Abu Shaleh Rumi
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Heart touching...
Rohingya Ethnic Cleansing - Updates & Discussions
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Heart touching...
aziqbal
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Rest of the Muslim world is sleeping
The princes are living in big mansions
Abandoned their religion and the ummah
As Pakistani I hope we never abandon our religion and the ummah, if we have a army of 1,000 left still we should fight
Because Pakistan was a country made for Muslims by Muslims, if there was no Islam we would never have made a Pakistan
As long as one person stands there is hope, and I hope that change comes from Pakistan only by the will of Allah swt
Arabs used to look down on Kurds and when Saladin wanted to free Jerusalem they used to laugh, a Kurd freeing the holy lands they used to say
Saladin wiped out the entire combined army’s of Europe while Arabs watched on
After 1,000 years everyone knows Saladin no one remembers the caliphs of that time
It’s happened before and I hope after 1,000 people remember Pakistan
The princes are living in big mansions
Abandoned their religion and the ummah
As Pakistani I hope we never abandon our religion and the ummah, if we have a army of 1,000 left still we should fight
Because Pakistan was a country made for Muslims by Muslims, if there was no Islam we would never have made a Pakistan
As long as one person stands there is hope, and I hope that change comes from Pakistan only by the will of Allah swt
Arabs used to look down on Kurds and when Saladin wanted to free Jerusalem they used to laugh, a Kurd freeing the holy lands they used to say
Saladin wiped out the entire combined army’s of Europe while Arabs watched on
After 1,000 years everyone knows Saladin no one remembers the caliphs of that time
It’s happened before and I hope after 1,000 people remember Pakistan
Bilal9
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Amnesty International takes back its highest honor from Aung San Suu Kyi
London-based global human rights organization Amnesty International has stripped Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi of its Ambassador of Conscience Award. The cause is her apparent indifference to atrocities.
Amnesty International stripped Aung San Suu Kyi of its highest honor on Monday over the de facto Myanmar leader's "indifference" to the atrocities committed by the country's military against Rohingya Muslims.
The London-based human rights organization said it was revoking the Ambassador of Conscience Award it gave Suu Kyi in 2009 while she was still under house arrest.
"Today, we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defense of human rights," Amnesty International chief Kumi Naidoo said in a letter to Suu Kyi which was released by the global group.
"Amnesty International cannot justify your continued status as a recipient of the Ambassador of Conscience award and so with great sadness we are hereby withdrawing it from you."
The group said it had informed Suu Kyi of the decision on Sunday. She has not issued a public response so far.
Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party swept to power in 2015 in a landslide victory that ended decades of military rule in the southeast Asian country.
Silence on Rohingyas
Her tenure has been marred by a failure to speak up for Rohingya Muslims who were driven out of the country by the army in what the United Nations has called an ethnic cleansing campaign.
Myanmar has been accused of ethnic cleansing of Rohingya muslims
Along with the award from Amnesty International, Suu Kyi has also lost numerous smaller awards from individual universities and local and regional governments.
Last month, the 73-year-old was stripped of her honorary Canadian citizenship over her failure to speak up for the Rohingyas.
Read more: Rohingya people in Myanmar: What you need to know
Suu Kyi was hailed globally as a freedom fighter who stood up to her country's feared military dictatorship while spending 15 years under house arrest. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
More than 720,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled the Buddhist majority's western Rakhine state in a military crackdown beginning in August of last year.
Many are believed to have been either murdered or tortured and raped.
av/jm (AFP, Reuters)
London-based global human rights organization Amnesty International has stripped Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi of its Ambassador of Conscience Award. The cause is her apparent indifference to atrocities.
Amnesty International stripped Aung San Suu Kyi of its highest honor on Monday over the de facto Myanmar leader's "indifference" to the atrocities committed by the country's military against Rohingya Muslims.
The London-based human rights organization said it was revoking the Ambassador of Conscience Award it gave Suu Kyi in 2009 while she was still under house arrest.
"Today, we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defense of human rights," Amnesty International chief Kumi Naidoo said in a letter to Suu Kyi which was released by the global group.
"Amnesty International cannot justify your continued status as a recipient of the Ambassador of Conscience award and so with great sadness we are hereby withdrawing it from you."
The group said it had informed Suu Kyi of the decision on Sunday. She has not issued a public response so far.
Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party swept to power in 2015 in a landslide victory that ended decades of military rule in the southeast Asian country.
Silence on Rohingyas
Her tenure has been marred by a failure to speak up for Rohingya Muslims who were driven out of the country by the army in what the United Nations has called an ethnic cleansing campaign.
Myanmar has been accused of ethnic cleansing of Rohingya muslims
Along with the award from Amnesty International, Suu Kyi has also lost numerous smaller awards from individual universities and local and regional governments.
Last month, the 73-year-old was stripped of her honorary Canadian citizenship over her failure to speak up for the Rohingyas.
Read more: Rohingya people in Myanmar: What you need to know
Suu Kyi was hailed globally as a freedom fighter who stood up to her country's feared military dictatorship while spending 15 years under house arrest. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
More than 720,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled the Buddhist majority's western Rakhine state in a military crackdown beginning in August of last year.
Many are believed to have been either murdered or tortured and raped.
av/jm (AFP, Reuters)
Bilal9
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Suu Kyi to defend Myanmar in Rohingya genocide case at world court
Reuters | Published: November 21, 2019 12:02:42 | Updated: November 21, 2019 13:10:05
State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi attends the 22nd ASEAN Plus Three Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, November 4, 2019 — Reuters/Files
Aung San Suu Kyi will appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to contest a case filed by Gambia accusing Myanmar of genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority, her government said on Wednesday.
More than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar’s military, which UN investigators say was carried out with “genocidal intent”. Buddhist majority Myanmar denies accusations of genocide.
Gambia, a tiny, mainly Muslim West African state, lodged its lawsuit after winning the support of the 57-nation Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Only a state can file a case against another state at the ICJ.
“Myanmar has retained prominent international lawyers to contest the case submitted by Gambia,” the ministry for state counselor Suu Kyi’s office said in a Facebook post.
“The State Counselor, in her capacity as Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, will lead a team to the Hague, Netherlands, to defend the national interest of Myanmar at the ICJ,” it said, giving no further details.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told Reuters the decision was made after the army consulted with the government. “We, the military, will fully cooperate with the government and we will follow the instruction of the government,” he said.
A spokesman for Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, said she had decided to take on the case herself.
“They accused () Aung San Suu Kyi of failing to speak out about human rights violations,” spokesman Myo Nyunt said. “She decided to face the lawsuit by herself.”
Both Gambia and Myanmar are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention, which not only prohibits states from committing genocide but also compels all signatory states to prevent and punish the crime of genocide.
The ICJ has said it will hold the first public hearings in the case on December 10 to 12. The court has no means to enforce any of its rulings.
Nobel Laureate
Suu Kyi, a longtime democracy activist who won the Nobel peace prize for her defiance of the military junta, swept to power in Myanmar after a landslide election win in 2015 that ushered in the country’s first fully civilian government in half a century.
But her reputation has been sullied by her response to the plight of the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority living in the western Rakhine state.
While almost a million now live in squalor in Bangladeshi refugee camps, several hundred thousand remain inside Myanmar, confined to camps and villages in apartheid-like conditions.
She has publicly blamed the crisis on Rohingya “terrorists”, referring to militants who attacked security posts in August 2017, prompting the army crackdown, and has branded reports of atrocities, including gang-rapes and mass killings, as fake news.
“Aung San Suu Kyi has continued to deny the atrocities committed by the Myanmar government against the Rohingya,” said John Quinley, human rights specialist at Fortify Rights.
“Rohingya globally, including refugees in Bangladesh, support the case at the ICJ and want justice for their people.”
Wave Of Pressure
The ICJ, established in 1946, settles disputes between states, and individuals cannot sue or be sued there.
But Myanmar is facing a wave of international pressure from courts across the world, and other cases involve individual criminal responsibility.
Days after Gambia filed its case at the ICJ, Rohingya and Latin American human rights groups submitted a lawsuit in Argentina under “universal jurisdiction”, a legal premise that deems some crimes as so horrific that they can be tried anywhere in the world.
Suu Kyi was named in that lawsuit, which demands that top military and civilian leaders be sanctioned over the “existential threat” faced by the Rohingya minority.
Separately, the International Criminal Court has authorised a full investigation into crimes committed against the Rohingya in neighbouring Bangladesh. Myanmar does not recognize the ICC but Bangladesh accepts its jurisdiction.
Reuters | Published: November 21, 2019 12:02:42 | Updated: November 21, 2019 13:10:05
Aung San Suu Kyi will appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to contest a case filed by Gambia accusing Myanmar of genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority, her government said on Wednesday.
More than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar’s military, which UN investigators say was carried out with “genocidal intent”. Buddhist majority Myanmar denies accusations of genocide.
Gambia, a tiny, mainly Muslim West African state, lodged its lawsuit after winning the support of the 57-nation Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Only a state can file a case against another state at the ICJ.
“Myanmar has retained prominent international lawyers to contest the case submitted by Gambia,” the ministry for state counselor Suu Kyi’s office said in a Facebook post.
“The State Counselor, in her capacity as Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, will lead a team to the Hague, Netherlands, to defend the national interest of Myanmar at the ICJ,” it said, giving no further details.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told Reuters the decision was made after the army consulted with the government. “We, the military, will fully cooperate with the government and we will follow the instruction of the government,” he said.
A spokesman for Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, said she had decided to take on the case herself.
“They accused () Aung San Suu Kyi of failing to speak out about human rights violations,” spokesman Myo Nyunt said. “She decided to face the lawsuit by herself.”
Both Gambia and Myanmar are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention, which not only prohibits states from committing genocide but also compels all signatory states to prevent and punish the crime of genocide.
The ICJ has said it will hold the first public hearings in the case on December 10 to 12. The court has no means to enforce any of its rulings.
Nobel Laureate
Suu Kyi, a longtime democracy activist who won the Nobel peace prize for her defiance of the military junta, swept to power in Myanmar after a landslide election win in 2015 that ushered in the country’s first fully civilian government in half a century.
But her reputation has been sullied by her response to the plight of the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority living in the western Rakhine state.
While almost a million now live in squalor in Bangladeshi refugee camps, several hundred thousand remain inside Myanmar, confined to camps and villages in apartheid-like conditions.
She has publicly blamed the crisis on Rohingya “terrorists”, referring to militants who attacked security posts in August 2017, prompting the army crackdown, and has branded reports of atrocities, including gang-rapes and mass killings, as fake news.
“Aung San Suu Kyi has continued to deny the atrocities committed by the Myanmar government against the Rohingya,” said John Quinley, human rights specialist at Fortify Rights.
