Myanmar replaces general in charge of Rakhine operation
YANGON: Myanmar’s army has replaced the general in charge of Rakhine state following a military crackdown that has driven more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims into neighbouring Bangladesh amid reports of mass rape, torture and other crimes against humanity.
No reason was given why Major General Maung Maung Soe was transferred from his post as the head of Western Command in Rakhine, where Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, launched a sweeping counter-insurgency operation in August.
“I don’t know the reason why he was transferred,” Major General Aye Lwin, deputy director of the psychological warfare and public relation department at the Ministry of Defence, told Reuters.
“He wasn’t moved into any position at present, he has been put in reserve.”
The move comes ahead of visit on Wednesday by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who is expected to deliver a stern message to Myanmar’s generals, over whom national leader Aung San Suu Kyi, criticised in the West for failing to halt the atrocities, has little control.
Senators in Washington are pressing to pass legislation imposing economic and travel sanctions targeting the military and its business interests.
Leaders of Asian nations meet- ing in Manila on Monday skirted around the mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims, disappointing human rights groups who were hoping for a tough stand on the crisis.
Maung Maung Soe’s transfer was ordered on Friday and Brigadier General Soe Tint Naing had been appointed as the new head of Western Command. Soe Tint Naing’s previous role was as a director for logistics.
A senior U.N. official has described the army’s actions in Rakhine as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. Myanmar says the clearance operation was necessary for national security after Rohingya militants attacked 30 security posts and an army base in the state on August 25. Full story @ timesofoman.com/world