Myanmar accuses UN of making false allegations

Foreign ministers call for military to be held accountable for crackdown

YANGON: Myanmar rejected a report by United Nations investigators that called for top generals to be prosecuted for genocide, saying the international community was making “false allegations”.

The UN report marked the first time the organisation has explicitly called for Myanmar officials to face genocide charges over a brutal crackdown on Rohingya Muslims last year.

“Our stance is clear and I want to say sharply that we don’t accept any resolutions conducted by the Human Rights Council,” the main government spokesman, Zaw Htay, said in an interview published in state media.

The fact-finding mission on Myanmar was established in March 2017 by the UN Human Rights Council.

Myanmar did not allow UN investigators to enter the country, Zaw Htay said, adding that “That’s why we don’t agree and accept any resolutions made by the Human Rights Council”.

He said the country has “zero tolerance to any human rights violation” and had set up a Commission of Enquiry to respond to “false allegations” made by the UN and “other international communities”.

The government earlier this year set up a panel comprising two Myanmar and two international members – Filipino diplomat Rosario Manalo and Kenzo Oshima, Japan’s former ambassador to the UN – to investigate human rights abuses.

Myanmar has denied most of the allegations, saying the military responded to a legitimate threat from Rohingya militants, who attacked police posts across the western Rakhine state.

“If there is any case against human rights, just give us strong evidence, record and date so that we can take legal action against those who break the rules and regulations,” Zaw Htay said.

In the Bangladesh capital Dhaka, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam told reporters the UN produced “the most comprehensive, factual and crucial report since the attack in August last year”.

Alam said it was natural for Myanmar to reject the report, but he added: “That does not matter. The world knows everything.”

“The facts of the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya must be said, and they must be heard,” said Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations.

Haley and other ambassadors stopped short, however, of using the word “genocide” that was cited in a UN-backed report.

“Here in the Security Council, we must hold those responsible for the violence to account,” Haley said.

On the same day that the UN released its report, Facebook shut down the account of army general Min Aung Hlaing and other top military officials, accusing them of using its platform to spread “hate and misinformation”.

In the interview published yesterday, Zaw Htay said the government had not ordered the ban and was questioning Facebook about the action, saying it had caused “mounting criticism and fear among the people”.

Myanmar’s civilian government shares power with the military, which controls key ministries including home affairs and immigration. — Reuters/AFP