“Rohingya globally, including refugees in Bangladesh, support the case at the ICJ and want justice for their people.”
Wave Of Pressure
The ICJ, established in 1946, settles disputes between states, and individuals cannot sue or be sued there.
But Myanmar is facing a wave of international pressure from courts across the world, and other cases involve individual criminal responsibility.
Days after Gambia filed its case at the ICJ, Rohingya and Latin American human rights groups submitted a lawsuit in Argentina under “universal jurisdiction”, a legal premise that deems some crimes as so horrific that they can be tried anywhere in the world.
Suu Kyi was named in that lawsuit, which demands that top military and civilian leaders be sanctioned over the “existential threat” faced by the Rohingya minority.
Separately, the International Criminal Court has authorised a full investigation into crimes committed against the Rohingya in neighbouring Bangladesh. Myanmar does not recognize the ICC but Bangladesh accepts its jurisdiction.
Buddhistforlife
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Also be ready to receive more people from India. Already the process is going on in India.Suu Kyi to defend Myanmar in Rohingya genocide case at world court
Reuters | Published: November 21, 2019 12:02:42 | Updated: November 21, 2019 13:10:05
State Counsellor of Myanmar Aung San Suu Kyi attends the 22nd ASEAN Plus Three Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, November 4, 2019 — Reuters/Files
Aung San Suu Kyi will appear before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to contest a case filed by Gambia accusing Myanmar of genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority, her government said on Wednesday.
More than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh since a 2017 crackdown by Myanmar’s military, which UN investigators say was carried out with “genocidal intent”. Buddhist majority Myanmar denies accusations of genocide.
Gambia, a tiny, mainly Muslim West African state, lodged its lawsuit after winning the support of the 57-nation Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Only a state can file a case against another state at the ICJ.
“Myanmar has retained prominent international lawyers to contest the case submitted by Gambia,” the ministry for state counselor Suu Kyi’s office said in a Facebook post.
“The State Counselor, in her capacity as Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, will lead a team to the Hague, Netherlands, to defend the national interest of Myanmar at the ICJ,” it said, giving no further details.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told Reuters the decision was made after the army consulted with the government. “We, the military, will fully cooperate with the government and we will follow the instruction of the government,” he said.
A spokesman for Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, said she had decided to take on the case herself.
“They accused () Aung San Suu Kyi of failing to speak out about human rights violations,” spokesman Myo Nyunt said. “She decided to face the lawsuit by herself.”
Both Gambia and Myanmar are signatories to the 1948 Genocide Convention, which not only prohibits states from committing genocide but also compels all signatory states to prevent and punish the crime of genocide.
The ICJ has said it will hold the first public hearings in the case on December 10 to 12. The court has no means to enforce any of its rulings.
Nobel Laureate
Suu Kyi, a longtime democracy activist who won the Nobel peace prize for her defiance of the military junta, swept to power in Myanmar after a landslide election win in 2015 that ushered in the country’s first fully civilian government in half a century.
But her reputation has been sullied by her response to the plight of the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority living in the western Rakhine state.
While almost a million now live in squalor in Bangladeshi refugee camps, several hundred thousand remain inside Myanmar, confined to camps and villages in apartheid-like conditions.
She has publicly blamed the crisis on Rohingya “terrorists”, referring to militants who attacked security posts in August 2017, prompting the army crackdown, and has branded reports of atrocities, including gang-rapes and mass killings, as fake news.
“Aung San Suu Kyi has continued to deny the atrocities committed by the Myanmar government against the Rohingya,” said John Quinley, human rights specialist at Fortify Rights.
“Rohingya globally, including refugees in Bangladesh, support the case at the ICJ and want justice for their people.”
Wave Of Pressure
The ICJ, established in 1946, settles disputes between states, and individuals cannot sue or be sued there.
But Myanmar is facing a wave of international pressure from courts across the world, and other cases involve individual criminal responsibility.
Days after Gambia filed its case at the ICJ, Rohingya and Latin American human rights groups submitted a lawsuit in Argentina under “universal jurisdiction”, a legal premise that deems some crimes as so horrific that they can be tried anywhere in the world.
Suu Kyi was named in that lawsuit, which demands that top military and civilian leaders be sanctioned over the “existential threat” faced by the Rohingya minority.
Separately, the International Criminal Court has authorised a full investigation into crimes committed against the Rohingya in neighbouring Bangladesh. Myanmar does not recognize the ICC but Bangladesh accepts its jurisdiction.
Bilal9
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Myanmar's Suu Kyi to take the stand in genocide case
AFP
Suu Kyi's defence of the same military that once kept her locked up has since caused international condemnation AFP
The small African state of Gambia has taken Myanmar to court over a bloody 2017 military crackdown
Aung San Suu Kyi is set to speak out in Myanmar's defence at the UN's top court on Wednesday, a day after the former democracy icon was urged to "stop the genocide" against Rohingya Muslims.
Once hailed internationally for her defiance of Myanmar's junta, the Nobel peace laureate will this time be on the side of the southeast Asian nation's military when she takes the stand at the International Court of Justice.
The small African state of Gambia has taken Myanmar to court over a bloody 2017 military crackdown in which thousands of people were killed and around 740,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh.
Suu Kyi is expected to tell ICJ judges that Myanmar was conducting legitimate operations against Rohingya militants, that it has carried out its own investigations into the bloodshed and that the court has no jurisdiction in the case.
Kaamil Ahmed
✔@KaamilAhmed
Rohingya refugees gather in the camps of Bangladesh chanting “Gambia, Gambia” as the country takes its case accusing Myanmar of genocide to the International Court of Justice.
Aung San Suu Kyi will defend Myanmar herself.
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Huge crowds are expected to turn out in Yangon to watch Suu Kyi speak via livestream amid a groundswell of support in Myanmar, where the woman dubbed "The Lady" is still widely loved.
Gambian Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou said it would be "extremely disappointing" if Suu Kyi repeated her previous denials of wrongdoing by Myanmar.
'Stain on our conscience'
Mostly-Muslim Gambia accuses Myanmar of breaching the 1948 genocide convention and has asked the court, set up in 1946 to rule on disputes between UN member states, to take emergency measures to stop further violence.
The 74-year-old Suu Kyi sat impassively through graphic accounts of mass murder and rape on Tuesday as Gambia set out its case against Myanmar.
Tambadou, who said he was inspired to act after visiting Bangladesh in 2018, told the judges on Tuesday that the world's failure to help the Rohingya was a "stain on our collective conscience."
ICJ judges have only once before ruled that genocide was committed, in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia.
Kenneth Roth
✔@KenRoth
Bad enough that Aung San Suu Kyi leads the defense of Myanmar for the genocide it is accused of committing against Rohingya Muslims. She's also opposing protections for the 500,000 Rohingya who remain in Myanmar, effectively greenlighting more atrocities. https://trib.al/0X2IDQZ
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The Gambia's lawyers sought to tie Suu Kyi directly into the case.
They said the appearance of huge billboards across Myanmar in recent weeks featuring pictures of Suu Kyi with three smiling generals showed she was "in it together" with the army, whose half century in power was characterised by brutal civil conflicts, biting poverty and isolation.
Suu Kyi's decision to personally lead her country's case at the court has proved popular at home, where the Rohingya are widely regarded as illegal immigrants.
Flag-waving supporters joined rallies in support of Suu Kyi in several Myanmar cities on Tuesday and rally organizers in Yangon told AFP they have permission from authorities to live stream Wednesday's ICJ hearing on a big screen outside the City Hall.
US sanctions
The United States stiffened sanctions against Myanmar's army chief Min Aung Hlaing and three other senior commanders on Tuesday over the killings of Rohingya, to mark International Human Rights Day.
"The United States will not tolerate torture, kidnapping, sexual violence, murder or brutality against innocent civilians," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
Frontier Myanmar
✔@FrontierMM
Aung San Suu Kyi is set to speak out in Myanmar's defence at the UN's top court today, a day after the former democracy icon was urged to "stop the genocide" against Rohingya Muslims. https://frontiermyanmar.net/en/aung-san-suu-kyi-to-take-the-stand-in-genocide-case …
Aung San Suu Kyi to take the stand in genocide case
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is set to speak out in Myanmar's defence at the UN's top court today, a day after she was urged to "stop the genocide" against Rohingya Muslims.
frontiermyanmar.net
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Aung San Suu Kyi was once mentioned in the same breath as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, having won the Nobel in 1991 for her resistance to Myanmar's brutal junta.
After 15 years under house arrest she was freed in 2010 and led her party to victory in elections in 2015.
But her defence of the same military that once kept her locked up has since caused international condemnation.
Myanmar meanwhile faces a number of legal challenges over the fate of the Rohingya, including a probe by the International Criminal Court -- a separate war crimes tribunal in The Hague -- and a lawsuit in Argentina personally mentioning Suu Kyi.
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Rohingya call for Suu Kyi to acknowledge atrocities
AFP
Rohingya survivors stand outside the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands on December 10, 2019 Reuters
The case brought by the tiny west African nation of Gambia is the first international legal attempt to bring Myanmar to justice over the crisis
From squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh, Rohingya who fled a brutal Myanmar military crackdown are calling on Aung San Suu Kyi to acknowledge the mass atrocities as she defends her country against genocide charges at the UN's top court.
The Nobel peace laureate arrived on Tuesday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to lead the defence against claims brought by the Gambia that Myanmar's military tried to systematically wipe out the Rohingya minority in 2017.
The violence sparked a mass exodus of some 740,000 Rohingya to refugee settlements in Bangladesh border towns, where survivors are still haunted by the rape and murder of loved ones by soldiers and vigilante mobs.
"Suu Kyi cannot deny anything. The international community must listen to our voice because we are the real victims," Sayed Ulla, a Rohingya leader, told AFP at one of the camps.
"I want to see the convicts go to the gallows. They killed us mercilessly. I won't get back my family," added widow Saida Khatun, who witnessed her parents, husband and three children being slaughtered.
"Only seeing them perpetrators being punished for their deeds will make me happy."
Widow Dildar Begum told AFP her village of Tula Toli was razed and two of her children killed.
Revealing scars she said were caused by soldiers smashing her head with boots and rifle butts after raping her, Begum recalled how her husband and two sons, aged one and five, were hacked to pieces.
"I still can hear my sons' voices in my dreams cursing me as I failed to save them," the 35-year-old said, breaking down in tears.
UN investigators have concluded that the 2017 violence amounted to genocide, with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) estimating that at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in the first month of the crackdown alone.
The case brought by the tiny west African nation of Gambia is the first international legal attempt to bring Myanmar to justice over the crisis.
The Gambia, acting on behalf of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, on Tuesday will ask the ICJ to take emergency measures to halt Myanmar's "ongoing genocidal actions" against the Rohingya.
