{"id":114993,"date":"2018-07-23T12:01:39","date_gmt":"2018-07-23T11:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=114993"},"modified":"2018-07-22T12:31:10","modified_gmt":"2018-07-22T11:31:10","slug":"myanmar-international-accountability-needed-for-military-planned-genocide-against-rohingya-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/07\/myanmar-international-accountability-needed-for-military-planned-genocide-against-rohingya-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar: International Accountability Needed for Military-Planned Genocide against Rohingya–Report"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
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Report finds \u201creasonable grounds\u201d for ICC arrest warrants, identifies 22 military and police officials.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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To read the FULL REPORT download PDF file: They Gave Them Long Swords- Fortify Rights July 19 2018<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

19 Jul 2018 – <\/em>The Myanmar authorities made \u201cextensive and systematic preparations\u201d for attacks against Rohingya civilians during the weeks and months before militants attacked police on August 25, 2017, Fortify Rights said in a new report<\/a> released today. The report finds \u201creasonable grounds\u201d that crimes against Rohingya constitute genocide and crimes against humanity, and it identifies 22 Myanmar Army and Police officials who should be criminally investigated for their roles in atrocities.<\/p>\n

In order for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant, the prosecutor must find \u201creasonable grounds\u201d that perpetrators committed genocide and\/or crimes against humanity. The report calls on the United Nations Security Council to urgently refer the situation in Myanmar to the ICC.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cGenocide doesn\u2019t happen spontaneously,\u201d <\/em>said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Fortify Rights. \u201cImpunity for these crimes will pave the path for more violations and attacks in the future. The world can\u2019t sit idly by and watch another genocide unfold, but right now, that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The dominant narrative about what occurred in Myanmar\u2019s northern Rakhine State in 2017 suggests that Rohingya militants attacked dozens of police outposts, instigating a spontaneous Myanmar Army-led crackdown against Rohingya civilians, forcing the displacement of hundreds of thousands to Bangladesh.<\/p>\n

The 160-page report, \u201cThey Gave Them Long Swords\u201d: Preparations for Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity Against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, Myanmar<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, documents how the Myanmar authorities committed mass killings, rape, and arson attacks against Rohingya in Maungdaw Township in October and November 2016. When the international community failed to effectively respond to these attacks, Myanmar authorities made preparations to commit another attack that extended throughout all three townships of northern Rakhine State\u2014Maungdaw, Buthidaung, and Rathedaung.<\/p>\n

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Stranded on the Myanmar border with limited or no food and water for up to 20 days after fleeing Myanmar Army-led attacks, Rohingya refugees finally cross the Naf River on a makeshift raft made of bamboo and empty palm-oil cans\u2014a five to seven-hour-long journey.
Patrick Brown \u00a9 Panos\/UNICEF 2018<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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Specifically, Myanmar authorities: 1) systematically collected sharp or blunt objects from Rohingya civilians, \u201cdisarming\u201d them; 2) trained and armed local non-Rohingya ethnic citizens in northern Rakhine State, preparing them for violence; 3) systematically tore down fencing and other structures around Rohingya homes, providing attackers with a greater line-of-sight on civilians; 4) deprived Rohingya civilians of food and other lifesaving aid, systematically weakening them physically ahead of attacks; 5) deployed unnecessarily high numbers of state-security forces to northern Rakhine State; and 6) committed human rights violations against Rohingya civilians, including imposing discriminatory curfews and other violations prior to attacks.<\/p>\n

These deliberate actions fit within the United Nations\u2019 Framework for Analysis of Atrocity Crimes <\/em>as \u201cpreparatory actions\u201d for genocide and crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n

The report finds at least 27 Myanmar Army battalions, comprising up to 11,000 soldiers, along with at least three combat police battalions, comprising an estimated 900 police personnel, were involved in the attacks in northern Rakhine State beginning in August 2017.<\/p>\n

