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The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) says it has requested an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s army chief Min Aung Hlaing for crimes towards humanity dedicated towards the Rohingya Muslims.
Karim Khan mentioned there have been cheap grounds to consider Min Aung Hlaing bore legal duty for the persecution and deportation of Rohingyas to neighbouring Bangladesh.
Hundreds of hundreds of Rohingya fled Myanmar in 2017 to flee a marketing campaign of what the UN has described as genocide launched by the Burmese army.
But Myanmar’s authorities has denied this, saying it was solely finishing up a marketing campaign towards Rohingya militants.
Attacks on the Rohingya first started in 2017, after Rohingya militants launched lethal assaults on greater than 30 police posts in Myanmar.
They mentioned troops responded to this by burning their villages, and attacking and killing civilians.
At least 6,700 Rohingya, together with at the very least 730 kids beneath the age of 5, had been killed within the month after the violence broke out, in accordance with medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Amnesty International says the Myanmar army additionally raped and abused Rohingya girls and ladies.
The stunning violence towards the Rohingya prompted a world outcry, and calls for for accountability – one thing which proved troublesome, with the-then Burmese chief Aung San Suu Kyi refusing to prosecute her generals.
Myanmar will not be a signatory to the International Criminal Court, so initially bringing a case towards the army there appeared inconceivable.
However, ICC prosecutors later argued that as among the alleged crimes, primarily deportation, additionally occurred in Bangladesh – which is a signatory – there have been grounds for an indictment.
Now, after 5 years of investigation, the chief prosecutor says he has sufficient proof to request a world arrest warrant towards Min Aung Hlaing.
A panel of three ICC judges should now rule on the prosecutor’s request.
There can also be an ongoing genocide case towards the army on the International Court of Justice.
Human rights organisations welcomed information of Min Aung Hlaing’s arrest warrant, with one calling it a “day of celebration”.
“The ICC prosecutor’s request for this arrest warrant is a strong warning to Myanmar’s abusive military leaders that they’re not beyond the reach of the law,” mentioned Maria Elena Vignoli, senior worldwide justice counsel at Human Rights Watch.
“This is a rare day of celebration for the Rohingya,” Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation within the UK, instructed Reuters information company. “Today we have finally taken another step towards justice and accountability.”
Myanmar is at the moment within the midst of a civil struggle, with Min Aung Hlaing’s military having suffered important losses.
Min Aung Hlaing first got here to energy in 2021, after he led a coup towards the elected authorities of Aung Sang Suu Kyi.
He has change into a world pariah since launching his disastrous coup, and barely travels – and it is unlikely he’ll ever find yourself in courtroom at The Hague.
But for the tons of of hundreds of Rohingyas caught in depressing camps in Bangladesh, this case might at the very least present that they haven’t been forgotten.
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