Myanmar's military has insisted its crackdown was needed to root out Rohingya militants who attacked border police posts in 2017.
Suu Kyi has kept silent over the plight of the minority and defended the same generals who once kept her under house arrest for 15 years.
The hearing comes amid growing impatience in Dhaka over the presence of the refugees, who now number nearly one million, after two failed attempts to voluntarily repatriate them back to Myanmar's Rakhine state.
Ahead of Suu Kyi's ICJ appearance, hundreds of refugees gathered at one of the camps on Tuesday morning, chanting "Gambia, Gambia" and raising their fists.
"We prayed and chanted slogans for Gambia for filing the case against Myanmar," one refugee, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP after the rally.
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Dr Yunus, 7 other Nobel peace laureates: Suu Kyi must be held criminally accountable at ICJ
Tribune Desk
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi attends the 10th Asean-UN Summit in Bangkok on November 3, 2019 AFP
They called on Suu Kyi to publicly acknowledge at ICJ the crimes committed against the Rohingyas
Eight Nobel peace laureates including Dr Muhammad Yunus have demanded that Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's state counsellor and its de facto president, must be held criminally accountable, along with her army commanders, for crimes committed against the Rohingyas.
They called on Suu Kyi, also a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, to publicly acknowledge the crimes, including genocide, committed against the Rohingyas at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Nobel Women's Initiative reported on Monday.
"We are deeply concerned that instead of condemning these crimes, Aung San Suu Kyi is actively denying that these atrocities even occurred."
Also Read- Myanmar faces the music
The west African country Gambia filed a lawsuit in November 2019 with the ICJ -- the United Nations' highest court -- over the atrocities, accusing Myanmar of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Myanmar's civilian leader Suu Kyi will appear before the court on Tuesday as the Buddhist state disputes claims that it tried to exterminate the minority Rohingya Muslims in a 2017 military crackdown.
The Nobel peace laureates commended the Gambia for taking step to hold Myanmar responsible for the genocide and advancing justice for the victims of these crimes.
They said: "As people of peace, we urge Aung San Suu Kyi to address the systematic discrimination of the Rohingya in Rakhine State, and ensure the Rohingya's right to nationality, land ownership, freedom of movement, and other fundamental rights."
"We also urge her to exercise her personal and moral responsibility towards the Rohingya and acknowledge and condemn the genocide committed under her watch."
File photo of Rohingya women and children in a camp in Cox Bazar | Mahmud Hossain Opu/ Dhaka Tribune
The eight Nobel Peace Laureates are -- Shirin Ebadi, (2003) – Iran; Leymah Gbowee, (2011) – Liberia; Tawakkol Karman, (2011) – Yemen; Mairead Maguire, (1976) – Northern Ireland; Rigoberta Menchú Tum, (1992) – Guatemala; Jody Williams, (1997) – USA; Kailash Satyarthi, (2014) – India and Dr Muhammad Yunus, (2006) — Bangladesh.
In February 2018, Shirin Ebadi, Tawakkol Karman, and Mairead Maguire visited the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar.
They spent time with and listened to the stories of over 100 women refugees. After hearing testimonies describing how security forces burned villages, tortured, killed and systematically raped women and girls -- as well as reports from humanitarian organizations and UN officials -- the laureates concluded that the attacks on the Rohingyas in Rakhine State amounted to crimes against humanity and genocide.
Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingya refugees, most of whom entered Cox's Bazar from August 25, 2017, amid a military crackdown on the Rohingyas in Rakhine.
Not a single Rohingya was repatriated over the last two years due to Myanmar's "failure" to build confidence among the Rohingya and a conducive environment in Rakhine.
Bangladesh has so far handed over names of over one lakh Rohingyas to Myanmar authorities for verification and to subsequently expedite their repatriation efforts, but Myanmar is yet to take back its nationals from Bangladesh, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka.
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Aung San Suu Kyi: I know nothing
Shafiur Rahman
FIle photo: Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi attends the joint news conference of the Japan-Mekong Summit Meeting at the Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Japan October 9, 2018 Reuters
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s state counsellor, once said: “Some people have been saying that I know nothing of Burmese politics. The trouble is that I know too much.” Those words were uttered in another era when Aung San Suu Kyi was the focal point of democratic efforts in Myanmar. Now, three decades later, Aung San Suu Kyi claims to know nothing about the alleged ongoing genocide in her country. Such is her assuredness that she has decided to lead the delegation to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in defence of Myanmar in a landmark case, brought by Gambia, which alleges that Myanmar has been violating the Genocide Convention. DhakaTribune asked some of the world’s foremost experts and also Rohingya activists on what they think about Aung San Suu Ky’s decision to go to The Hague.
Professor Penny Green, Queen Mary University of London, one of the first academics to analyze the Rohingya crisis as one of genocide.
Aung San Suu Kyi will go to the Hague to defend her political class and Myanmar’s generals against the charge of genocide with a well-rehearsed repertoire of denial. And in denial, both material and rhetorical, she is particularly well practiced. Since her rise to power she has denied the right of Rohingya to self-identify, she has denied them the most basic human rights, she has denied that they are held in concentration camps in Rakhine state at the same time as denying them adequate food, health care, freedom of movement and access to livelihood in those very camps. When the military launched its final assault on the Rohingya in Northern Rakhine State in 2016-17 Aung San Suu Kyi was quick to deny well proven accusations of mass killings and mass rape.
And she defended the military in their denial of the worst human right violations imaginable. The Hague will provide yet another forum for genocide denial. Her leadership of Myanmar’s delegation is a clear illustration of the intimate relationship she and her government have with the military. They have spoken with one voice and acted with one barbarous intention – to eliminate the Rohingya from Myanmar soil, polity and history. Claims that Suu Kyi had no alternative but to acquiesce in the face of Tatmadaw (official name of the Armed Forces of Myanmar) power hold no water given her record of human rights violations, while her decision to lead Myanmar’s defence of its indefensible brutality at the ICJ demonstrates her iron-clad complicity and belief in the crimes that she and her co-conspirators perpetrated. The evidence is incontrovertible, Aung San Suu Kyi is a genocidaire who both supported, assisted in engineering and participated in the coordinated destruction of the Myanmar Rohingya people.
Laetitia van den Assum, Dutch diplomat and former member of Kofi Annan’s Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, Myanmar.
First of all, I think it is good that Myanmar is engaging with Gambia and the ICJ. And it is not at all unusual that foreign ministers lead missions to the Court. Remember, for example, Thailand v. Cambodia about a border dispute which related to the ancient Preah Vihear temple a few years ago.
What is different though, is that in this case the Court is asked to establish whether or not the state of Myanmar can be held accountable for genocide, the crime of crimes. And even though the case is not about individual criminal responsibility but about state responsibility, the person who has been the de facto head of government since early 2016 will come into strong focus.
Of course, Myanmar has the right to obtain the best international law experts it can find. I hope that the Myanmar team will listen to them and that a sound legal strategy is developed. The political arguments we continue to hear may satisfy a domestic audience but not the court
More generally, the three legal cases (International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice and the Universal Jurisdiction case in Argentina) are welcome if they can halt impunity and obtain justice for the Rohingya. But accountability is only one element of a much broader strategy to achieve peace, stability, justice and development for all who call Rakhine state their home. Security sector reform, judiciary reform as well as ensuring the equality of all before the law should be part of the mix. At present they are not.
Professor John Packer, Neuberger-Jesin Professor of International Conflict Resolution at the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa.
The appearance of Aung San Suu Kyi leading the defence in The Hague is certainly striking - unusual to say the least for a Head of Government and even Foreign Minister to appear, especially without legal education or training. This indicates it is almost entirely about politics... and likely more about the domestic effect in Myanmar where she may enhance her position in "defending the nation". But internationally her participation has raised considerably attention to the case, and inescapably adds legitimacy to the process which can hardly later be condemned. In addition, the Lady's choice to lead the defence erases the idea of a bright red line between her and the civilian Government, on the one hand, and the Tatmadaw and security forces on the other hand: before the Court, they are one and the same. And the exercise of her choice indicates either concurrence with the attributed actions (and shared responsibility) or an extraordinary absence of judgement (or both).
Wai Wai Nu, Rohingya lawyer and activist.
At the age of 18, she and her family were imprisoned by Myanmar authorities for seven years. She is currently a visiting scholar at Columbia University and also runs the Women’s Peace Network in Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi is receiving increasing public support as she might have calculated. However, her decision has also created a severe division among the people. She would do well to remember that at the end of the day, the public will come to realize the truth, and then the people of Myanmar will blame her. Internationally, she will be losing more credibility for her continuous denial and defence of the military. Things are much more serious than she is assuming. Many actors, including UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, are monitoring all her and her government’s actions.
Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK. He campaigned for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. In 2012, he personally discussed Rohingya issues with her.
At the end of the day the only beneficiary will be the military. They can sit back and watch Aung San Suu Kyi, whom they see as one of their greatest threats, having her reputation with the international community and ethnic people in Burma even further damaged defending the Tatmadaw’s crimes. The real problem with Aung San Suu Kyi is not just that she defends the actions of the military. As leader of the civilian government she is also pursuing racist genocidal policies against the Rohingya denying them rights, access to education, food, and healthcare. Her policies are killing people on a weekly basis.
Politically this case is a good opportunity for her. Ahead of an election year she can play the nationalist card defending the country against foreign attacks, and by defending the military she can use this in her attempts to try to win round the military into accepting democratic reforms. One motivation is that Aung San Suu Kyi genuinely does not believe that genocide is being committed. Like many people in Burma, she seems to believe that, as they think, Rohingya are illegal immigrants and therefore human rights violations against them don't count. They are less than human.
Even before the Rohingya issue came to the fore, Aung San Suu Kyi has always opposed international justice mechanisms. She calls it revenge rather than justice.
Sareta Ashraph, International criminal lawyer working on accountability for ISIS genocidal crimes against the Yazidis.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s role in the proceedings - an agent - is a specific one. While the agent has the same rights and obligations as a solicitor in a national court, she or he also serves, effectively, as the head of a special diplomatic mission with powers to commit a sovereign State. For Aung San Suu Kyi, her decision to act as Myanmar’s agent in the ICJ hearings is significant. The Gambia alleges that Myanmar has violated the Genocide Convention as a result of its campaign of killing, sexual violence and other atrocities against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim community. Aung San Suu Kyi consistent refusal to criticise Myanmar’s army for its attacks on the Rohingya has been described as “a sustained exercise in moral equivalence.” As she rises to her feet before the Court, any lingering hopes one may have for this former human rights icon and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize are likely to be extinguished.
Dr Hla Kyaw Khubybe is a Rohingya and chairman of the European Rohingya Council. He is based in the Netherlands and will be organizing demonstrations against Aung San Suu Kyi.
