – and is rarely proposed by UN investigators – but the report found sufficient evidence which it says warrants investigating and prosecuting.

The call has been backed by the Foreign office, which said those responsible for the mass killings and gang rapes of the Rohingya must not escape punishment.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said he would visit Burma to seek answers about the ‘deeply disturbing’ treatment of the Rohingya. ‘There must never be a hiding place for those who commit these kinds of atrocities,’ he added.

The report – which calls for the case to be referred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague – took the unusual step of identifying six senior military officers, who it says showed ‘ genocidal intent’ and should go on trial.

They include the commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing, his deputy and four other generals.

A three-member UN ‘fact-finding mission’ and their team assembled hundreds of accounts from expatriate Rohingya as well as satellite footage.

The Burmese government sees the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority, as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and denies them citizenship. The military launched its latest crackdown after Rohingya insurgents attacked police posts last August killing several policemen.

According to the medical charity MSF, at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in the first month of violence.

The UN estimates that more than 700,000 have fled the country. The Burmese government said its operations only targeted militant or insurgent threats.