Myanmar Military Publicly Admits To Wrongdoing, Says Soldiers Killed 10 Rohingya
30 January 2018EsinIslam And
Agencies
yanmar security forces took part in the massacre of 10 Rohinyga, the army
chief's office said Wednesday, also admitting for the first time the existence
of a mass grave of the Muslim minority in Rakhine state.
'Some villagers from Inn Din village and security members confessed they
killed 10 Bengali terrorists,' the office said in a Facebook post about the
September 2 killings, using a pejorative term for Rohingya.
The public admission of wrongdoing is the military's first since it launched
'clearance operations' against ethnic Rohingya in August, prompting more than
650,000 to flee into neighboring Bangladesh in what the United Nations has
called 'ethnic cleansing.'
The U.N. and other groups accuse the military of widespread atrocities against
Rohingya, including killings, rapes and the burning of homes. But the military
has insisted that there was no wrongdoing by any security forces.
Myanmar army changes tack with Rohingya killings admission
After months denying any wrongdoing, Myanmar has admitted its forces helped
kill 10 Rohingya in custody in an apparent bid to blame a few rogue soldiers
for what the global community alleges is part of an organized ethnic cleansing
campaign.
Since the August crackdown the army vigorously denied any abuses, instead
locking down access to Rakhine state and accusing critics, including the U.N.,
of pro-Rohingya bias and spreading 'fake news.'
Then late on Wednesday it suddenly changed tune: an internal probe found four
members of the 'security forces' helped kill 10 Rohingya militant suspects at
Inn Din village on September 2, leaving their bodies in a hastily-dug pit. 'It
was found that the incident was not submitted to superior levels,' it said.
The unprecedented acknowledgment, relayed on the Facebook page of the office
of army chief Min Aung Hlaing, rippled out across the rights community that
has spent months piecing together allegations of numerous atrocities.
'This grisly admission is a sharp departure from the army's policy of blanket
denial of any wrongdoing,' said James Gomez, Amnesty International's regional
director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
'However, it is only the tip of the iceberg,' he added, urging independent
investigation into other allegations.
Some observers say the army move is an attempt to retake control of the story
after rumours of extra-judical killings at Inn Din and the surrounding area
began to seep out.
According to U.N. estimates, more than 655,000 Rohingya Muslims crossed into
Bangladesh after the Myanmar army launched a crackdown on suspected Muslim
insurgents blamed for carrying out attacks on security posts in restive
Rakhine state on Aug. 25. The U.N. and U.S. have described the military
operation as 'ethnic cleansing' of the Muslim minority, but have not released
specific death tolls. The U.N. rights chief called for a fresh international
investigation into Myanmar's abuses against its Rohingya Muslim minority,
warning of possible 'elements of genocide.' The United Nations defines
genocide as acts intended to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious
group in whole or in part. A U.N. convention requires all countries to act to
halt genocide and to punish those responsible.
The stateless Rohingya have been the target of communal violence and vicious
anti-Muslim sentiment in mainly Buddhist Myanmar for years. Myanmar has denied
citizenship to the Rohingya since 1982, and excludes them from the 135 ethnic
groups it officially recognizes, which effectively renders them stateless.
They have long faced discrimination and persecution with many Buddhists in
Myanmar calling them 'Bengalis' and saying they migrated illegally from Ba
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