There are two big reasons behind Aung San Suu Kyi's intention to lead the Myanmar delegation, I believe. Firstly, she still believes that her popularity in the West is still present to some extent. Therefore, she might think that her presence could influence the ICJ process to an extent. She might also believe that her words of denials of genocidal crimes committed by the military and other governmental institutions under her watch would be taken as the truth. As a con artist with a Nobel prize, she excels in lying and denying empirical truths concerning her government and military and the heinous crimes they committed against our people.
Secondly, she is preparing for the upcoming election. Due to her incompetence and failure to bring Myanmar forward, her popularity is gradually fading away in Myanmar. However, ICJ case is bringing Burmese people out in support of her. She is mobilizing Burmese nationalism in order to stay in power.
AFP
- Published at 10:01 am December 11th, 2019
Suu Kyi's defence of the same military that once kept her locked up has since caused international condemnation AFP
The small African state of Gambia has taken Myanmar to court over a bloody 2017 military crackdown
Aung San Suu Kyi is set to speak out in Myanmar's defence at the UN's top court on Wednesday, a day after the former democracy icon was urged to "stop the genocide" against Rohingya Muslims.
Once hailed internationally for her defiance of Myanmar's junta, the Nobel peace laureate will this time be on the side of the southeast Asian nation's military when she takes the stand at the International Court of Justice.
The small African state of Gambia has taken Myanmar to court over a bloody 2017 military crackdown in which thousands of people were killed and around 740,000 Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh.
Suu Kyi is expected to tell ICJ judges that Myanmar was conducting legitimate operations against Rohingya militants, that it has carried out its own investigations into the bloodshed and that the court has no jurisdiction in the case.
Kaamil Ahmed
✔@KaamilAhmed
Rohingya refugees gather in the camps of Bangladesh chanting “Gambia, Gambia” as the country takes its case accusing Myanmar of genocide to the International Court of Justice.
Aung San Suu Kyi will defend Myanmar herself.
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Huge crowds are expected to turn out in Yangon to watch Suu Kyi speak via livestream amid a groundswell of support in Myanmar, where the woman dubbed "The Lady" is still widely loved.
Gambian Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou said it would be "extremely disappointing" if Suu Kyi repeated her previous denials of wrongdoing by Myanmar.
'Stain on our conscience'
Mostly-Muslim Gambia accuses Myanmar of breaching the 1948 genocide convention and has asked the court, set up in 1946 to rule on disputes between UN member states, to take emergency measures to stop further violence.
The 74-year-old Suu Kyi sat impassively through graphic accounts of mass murder and rape on Tuesday as Gambia set out its case against Myanmar.
Tambadou, who said he was inspired to act after visiting Bangladesh in 2018, told the judges on Tuesday that the world's failure to help the Rohingya was a "stain on our collective conscience."
ICJ judges have only once before ruled that genocide was committed, in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia.
Kenneth Roth
✔@KenRoth
Bad enough that Aung San Suu Kyi leads the defense of Myanmar for the genocide it is accused of committing against Rohingya Muslims. She's also opposing protections for the 500,000 Rohingya who remain in Myanmar, effectively greenlighting more atrocities. https://trib.al/0X2IDQZ
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The Gambia's lawyers sought to tie Suu Kyi directly into the case.
They said the appearance of huge billboards across Myanmar in recent weeks featuring pictures of Suu Kyi with three smiling generals showed she was "in it together" with the army, whose half century in power was characterised by brutal civil conflicts, biting poverty and isolation.
Suu Kyi's decision to personally lead her country's case at the court has proved popular at home, where the Rohingya are widely regarded as illegal immigrants.
Flag-waving supporters joined rallies in support of Suu Kyi in several Myanmar cities on Tuesday and rally organizers in Yangon told AFP they have permission from authorities to live stream Wednesday's ICJ hearing on a big screen outside the City Hall.
US sanctions
The United States stiffened sanctions against Myanmar's army chief Min Aung Hlaing and three other senior commanders on Tuesday over the killings of Rohingya, to mark International Human Rights Day.
"The United States will not tolerate torture, kidnapping, sexual violence, murder or brutality against innocent civilians," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
Frontier Myanmar
✔@FrontierMM
Aung San Suu Kyi is set to speak out in Myanmar's defence at the UN's top court today, a day after the former democracy icon was urged to "stop the genocide" against Rohingya Muslims. https://frontiermyanmar.net/en/aung-san-suu-kyi-to-take-the-stand-in-genocide-case …
Aung San Suu Kyi to take the stand in genocide case
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is set to speak out in Myanmar's defence at the UN's top court today, a day after she was urged to "stop the genocide" against Rohingya Muslims.
frontiermyanmar.net
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Aung San Suu Kyi was once mentioned in the same breath as Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, having won the Nobel in 1991 for her resistance to Myanmar's brutal junta.
After 15 years under house arrest she was freed in 2010 and led her party to victory in elections in 2015.
But her defence of the same military that once kept her locked up has since caused international condemnation.
Myanmar meanwhile faces a number of legal challenges over the fate of the Rohingya, including a probe by the International Criminal Court -- a separate war crimes tribunal in The Hague -- and a lawsuit in Argentina personally mentioning Suu Kyi.
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Rohingya call for Suu Kyi to acknowledge atrocities
AFP
- Published at 05:44 pm December 10th, 2019
Rohingya survivors stand outside the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands on December 10, 2019 Reuters
The case brought by the tiny west African nation of Gambia is the first international legal attempt to bring Myanmar to justice over the crisis
From squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh, Rohingya who fled a brutal Myanmar military crackdown are calling on Aung San Suu Kyi to acknowledge the mass atrocities as she defends her country against genocide charges at the UN's top court.
The Nobel peace laureate arrived on Tuesday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague to lead the defence against claims brought by the Gambia that Myanmar's military tried to systematically wipe out the Rohingya minority in 2017.
The violence sparked a mass exodus of some 740,000 Rohingya to refugee settlements in Bangladesh border towns, where survivors are still haunted by the rape and murder of loved ones by soldiers and vigilante mobs.
"Suu Kyi cannot deny anything. The international community must listen to our voice because we are the real victims," Sayed Ulla, a Rohingya leader, told AFP at one of the camps.
"I want to see the convicts go to the gallows. They killed us mercilessly. I won't get back my family," added widow Saida Khatun, who witnessed her parents, husband and three children being slaughtered.
"Only seeing them perpetrators being punished for their deeds will make me happy."
Widow Dildar Begum told AFP her village of Tula Toli was razed and two of her children killed.
Revealing scars she said were caused by soldiers smashing her head with boots and rifle butts after raping her, Begum recalled how her husband and two sons, aged one and five, were hacked to pieces.
"I still can hear my sons' voices in my dreams cursing me as I failed to save them," the 35-year-old said, breaking down in tears.
UN investigators have concluded that the 2017 violence amounted to genocide, with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) estimating that at least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in the first month of the crackdown alone.
The case brought by the tiny west African nation of Gambia is the first international legal attempt to bring Myanmar to justice over the crisis.
The Gambia, acting on behalf of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, on Tuesday will ask the ICJ to take emergency measures to halt Myanmar's "ongoing genocidal actions" against the Rohingya.
Myanmar's military has insisted its crackdown was needed to root out Rohingya militants who attacked border police posts in 2017.
Suu Kyi has kept silent over the plight of the minority and defended the same generals who once kept her under house arrest for 15 years.
The hearing comes amid growing impatience in Dhaka over the presence of the refugees, who now number nearly one million, after two failed attempts to voluntarily repatriate them back to Myanmar's Rakhine state.
Ahead of Suu Kyi's ICJ appearance, hundreds of refugees gathered at one of the camps on Tuesday morning, chanting "Gambia, Gambia" and raising their fists.
"We prayed and chanted slogans for Gambia for filing the case against Myanmar," one refugee, who asked to remain anonymous, told AFP after the rally.
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Dr Yunus, 7 other Nobel peace laureates: Suu Kyi must be held criminally accountable at ICJ
Tribune Desk
- Published at 11:26 am December 10th, 2019
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi attends the 10th Asean-UN Summit in Bangkok on November 3, 2019 AFP
They called on Suu Kyi to publicly acknowledge at ICJ the crimes committed against the Rohingyas
Eight Nobel peace laureates including Dr Muhammad Yunus have demanded that Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's state counsellor and its de facto president, must be held criminally accountable, along with her army commanders, for crimes committed against the Rohingyas.
They called on Suu Kyi, also a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, to publicly acknowledge the crimes, including genocide, committed against the Rohingyas at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Nobel Women's Initiative reported on Monday.
"We are deeply concerned that instead of condemning these crimes, Aung San Suu Kyi is actively denying that these atrocities even occurred."
Also Read- Myanmar faces the music
The west African country Gambia filed a lawsuit in November 2019 with the ICJ -- the United Nations' highest court -- over the atrocities, accusing Myanmar of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Myanmar's civilian leader Suu Kyi will appear before the court on Tuesday as the Buddhist state disputes claims that it tried to exterminate the minority Rohingya Muslims in a 2017 military crackdown.
The Nobel peace laureates commended the Gambia for taking step to hold Myanmar responsible for the genocide and advancing justice for the victims of these crimes.
They said: "As people of peace, we urge Aung San Suu Kyi to address the systematic discrimination of the Rohingya in Rakhine State, and ensure the Rohingya's right to nationality, land ownership, freedom of movement, and other fundamental rights."
"We also urge her to exercise her personal and moral responsibility towards the Rohingya and acknowledge and condemn the genocide committed under her watch."
File photo of Rohingya women and children in a camp in Cox Bazar | Mahmud Hossain Opu/ Dhaka Tribune
The eight Nobel Peace Laureates are -- Shirin Ebadi, (2003) – Iran; Leymah Gbowee, (2011) – Liberia; Tawakkol Karman, (2011) – Yemen; Mairead Maguire, (1976) – Northern Ireland; Rigoberta Menchú Tum, (1992) – Guatemala; Jody Williams, (1997) – USA; Kailash Satyarthi, (2014) – India and Dr Muhammad Yunus, (2006) — Bangladesh.
In February 2018, Shirin Ebadi, Tawakkol Karman, and Mairead Maguire visited the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar.
They spent time with and listened to the stories of over 100 women refugees. After hearing testimonies describing how security forces burned villages, tortured, killed and systematically raped women and girls -- as well as reports from humanitarian organizations and UN officials -- the laureates concluded that the attacks on the Rohingyas in Rakhine State amounted to crimes against humanity and genocide.
Bangladesh is hosting over 1.1 million Rohingya refugees, most of whom entered Cox's Bazar from August 25, 2017, amid a military crackdown on the Rohingyas in Rakhine.
Not a single Rohingya was repatriated over the last two years due to Myanmar's "failure" to build confidence among the Rohingya and a conducive environment in Rakhine.