Fortify Rights identifies 22 military and police officials with command responsibility for the \u201cclearance operations\u201d in northern Rakhine State. These officials should be criminally investigated and potentially prosecuted for genocide and crimes against humanity. The list includes Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Vice Senior General Soe Win, and the Joint Chief of Staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force General Mya Tun Oo.<\/p>\n

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Stranded on the Myanmar border for up to three weeks, Rohingya refugees cross the Naf River into Bangladesh\u2014a five to seven-hour-long journey\u2014on makeshift rafts made of bamboo, tarp, and empty palm-oil cans. Patrick Brown \u00a9 Panos\/UNICEF 2018<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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The report is based on a 21-month-long investigation, including 254 interviews conducted by Fortify Rights in Myanmar and Bangladesh with Rohingya eyewitnesses and survivors, Myanmar military and police personnel, Bangladesh military and government officials, members and former members of the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)\u2014also known as al Yaqin<\/em>, a militant Rohingya group\u2014international and local humanitarian aid workers, medical physicians, and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came and took all the knives away,\u201d<\/em> said \u201cRahana,\u201d a 50-year-old Rohingya mother of two from Nyaung Chaung village in Buthidaung Township. \u201cIt was around two weeks ago,\u201d she told Fortify Rights on August 30, 2017.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Myanmar authorities provided weapons\u2014firearms and swords\u2014and quasi-military training to non-Rohingya citizens in northern Rakhine State months and, in some cases, immediately prior to attacks on Rohingya that began on August 25, 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey gave them long swords,\u201d<\/em> said \u201cMohammed Rafiq,\u201d a 25-year-old Rohingya eyewitness to a Myanmar Army-led massacre in Tula Toli\u2014also known as Min Gyi\u2014in Maungdaw Township on August 30, 2017. \u201cI could see it. [The soldiers] handed [Rakhine civilians] swords. Even young Rakhine boys were given long swords, and they were moving around with the swords hanging on their backs.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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A Rohingya refugee uses one of the many man-made dams in Balokhali 2 refugee camp, Cox\u2019s Bazar District, Bangladesh. Patrick Brown \u00a9 Panos\/UNICEF 2018<\/p><\/div><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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While disarming Rohingya and arming non-Rohingya in northern Rakhine State, the Myanmar authorities blocked humanitarian aid to Rohingya, including food and lifesaving aid. This had the effect of systematically weakening Rohingya civilians ahead of attacks against them.<\/p>\n

The government also restricted access for journalists and human rights monitors before the attacks, including the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, established in March 2017 by the United Nations Human Rights Council.<\/p>\n

Fortify Rights interviewed several current and former members of ARSA who explained their involvement in hastily planned attacks on police outposts on August 25, which provided the ostensible spark for the Myanmar Army-led crackdown on civilians. Those interviewed by Fortify Rights described ARSA as having little to no military capacity and no training.<\/p>\n

Upon ARSA\u2019s assault on police outposts on August 25, Myanmar authorities activated local non-Rohingya citizens, some of whom they previously armed and trained. Together, they attacked Rohingya villages.<\/p>\n

Fortify Rights documented how soldiers, police, and local non-Rohingya citizens hacked civilians, slit throats, and fatally shot and burned thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children in a matter of weeks. Soldiers raped masses of Rohingya women and girls, killed infant children, arbitrarily arrested men and boys, and destroyed several hundred villages in arson attacks, forcing more than 700,000 to flee to Bangladesh.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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To read the FULL REPORT download PDF file: They Gave Them Long Swords- Fortify Rights July 19 2018<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

19 Jul 2018 – The Myanmar authorities made \u201cextensive and systematic preparations\u201d for attacks against Rohingya civilians during the weeks and months before militants attacked police on August 25, 2017, Fortify Rights said in a new report released today. The report finds \u201creasonable grounds\u201d that crimes against Rohingya constitute genocide and crimes against humanity, and it identifies 22 Myanmar Army and Police officials who should be criminally investigated for their roles in atrocities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":114996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[677],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-updates-on-myanmar-rohingya-genocide"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}