Myanmar must face ICC for ‘murderous operation’ against Rohingya: Asean MPs
More than 130 MPs make rare rebuke against Myanmar ahead of first anniversary of military campaign in Rahkine state that killed 25,000 people and left 700,000 displaced
In a joint statement released by Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights, they called for the Myanmar military to be “brought to justice” for its “murderous operation in Rakhine State”.
“As Myanmar is clearly both unwilling and unable to investigate itself, we are now at a stage where the international community must step in to ensure accountability,” said APHR member Charles Santiago, a Malaysian politician in the ruling coalition speaking on behalf of those 132 who had issued the statement.
He added: “I stand together with 131 of my elected peers in calling on the members of the UNSC to immediately refer the situation in Myanmar to the ICC. Those in Myanmar responsible for these horrific crimes must be held to account; they cannot be left free to commit the same abuses again in the future.”
The united call comes just ahead of the first anniversary of the start of the military campaign of violence against the Rohingya in Rahkine state. Since that began 700,000 people have fled over the border to Bangladesh and 25,000 people have been killed, with villages razed to the ground and women sexually assaulted and raped. The violence has been described as ethnic cleansing by the UN; a charge Myanmar denies.