Bangladesh has so far handed over names of over one lakh Rohingyas to Myanmar authorities for verification and to subsequently expedite their repatriation efforts, but Myanmar is yet to take back its nationals from Bangladesh, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka.
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Aung San Suu Kyi: I know nothing
Shafiur Rahman
- Published at 01:18 am December 9th, 2019
FIle photo: Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi attends the joint news conference of the Japan-Mekong Summit Meeting at the Akasaka Palace State Guest House in Tokyo, Japan October 9, 2018 Reuters
Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s state counsellor, once said: “Some people have been saying that I know nothing of Burmese politics. The trouble is that I know too much.” Those words were uttered in another era when Aung San Suu Kyi was the focal point of democratic efforts in Myanmar. Now, three decades later, Aung San Suu Kyi claims to know nothing about the alleged ongoing genocide in her country. Such is her assuredness that she has decided to lead the delegation to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in defence of Myanmar in a landmark case, brought by Gambia, which alleges that Myanmar has been violating the Genocide Convention. DhakaTribune asked some of the world’s foremost experts and also Rohingya activists on what they think about Aung San Suu Ky’s decision to go to The Hague.
Professor Penny Green, Queen Mary University of London, one of the first academics to analyze the Rohingya crisis as one of genocide.
Aung San Suu Kyi will go to the Hague to defend her political class and Myanmar’s generals against the charge of genocide with a well-rehearsed repertoire of denial. And in denial, both material and rhetorical, she is particularly well practiced. Since her rise to power she has denied the right of Rohingya to self-identify, she has denied them the most basic human rights, she has denied that they are held in concentration camps in Rakhine state at the same time as denying them adequate food, health care, freedom of movement and access to livelihood in those very camps. When the military launched its final assault on the Rohingya in Northern Rakhine State in 2016-17 Aung San Suu Kyi was quick to deny well proven accusations of mass killings and mass rape.
And she defended the military in their denial of the worst human right violations imaginable. The Hague will provide yet another forum for genocide denial. Her leadership of Myanmar’s delegation is a clear illustration of the intimate relationship she and her government have with the military. They have spoken with one voice and acted with one barbarous intention – to eliminate the Rohingya from Myanmar soil, polity and history. Claims that Suu Kyi had no alternative but to acquiesce in the face of Tatmadaw (official name of the Armed Forces of Myanmar) power hold no water given her record of human rights violations, while her decision to lead Myanmar’s defence of its indefensible brutality at the ICJ demonstrates her iron-clad complicity and belief in the crimes that she and her co-conspirators perpetrated. The evidence is incontrovertible, Aung San Suu Kyi is a genocidaire who both supported, assisted in engineering and participated in the coordinated destruction of the Myanmar Rohingya people.
Laetitia van den Assum, Dutch diplomat and former member of Kofi Annan’s Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, Myanmar.
First of all, I think it is good that Myanmar is engaging with Gambia and the ICJ. And it is not at all unusual that foreign ministers lead missions to the Court. Remember, for example, Thailand v. Cambodia about a border dispute which related to the ancient Preah Vihear temple a few years ago.
What is different though, is that in this case the Court is asked to establish whether or not the state of Myanmar can be held accountable for genocide, the crime of crimes. And even though the case is not about individual criminal responsibility but about state responsibility, the person who has been the de facto head of government since early 2016 will come into strong focus.
Of course, Myanmar has the right to obtain the best international law experts it can find. I hope that the Myanmar team will listen to them and that a sound legal strategy is developed. The political arguments we continue to hear may satisfy a domestic audience but not the court
More generally, the three legal cases (International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice and the Universal Jurisdiction case in Argentina) are welcome if they can halt impunity and obtain justice for the Rohingya. But accountability is only one element of a much broader strategy to achieve peace, stability, justice and development for all who call Rakhine state their home. Security sector reform, judiciary reform as well as ensuring the equality of all before the law should be part of the mix. At present they are not.
Professor John Packer, Neuberger-Jesin Professor of International Conflict Resolution at the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa.
The appearance of Aung San Suu Kyi leading the defence in The Hague is certainly striking - unusual to say the least for a Head of Government and even Foreign Minister to appear, especially without legal education or training. This indicates it is almost entirely about politics... and likely more about the domestic effect in Myanmar where she may enhance her position in "defending the nation". But internationally her participation has raised considerably attention to the case, and inescapably adds legitimacy to the process which can hardly later be condemned. In addition, the Lady's choice to lead the defence erases the idea of a bright red line between her and the civilian Government, on the one hand, and the Tatmadaw and security forces on the other hand: before the Court, they are one and the same. And the exercise of her choice indicates either concurrence with the attributed actions (and shared responsibility) or an extraordinary absence of judgement (or both).
Wai Wai Nu, Rohingya lawyer and activist.
At the age of 18, she and her family were imprisoned by Myanmar authorities for seven years. She is currently a visiting scholar at Columbia University and also runs the Women’s Peace Network in Myanmar.
Aung San Suu Kyi is receiving increasing public support as she might have calculated. However, her decision has also created a severe division among the people. She would do well to remember that at the end of the day, the public will come to realize the truth, and then the people of Myanmar will blame her. Internationally, she will be losing more credibility for her continuous denial and defence of the military. Things are much more serious than she is assuming. Many actors, including UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, are monitoring all her and her government’s actions.
Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK. He campaigned for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. In 2012, he personally discussed Rohingya issues with her.
At the end of the day the only beneficiary will be the military. They can sit back and watch Aung San Suu Kyi, whom they see as one of their greatest threats, having her reputation with the international community and ethnic people in Burma even further damaged defending the Tatmadaw’s crimes. The real problem with Aung San Suu Kyi is not just that she defends the actions of the military. As leader of the civilian government she is also pursuing racist genocidal policies against the Rohingya denying them rights, access to education, food, and healthcare. Her policies are killing people on a weekly basis.
Politically this case is a good opportunity for her. Ahead of an election year she can play the nationalist card defending the country against foreign attacks, and by defending the military she can use this in her attempts to try to win round the military into accepting democratic reforms. One motivation is that Aung San Suu Kyi genuinely does not believe that genocide is being committed. Like many people in Burma, she seems to believe that, as they think, Rohingya are illegal immigrants and therefore human rights violations against them don't count. They are less than human.
Even before the Rohingya issue came to the fore, Aung San Suu Kyi has always opposed international justice mechanisms. She calls it revenge rather than justice.
Sareta Ashraph, International criminal lawyer working on accountability for ISIS genocidal crimes against the Yazidis.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s role in the proceedings - an agent - is a specific one. While the agent has the same rights and obligations as a solicitor in a national court, she or he also serves, effectively, as the head of a special diplomatic mission with powers to commit a sovereign State. For Aung San Suu Kyi, her decision to act as Myanmar’s agent in the ICJ hearings is significant. The Gambia alleges that Myanmar has violated the Genocide Convention as a result of its campaign of killing, sexual violence and other atrocities against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim community. Aung San Suu Kyi consistent refusal to criticise Myanmar’s army for its attacks on the Rohingya has been described as “a sustained exercise in moral equivalence.” As she rises to her feet before the Court, any lingering hopes one may have for this former human rights icon and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize are likely to be extinguished.
Dr Hla Kyaw Khubybe is a Rohingya and chairman of the European Rohingya Council. He is based in the Netherlands and will be organizing demonstrations against Aung San Suu Kyi.
There are two big reasons behind Aung San Suu Kyi's intention to lead the Myanmar delegation, I believe. Firstly, she still believes that her popularity in the West is still present to some extent. Therefore, she might think that her presence could influence the ICJ process to an extent. She might also believe that her words of denials of genocidal crimes committed by the military and other governmental institutions under her watch would be taken as the truth. As a con artist with a Nobel prize, she excels in lying and denying empirical truths concerning her government and military and the heinous crimes they committed against our people.
Secondly, she is preparing for the upcoming election. Due to her incompetence and failure to bring Myanmar forward, her popularity is gradually fading away in Myanmar. However, ICJ case is bringing Burmese people out in support of her. She is mobilizing Burmese nationalism in order to stay in power.
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US blacklists head of Myanmar military, 3 generals
Reuters, Washington
File photo of Myanmar’s Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar armed forces AFP
The sanctions come the same day Aung San Suu Kyi attended the first day of hearings in a genocide case against Myanmar at the UN’s highest court
The United States on Tuesday blacklisted four Myanmar military leaders, including the commander-in-chief, in the toughest action taken yet by Washington for alleged human rights abuses against the Rohingya and other minorities.
The sanctions targeted the commander-in-chief of the Burmese military, Min Aung Hlaing, on the same day that Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi attended the first day of hearings in a genocide case against Myanmar at the UN’s highest court.
A 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. United Nations investigators have said Myanmar’s operation included mass killings, gang rapes and widespread arson and was executed with “genocidal intent.”
The military in Myanmar has denied accusations of widespread abuses and said its actions were part of a fight against terrorism.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Tuesday Burmese military forces had committed “serious human rights abuse” against ethnic minority groups in Myanmar and that Min Aung Hlaing’s forces were responsible for the 2017 military crackdown.
“During this time, members of ethnic minority groups were killed or injured by gunshot, often while fleeing, or by soldiers using large-bladed weapons; others were burned to death in their own houses,” the statement said.
Washington’s sanctions also targeted Min Aung Hlaing’s deputy, Soe Win, and two brigadier generals, Than Oo and Aung Aung, freezing any US assets they have and prohibiting Americans from doing business with them.
The four generals, who were previously barred from entering the US in July, are not known to have assets in the United States.
The US action falls short of re-imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar lifted after a transition from full military rule that began in 2011. It does not target military-owned companies that dominate some sectors of Myanmar’s economy.
Some analysts and diplomats have tipped Min Aung Hlaing as a potential presidential candidate in the next election in 2020, when Nobel laureate Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy is likely to face opposition from nationalists aligned with the military.
His political ambitions could be damaged by the sanctions, as well as an earlier US travel ban and Facebook’s decision in August 2018 to remove the army chief’s page that had been his main channel of communication with the public.
The sanctions Tuesday were among a round of targets announced on International Human Rights Day.
Can Suu Kyi stand up to the lawsuit avalanche?
Bangkok Post
Photo: AFP
International pressure to rehabilitate the Rohingya and reform Rakhine is unlikely to dissipate
Myanmar’s top leaders -- both military and civilian -- have been shell-shocked by the avalanche of international legal cases they are now facing. In the space of days, three cases have been lodged in separate courts, all intended to make the Myanmar government and the country’s military leaders accountable for the horrendous events that unfolded in strife-torn western Rakhine state during military operations over the last three years.
