8/8/22, 9:18 PM
New evidence shows how Myanmar's military planned the Rohingya purge
Anti-coup protesters stand at a barricade as they clash with security forces on Bayint Naung Bridge in Yangon in March
last year. The coup has led to many defections, with some soldiers now talking openly about atrocities committed against
the Rohingya by the army. REUTERS/Stringer
Legal experts say the chances senior military leaders will be
tried soon are slim. They rarely leave Myanmar, and then
only to friendly nations like Russia and China, which aren’t
parties to the ICC.
Min Aung Hlaing didn’t respond to questions sent to the
military junta. Reuters was unable to contact Suu Kyi, who
in June was moved from an undisclosed location where she
had been held to solitary confinement in a prison in the
capital Naypyitaw, the junta said.
A spokesman for the newly formed civilian parallel
government, which includes members of the former
democratically elected administration who have escaped
arrest, said it was their view that the Rohingya “were the
victims of genocide.” It was of “dire importance,” the
spokesman added, that the evidence of atrocities be
presented to the ICJ.
CIJA has had success securing some convictions in tough
environments. In Syria and Iraq, its investigators smuggled
out more than a million pages of documents that implicated
insiders from the Bashar al-Assad regime and Islamic State.
The documents formed the basis of convictions in Germany
and the Netherlands, including of a former Syrian regime
member and an Islamic State militant, who are both now in
prison.
CIJA has begun handing its Myanmar material to
prosecutors in the Hague. The organization says the records
implicate more than a dozen Burmese officials, most in the
military. CIJA asked Reuters not to publish most of their
names to ensure any future legal proceedings aren’t
jeopardized.
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/myanmar-rohingya-warcrimes-investigation/
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