But the key case -- at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) brought by Gambia on behalf of the 57-nation member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) -- has finally propelled the Myanmar government to take decisive action. The State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, announced late last week that she will lead the country’s defense team, supported by a panel of prominent international lawyers to contest the case submitted by Gambia.
“The Myanmar government is taking this case very seriously,” the minister for international cooperation and deputy foreign minister, Kyaw Tin told the Bangkok Post in the sidelines of a major economic conference in the capital Naypitaw on Friday. In fact, as Myanmar is a signatory to this convention -- which the democratic government of U Nu’s signed in 1956 -- it cannot ignore the process.
This move on the part of the government came as a complete surprise to most diplomats and international observers, as most had expected Suu Kyi and her government to ignore this move at the ICJ, much in the same way as they have ignored the plethora of UN reports alleging forced evictions, the razing of Muslim villagers’ homes, rape and summary executions. But mounting a vigorous defense at the court in the Hague will not be enough to win the case nor sway international public opinion, according to many diplomats and legal experts.
“The State Counsellor, as foreign minister, will defend Myanmar’s interests,” he said. “Myanmar is looking forward to appearing in the court and using the opportunity to fully explain the country’s position.”
The minister, Kyaw Tin, went on to say that it is crucial for the international community to understand that Myanmar was only defending itself against terrorist attacks. This was not a premeditated campaign to expel the Muslims from Rakhine. “It was a matter of self-defense,” he stressed.
The major exodus of refugees started in October 2016, after an unexpected attack by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) on several border checkpoints left several security personnel dead. Some 70,000 Muslims fled across the border into Bangladesh in the wake of a draconian military “clean up”, in which thousands of houses were razed and civilian villagers forced to flee. In August 2017, another Arsa attack -- which left a score of policemen and border guards dead -- saw a similar pattern of military operations and even more refugees fleeing and accusing the military of intimidation, rape, and summary executions.
Successive UN reports accused the military of conducting a campaign of ethnic cleansing with genocidal intent. The Myanmar government and the military have persistently denied these accusations.
Earlier this month the ICJ accepted a case filed by Gambia -- a largely Muslim country in West Africa and a member of the OIC -- intended to bring the Myanmar government to book for the army’s atrocities against the Muslim population in Rakhine. It asks the ICJ to investigate whether Myanmar’s government has violated the Geneva Convention, which prohibits genocide. In particular, it charges that Myanmar is responsible for “killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm, inflicting conditions that are calculated to bring about physical destruction, imposing measures to prevent births, and forcible transfers, [which] are genocidal in character because they are intended to destroy the Rohingya group in whole or in part”.
Gambia has also called for the court to impose precautionary measures to prevent further genocide. It requested that the ICJ issue an urgent temporary injunction ordering Myanmar to halt all actions that could aggravate or expand the existing situation. That could involve demands to stop further extrajudicial killings, rape, and levelling of the homes where the Rohingya once lived in Rakhine state.
“It is clear that Myanmar has no intention of ending these genocidal acts and continues to pursue the destruction of the group within its territory,” the lawsuit said. The government “is deliberately destroying evidence of its wrongdoings to cover up the crimes,” it added.
The first public hearing is set to open in the Hague on December 10, at which Suu Kyi will appear, leading a legal team under Attorney General Htun Htun Oo. Three international barristers are included as part of the panel. At the moment, the state counsellor’s office is working overtime to gather evidence, testimonies, and arguments to bring to the court, according to a government insider.
“This is the highest sanction the government can level against Myanmar, with both the civilian government and the army implicated,” a diplomat told the Bangkok Post, on condition of anonymity. As the case is likely to drag on for 10-15 years, it gives Myanmar time to get things right, they suggested. “They can soften the blow with mitigating circumstances, but they need to act now,” said a legal expert, who declined to be identified. “The government needs to tackle the root causes of the conflict in Rakhine, and initiate a number of administrative reforms.”
Pressure will mount on the army to straighten their act, and there is increasing pressure on the civilian authority to ensure the army acts professionally. In due course, the army will have to carry out internal reforms, giving a greater impetus to bring the military under direct civilian rule.
“Myanmar is in the dock, so it’s time to put ‘substance to the rhetoric’” said an Asian diplomat. “Start with giving unfettered access to Rakhine, especially for the UN and NGOs -- both local and international.”
What is needed is an agreed, credible, consistent, and coordinated strategy to improve the situation on the ground. Creating conditions which are conducive for the refugees to return from Bangladesh in the future must also be prioritized.
While this is an essential starting point for any long-term development and reconciliation in Rakhine, some form of credible accountability and justice for the Rohingya’s suffering is also needed, whether through an international mechanism or a local process.
Larry Jagan is a specialist on Myanmar and a former BBC World Service News editor for the region. A version of this article was previously printed in the Bangkok Post. This is being reprinted under special arrangement.
Please don't post off topic comments.
Reuters, Washington
- Published at 12:37 am December 11th, 2019
File photo of Myanmar’s Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar armed forces AFP
The sanctions come the same day Aung San Suu Kyi attended the first day of hearings in a genocide case against Myanmar at the UN’s highest court
The United States on Tuesday blacklisted four Myanmar military leaders, including the commander-in-chief, in the toughest action taken yet by Washington for alleged human rights abuses against the Rohingya and other minorities.
The sanctions targeted the commander-in-chief of the Burmese military, Min Aung Hlaing, on the same day that Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi attended the first day of hearings in a genocide case against Myanmar at the UN’s highest court.
A 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. United Nations investigators have said Myanmar’s operation included mass killings, gang rapes and widespread arson and was executed with “genocidal intent.”
The military in Myanmar has denied accusations of widespread abuses and said its actions were part of a fight against terrorism.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Tuesday Burmese military forces had committed “serious human rights abuse” against ethnic minority groups in Myanmar and that Min Aung Hlaing’s forces were responsible for the 2017 military crackdown.
“During this time, members of ethnic minority groups were killed or injured by gunshot, often while fleeing, or by soldiers using large-bladed weapons; others were burned to death in their own houses,” the statement said.
Washington’s sanctions also targeted Min Aung Hlaing’s deputy, Soe Win, and two brigadier generals, Than Oo and Aung Aung, freezing any US assets they have and prohibiting Americans from doing business with them.
The four generals, who were previously barred from entering the US in July, are not known to have assets in the United States.
The US action falls short of re-imposing economic sanctions on Myanmar lifted after a transition from full military rule that began in 2011. It does not target military-owned companies that dominate some sectors of Myanmar’s economy.
Some analysts and diplomats have tipped Min Aung Hlaing as a potential presidential candidate in the next election in 2020, when Nobel laureate Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy is likely to face opposition from nationalists aligned with the military.
His political ambitions could be damaged by the sanctions, as well as an earlier US travel ban and Facebook’s decision in August 2018 to remove the army chief’s page that had been his main channel of communication with the public.
The sanctions Tuesday were among a round of targets announced on International Human Rights Day.
Can Suu Kyi stand up to the lawsuit avalanche?
Bangkok Post
- Published at 12:02 am December 2nd, 2019
Photo: AFP
International pressure to rehabilitate the Rohingya and reform Rakhine is unlikely to dissipate
Myanmar’s top leaders -- both military and civilian -- have been shell-shocked by the avalanche of international legal cases they are now facing. In the space of days, three cases have been lodged in separate courts, all intended to make the Myanmar government and the country’s military leaders accountable for the horrendous events that unfolded in strife-torn western Rakhine state during military operations over the last three years.
But the key case -- at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) brought by Gambia on behalf of the 57-nation member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) -- has finally propelled the Myanmar government to take decisive action. The State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, announced late last week that she will lead the country’s defense team, supported by a panel of prominent international lawyers to contest the case submitted by Gambia.
“The Myanmar government is taking this case very seriously,” the minister for international cooperation and deputy foreign minister, Kyaw Tin told the Bangkok Post in the sidelines of a major economic conference in the capital Naypitaw on Friday. In fact, as Myanmar is a signatory to this convention -- which the democratic government of U Nu’s signed in 1956 -- it cannot ignore the process.
This move on the part of the government came as a complete surprise to most diplomats and international observers, as most had expected Suu Kyi and her government to ignore this move at the ICJ, much in the same way as they have ignored the plethora of UN reports alleging forced evictions, the razing of Muslim villagers’ homes, rape and summary executions. But mounting a vigorous defense at the court in the Hague will not be enough to win the case nor sway international public opinion, according to many diplomats and legal experts.
“The State Counsellor, as foreign minister, will defend Myanmar’s interests,” he said. “Myanmar is looking forward to appearing in the court and using the opportunity to fully explain the country’s position.”
The minister, Kyaw Tin, went on to say that it is crucial for the international community to understand that Myanmar was only defending itself against terrorist attacks. This was not a premeditated campaign to expel the Muslims from Rakhine. “It was a matter of self-defense,” he stressed.
The major exodus of refugees started in October 2016, after an unexpected attack by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) on several border checkpoints left several security personnel dead. Some 70,000 Muslims fled across the border into Bangladesh in the wake of a draconian military “clean up”, in which thousands of houses were razed and civilian villagers forced to flee. In August 2017, another Arsa attack -- which left a score of policemen and border guards dead -- saw a similar pattern of military operations and even more refugees fleeing and accusing the military of intimidation, rape, and summary executions.
Successive UN reports accused the military of conducting a campaign of ethnic cleansing with genocidal intent. The Myanmar government and the military have persistently denied these accusations.
Earlier this month the ICJ accepted a case filed by Gambia -- a largely Muslim country in West Africa and a member of the OIC -- intended to bring the Myanmar government to book for the army’s atrocities against the Muslim population in Rakhine. It asks the ICJ to investigate whether Myanmar’s government has violated the Geneva Convention, which prohibits genocide. In particular, it charges that Myanmar is responsible for “killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm, inflicting conditions that are calculated to bring about physical destruction, imposing measures to prevent births, and forcible transfers, [which] are genocidal in character because they are intended to destroy the Rohingya group in whole or in part”.
Gambia has also called for the court to impose precautionary measures to prevent further genocide. It requested that the ICJ issue an urgent temporary injunction ordering Myanmar to halt all actions that could aggravate or expand the existing situation. That could involve demands to stop further extrajudicial killings, rape, and levelling of the homes where the Rohingya once lived in Rakhine state.
“It is clear that Myanmar has no intention of ending these genocidal acts and continues to pursue the destruction of the group within its territory,” the lawsuit said. The government “is deliberately destroying evidence of its wrongdoings to cover up the crimes,” it added.
The first public hearing is set to open in the Hague on December 10, at which Suu Kyi will appear, leading a legal team under Attorney General Htun Htun Oo. Three international barristers are included as part of the panel. At the moment, the state counsellor’s office is working overtime to gather evidence, testimonies, and arguments to bring to the court, according to a government insider.
“This is the highest sanction the government can level against Myanmar, with both the civilian government and the army implicated,” a diplomat told the Bangkok Post, on condition of anonymity. As the case is likely to drag on for 10-15 years, it gives Myanmar time to get things right, they suggested. “They can soften the blow with mitigating circumstances, but they need to act now,” said a legal expert, who declined to be identified. “The government needs to tackle the root causes of the conflict in Rakhine, and initiate a number of administrative reforms.”
Pressure will mount on the army to straighten their act, and there is increasing pressure on the civilian authority to ensure the army acts professionally. In due course, the army will have to carry out internal reforms, giving a greater impetus to bring the military under direct civilian rule.
“Myanmar is in the dock, so it’s time to put ‘substance to the rhetoric’” said an Asian diplomat. “Start with giving unfettered access to Rakhine, especially for the UN and NGOs -- both local and international.”
What is needed is an agreed, credible, consistent, and coordinated strategy to improve the situation on the ground. Creating conditions which are conducive for the refugees to return from Bangladesh in the future must also be prioritized.
While this is an essential starting point for any long-term development and reconciliation in Rakhine, some form of credible accountability and justice for the Rohingya’s suffering is also needed, whether through an international mechanism or a local process.
Larry Jagan is a specialist on Myanmar and a former BBC World Service News editor for the region. A version of this article was previously printed in the Bangkok Post. This is being reprinted under special arrangement.
Please don't post off topic comments.
https://www.thedailystar.net/rohing...-suu-kyi-take-the-stand-genocide-case-1838821
10:52 AM, December 11, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:57 PM, December 11, 2019
Suu Kyi rules out ongoing genocide in Myanmar’s Rakhine
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at the UN's International Court of Justice on December 11, 2019 in the Peace Palace of The Hague, on the second day of her hearing on the Rohingya genocide case. Aung San Suu Kyi appears at the UN's top court on Wednesday, December 11, 2019, a day after the former democracy icon was urged to "stop the genocide" against Rohingya Muslims. Photo: AFP
" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: none; cursor: pointer; position: relative; display: table; z-index: 1; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;">
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at the UN's International Court of Justice on December 11, 2019 in the Peace Palace of The Hague, on the second day of her hearing on the Rohingya genocide case. Aung San Suu Kyi appears at the UN's top court on Wednesday, December 11, 2019, a day after the former democracy icon was urged to "stop the genocide" against Rohingya Muslims. Photo: AFP
Star Online Report
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi today ruled out the allegation of ongoing genocide or genocidal intent at Rohingya villages in Rakhine of Myanmar.
She was speaking in Myanmar's defence at the UN's top court, a day after the Gambia urged her urged to stop the ongoing genocide against Rohingyas.
“How can there be an ongoing genocide or genocidal intent as concrete steps are being taken in Rakhine? Rakhine today suffers an internal arm conflict between the Buddhist Arakan army and Myanmar defence forces. Muslims are not the part of this conflict,” she told the court.
Earlier defending her country, she said Myanmar country has own justice system for trial of any crime if committed in the Rakhine state.
Suu Kyi also criticised the Gambia for taking the issue to the International Court of Justice.
A 17-member panel of judges of ICJ was hearing a case, the first international legal attempt to bring Myanmar to justice over alleged mass killings of the Rohingya minorities in 2017, filed by the Gambia on November 11.
Yesterday, the Gambia accused Myanmar of breaching the 1948 genocide convention and urged the UN top court to order Myanmar to stop genocide against the Rohingya minority.
The African country unfolded the evidence of genocide against Rohingyas before the International Court of Justice and urged the court to prosecute the Myanmar generals responsible for the bloody crackdown.
10:52 AM, December 11, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:57 PM, December 11, 2019
Suu Kyi rules out ongoing genocide in Myanmar’s Rakhine
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at the UN's International Court of Justice on December 11, 2019 in the Peace Palace of The Hague, on the second day of her hearing on the Rohingya genocide case. Aung San Suu Kyi appears at the UN's top court on Wednesday, December 11, 2019, a day after the former democracy icon was urged to "stop the genocide" against Rohingya Muslims. Photo: AFP
" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: none; cursor: pointer; position: relative; display: table; z-index: 1; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;">
Myanmar's State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi speaks at the UN's International Court of Justice on December 11, 2019 in the Peace Palace of The Hague, on the second day of her hearing on the Rohingya genocide case. Aung San Suu Kyi appears at the UN's top court on Wednesday, December 11, 2019, a day after the former democracy icon was urged to "stop the genocide" against Rohingya Muslims. Photo: AFP
Star Online Report
Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi today ruled out the allegation of ongoing genocide or genocidal intent at Rohingya villages in Rakhine of Myanmar.
She was speaking in Myanmar's defence at the UN's top court, a day after the Gambia urged her urged to stop the ongoing genocide against Rohingyas.
“How can there be an ongoing genocide or genocidal intent as concrete steps are being taken in Rakhine? Rakhine today suffers an internal arm conflict between the Buddhist Arakan army and Myanmar defence forces. Muslims are not the part of this conflict,” she told the court.
Earlier defending her country, she said Myanmar country has own justice system for trial of any crime if committed in the Rakhine state.
Suu Kyi also criticised the Gambia for taking the issue to the International Court of Justice.
A 17-member panel of judges of ICJ was hearing a case, the first international legal attempt to bring Myanmar to justice over alleged mass killings of the Rohingya minorities in 2017, filed by the Gambia on November 11.
Yesterday, the Gambia accused Myanmar of breaching the 1948 genocide convention and urged the UN top court to order Myanmar to stop genocide against the Rohingya minority.
The African country unfolded the evidence of genocide against Rohingyas before the International Court of Justice and urged the court to prosecute the Myanmar generals responsible for the bloody crackdown.
https://www.thedailystar.net/rohing...put-end-horrific-rohingya-abuse-asean-1838857
03:02 PM, December 11, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:15 PM, December 11, 2019
Myanmar genocide hearing may put an end to horrific Rohingya abuse: ASEAN
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Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. AFP file photo
" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: none; cursor: pointer; position: relative; display: table; z-index: 1; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;">
Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. AFP file photo
Star Online Report
It is saddening and still bewildering that Aung San Suu Kyi, a former democracy champion, has sought to stall and subvert any genuine efforts to address accusations of serious human rights violations against the Rohingyas, said ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights.
The remarks come as the state counsellor of Myanmar is set to defend her country at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Peace Palace at The Hague at 3:00pm today.
The Gambia, which filed the case against Myanmar accusing it of genocide against the Rohingya, presented its arguments.
Parliamentarians from across Southeast Asia yesterday welcomed the first hearing in the case against Myanmar at the UN’s highest court as an initial step towards justice and possible recognition of the crime of genocide committed against the Rohingya.
“This marks the start of a monumental effort for justice that could put an end to some of the horrific abuses that the Rohingya are facing,” said Kasit Piromya, former Member of Parliament (MP) of Thailand and ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) Board Member.
“It is saddening and still a little bewildering for many of us across this region that a former democracy champion, and someone we spent years defending the rights of, has sought to stall and subvert any genuine efforts to address accusations of serious human rights violations under her government and is now herself defending allegations of genocide at the ICJ,” said Mu Sochua, former Cambodian MP and APHR Board Member.
“Without accountability for the systematic killings, rape, sexual violence and other atrocities committed against the Rohingya, the cycle of violence against ethnic and religious groups in Myanmar will never end,” said Kasit Piromya.
Backed by 57-member states of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Gambia filed a case last month at the ICJ against Myanmar for violating provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to which Myanmar has been a party to since 1956.
The Gambia case follows findings from the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar which recommended Myanmar be brought before the ICJ after it found that Myanmar had committed “genocidal acts” during the 2017 “clearance operations” that killed thousands and caused more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee for their lives to Bangladesh. Approximately one million Rohingya refugees are currently living in the Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh.
“…we emphasize that ensuring accountability is a critical move, but not the only one that Myanmar must take.
“We have consistently supported the calls from the Rohingya themselves for the Myanmar authorities to lift all restrictions against them, restore their basic rights, including citizenship rights, and ensure their safety and security so that they can return to their homes and live normal lives,” said Charles Santiago, a Member of Parliament of Malaysia, and APHR Board Chair.
Numerous restrictions, including those on citizenship rights, freedom of movement, and access to education and healthcare, continue to be placed upon the Rohingya in Myanmar.
APHR urges Myanmar to take immediate action to guarantee these rights for the Rohingya and again called on the international community to do all in its power to ensure the Rohingya living in Myanmar have their rights restored and that those in Bangladesh are able to return to their homes free from persecution or threats, and with their rights fully restored.
03:02 PM, December 11, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 03:15 PM, December 11, 2019
Myanmar genocide hearing may put an end to horrific Rohingya abuse: ASEAN
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Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. AFP file photo
" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: none; cursor: pointer; position: relative; display: table; z-index: 1; margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;">
Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. AFP file photo
Star Online Report
It is saddening and still bewildering that Aung San Suu Kyi, a former democracy champion, has sought to stall and subvert any genuine efforts to address accusations of serious human rights violations against the Rohingyas, said ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights.
The remarks come as the state counsellor of Myanmar is set to defend her country at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Peace Palace at The Hague at 3:00pm today.
The Gambia, which filed the case against Myanmar accusing it of genocide against the Rohingya, presented its arguments.
Parliamentarians from across Southeast Asia yesterday welcomed the first hearing in the case against Myanmar at the UN’s highest court as an initial step towards justice and possible recognition of the crime of genocide committed against the Rohingya.
“This marks the start of a monumental effort for justice that could put an end to some of the horrific abuses that the Rohingya are facing,” said Kasit Piromya, former Member of Parliament (MP) of Thailand and ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) Board Member.
“It is saddening and still a little bewildering for many of us across this region that a former democracy champion, and someone we spent years defending the rights of, has sought to stall and subvert any genuine efforts to address accusations of serious human rights violations under her government and is now herself defending allegations of genocide at the ICJ,” said Mu Sochua, former Cambodian MP and APHR Board Member.
“Without accountability for the systematic killings, rape, sexual violence and other atrocities committed against the Rohingya, the cycle of violence against ethnic and religious groups in Myanmar will never end,” said Kasit Piromya.
Backed by 57-member states of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Gambia filed a case last month at the ICJ against Myanmar for violating provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to which Myanmar has been a party to since 1956.
The Gambia case follows findings from the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar which recommended Myanmar be brought before the ICJ after it found that Myanmar had committed “genocidal acts” during the 2017 “clearance operations” that killed thousands and caused more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee for their lives to Bangladesh. Approximately one million Rohingya refugees are currently living in the Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh.
“…we emphasize that ensuring accountability is a critical move, but not the only one that Myanmar must take.
“We have consistently supported the calls from the Rohingya themselves for the Myanmar authorities to lift all restrictions against them, restore their basic rights, including citizenship rights, and ensure their safety and security so that they can return to their homes and live normal lives,” said Charles Santiago, a Member of Parliament of Malaysia, and APHR Board Chair.
Numerous restrictions, including those on citizenship rights, freedom of movement, and access to education and healthcare, continue to be placed upon the Rohingya in Myanmar.
APHR urges Myanmar to take immediate action to guarantee these rights for the Rohingya and again called on the international community to do all in its power to ensure the Rohingya living in Myanmar have their rights restored and that those in Bangladesh are able to return to their homes free from persecution or threats, and with their rights fully restored.
https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/world/america/us-blacklists-head-of-myanmar-military-1575996525
US blacklists head of Myanmar military
Published: December 10, 2019 22:48:45 | Updated: December 11, 2019 13:03:27
The United States (US) on Tuesday blacklisted four Myanmar military leaders, including the commander-in-chief, in the toughest action taken yet by Washington for alleged human rights abuses against the Rohingya and other minorities, said the US Treasury Department.
The sanctions targeted Commander-in-Chief of the Burmese military forces Min Aung Hlaing, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win, Than Oo, a leader of the 99th Light Infantry Division, and Aung Aung, a leader of the 33rd Light Infantry Division, the Treasury said in a statement.
The military in Myanmar has denied accusations of widespread abuses and says its actions were part of a fight against terrorism, reports Reuters.
Some analysts and diplomats have tipped Min Aung Hlaing as a potential presidential candidate at the next election in 2020, when Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy is likely to face opposition from nationalists aligned with the military.
His political ambitions could be damaged by the sanctions, as well as an earlier US travel ban and Facebook's decision in August 2018 to remove the army chief's page that had been his main channel of communication with the public.
The latest sanctions freeze the US assets of the military leaders and prohibit Americans from doing business with them. They were previously barred in July from entering the United States.
US blacklists head of Myanmar military
Published: December 10, 2019 22:48:45 | Updated: December 11, 2019 13:03:27
The United States (US) on Tuesday blacklisted four Myanmar military leaders, including the commander-in-chief, in the toughest action taken yet by Washington for alleged human rights abuses against the Rohingya and other minorities, said the US Treasury Department.
The sanctions targeted Commander-in-Chief of the Burmese military forces Min Aung Hlaing, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win, Than Oo, a leader of the 99th Light Infantry Division, and Aung Aung, a leader of the 33rd Light Infantry Division, the Treasury said in a statement.
The military in Myanmar has denied accusations of widespread abuses and says its actions were part of a fight against terrorism, reports Reuters.
Some analysts and diplomats have tipped Min Aung Hlaing as a potential presidential candidate at the next election in 2020, when Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy is likely to face opposition from nationalists aligned with the military.
His political ambitions could be damaged by the sanctions, as well as an earlier US travel ban and Facebook's decision in August 2018 to remove the army chief's page that had been his main channel of communication with the public.
The latest sanctions freeze the US assets of the military leaders and prohibit Americans from doing business with them. They were previously barred in July from entering the United States.
https://www.thedailystar.net/rohing...u-kyi-representing-militarys-interest-1839718
01:01 AM, December 13, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 01:22 AM, December 13, 2019
10 US senators criticise Suu Kyi for representing military’s interest
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Star Online Report
Ten US Senators have severely criticized Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi for representing the military’s interest before the International Court of Justice and defending the mass atrocities committed against the Rohingyas and other ethnic minorities.
“Representing the Burmese military’s interest before The Hague and defending the mass atrocities committed against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities would undermine what remaining credibility you have before the international community, including in the US Congress,” said a letter to Suu Kyi issued on December 9.
The Senators said a defense of the Burmese military at this high-profile international forum is also an affront to the inclusive, multi-cultural and democratic Burma that she claims to champion.
They said when Buddhist nationalism is on the rise in Myanmar, shielding military’s criminal acts sends a signal that Suu Kyi stands alongside human rights violators.
On December 10, the International Court of Justice (ICJ)at The Hague began a three-day hearing of the case that The Gambia filed on November 11, accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya.
At the ICJ, Suu Kyi denied that the Myanmar military committed genocide, arguing that the crackdown was a response to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacks on the police posts in Rakhine and that it was merely an internal conflict.
The Gambia made strong arguments to prove that Myanmar committed genocide and that it is ongoing and sought provisional measures to protect the Rohingya in Rakhine state.
Myanmar’s handling of brutal “clearance operations” that killed thousands and caused more than 740,000 Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh since August 2017 is inexcusable, said the 10 US Senators.
They said while it is ultimately up to the court to determine the criminal accountability, evidence of crimes committed by the Burmese military is overwhelming.
“We are also concerned about the estimated 600,000 Rohigya who remain in Burma, whose living conditions have worsened. They continue to face persecution and are at risk of genocide,” the letter said.
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar makes it clear that Myanmar government incurs “state responsibility” under the prohibition against genocide and crimes against humanity, which will be important for the ICJ to consider.
“We urge you to fully cooperate with the ICJ. This should include moving forward with any provisional actions that might be recommended or discussed at the ICJ.
“Your government must also provide complete and unfettered access throughout the county to the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar so that they may investigate all allegations of crimes under international law and other human rights violations and abuses.”
They said they stand ready to support Myanmar if Suu Kyi chooses to take the crucial moment on the international stage to defend the human rights of the Rohingyas and other ethnic minorities in Burma.
“However, a failure to do so means we will continue to use instruments of US diplomatic power to bring the Burmese military to account for the injustices committed. A democratic and rights-respecting, inclusive Burma is the only successful path forward,” the US Senators said.
The Senators include Marsha Blackburn, Richard J Durbin, Todd Young, Tammy Baldwin, Brian Schatz, Jeffrey A Merkley, Chris Van Hollen, Robert P Casey Jr, Benjamin L Cardin, and Ron Wyden.
01:01 AM, December 13, 2019 / LAST MODIFIED: 01:22 AM, December 13, 2019
10 US senators criticise Suu Kyi for representing military’s interest
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Star Online Report
Ten US Senators have severely criticized Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi for representing the military’s interest before the International Court of Justice and defending the mass atrocities committed against the Rohingyas and other ethnic minorities.
“Representing the Burmese military’s interest before The Hague and defending the mass atrocities committed against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities would undermine what remaining credibility you have before the international community, including in the US Congress,” said a letter to Suu Kyi issued on December 9.
The Senators said a defense of the Burmese military at this high-profile international forum is also an affront to the inclusive, multi-cultural and democratic Burma that she claims to champion.
They said when Buddhist nationalism is on the rise in Myanmar, shielding military’s criminal acts sends a signal that Suu Kyi stands alongside human rights violators.
On December 10, the International Court of Justice (ICJ)at The Hague began a three-day hearing of the case that The Gambia filed on November 11, accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya.
At the ICJ, Suu Kyi denied that the Myanmar military committed genocide, arguing that the crackdown was a response to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacks on the police posts in Rakhine and that it was merely an internal conflict.
The Gambia made strong arguments to prove that Myanmar committed genocide and that it is ongoing and sought provisional measures to protect the Rohingya in Rakhine state.
Myanmar’s handling of brutal “clearance operations” that killed thousands and caused more than 740,000 Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh since August 2017 is inexcusable, said the 10 US Senators.
They said while it is ultimately up to the court to determine the criminal accountability, evidence of crimes committed by the Burmese military is overwhelming.
“We are also concerned about the estimated 600,000 Rohigya who remain in Burma, whose living conditions have worsened. They continue to face persecution and are at risk of genocide,” the letter said.
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar makes it clear that Myanmar government incurs “state responsibility” under the prohibition against genocide and crimes against humanity, which will be important for the ICJ to consider.
“We urge you to fully cooperate with the ICJ. This should include moving forward with any provisional actions that might be recommended or discussed at the ICJ.
“Your government must also provide complete and unfettered access throughout the county to the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar so that they may investigate all allegations of crimes under international law and other human rights violations and abuses.”
They said they stand ready to support Myanmar if Suu Kyi chooses to take the crucial moment on the international stage to defend the human rights of the Rohingyas and other ethnic minorities in Burma.
“However, a failure to do so means we will continue to use instruments of US diplomatic power to bring the Burmese military to account for the injustices committed. A democratic and rights-respecting, inclusive Burma is the only successful path forward,” the US Senators said.
The Senators include Marsha Blackburn, Richard J Durbin, Todd Young, Tammy Baldwin, Brian Schatz, Jeffrey A Merkley, Chris Van Hollen, Robert P Casey Jr, Benjamin L Cardin, and Ron Wyden.
https://bdnews24.com/rohingya/2019/...nsibility-over-education-of-rohingya-children
Amnesty urges international community to share responsibility for education of Rohingya children
News Desk, bdnews24.com
Published: 15 Dec 2019 12:11 PM BdST Updated: 15 Dec 2019 02:49 PM BdST
File Photo: A boy holds a placard as hundreds of Rohingya refugees protest against their repatriation at the Unchiprang camp in Teknaf, Bangladesh November 15, 2018. Reuters
More than half a million children have yet to the see the inside of a classroom since they arrived in the refugee camps more than two years ago.
The Global Refugee Forum, which is being hosted by the UN’s refugee agency in Geneva and takes place from 16-18 December, has made education of one its six key themes.
“The Rohingya children in the camps in Cox’s Bazar must not become a lost generation. The international community must accept that they will not be able to return home to Myanmar any time soon. And they cannot continue to see their futures slowly stolen from them in conditions where they are being denied their right to education,” said Saad Hammadi, South Asia Campaigner at Amnesty International.
“When a child receives an education, everyone benefits. Both Bangladesh and the international community must step up and share the responsibility of educating all children in Cox’s Bazar, Rohingya refugees and the host community as well. The Bangladesh government can start by lifting the restrictions on education for refugees currently in place.”
The host community in Cox’s Bazar suffers both from a shortage of teachers as they seek better paying jobs often in humanitarian agencies and high student dropout rates due in part to pressure on children to enter the workforce early to meet the higher cost of living as household incomes continue to fall.
According to a multi-sector needs assessment released by the Inter Sector Coordination Group in October 2019, nearly third of 1,311 households surveyed in Cox’s Bazar have at least one primary or secondary school aged child who was not attending school.
Access to appropriate accredited quality education is fundamental to equip the Rohingya children with knowledge that they can use to enjoy and claim their rights while also contributing to the economy irrespective of where they are.
“It is in everyone’s interests to see that all children in Cox’s Bazar receive a quality education as is their right. Education can lift entire communities. Far from being a burden on a national economy, it should be seen as an investment that will yield great dividends. But the denial of education can have very negative consequences,” said Saad.
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