The ICC Has Requested An Arrest Warrant For Myanmar’s Military Leader For "Persecuting" Rohingya Muslims
The alleged crimes occurred between Aug. 25, 2017 and Dec. 31,2017 when Min Aung Hlaing led a military campaign that forcibly displaced more than 740,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested an arrest warrant for the leader of Myanmar's military junta, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, for committing crimes against humanity against the Rohingya, a Muslim minority ethnic group in the country.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced on Wednesday, Nov. 27, that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe Min Aung Hlaing “bears criminal responsibility for the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya, committed in Myanmar, and in part in Bangladesh”.
The alleged crimes occurred between Aug. 25, 2017 and Dec. 31,2017 when Min Aung Hlaing led a military campaign that forcibly displaced more than 740,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh.
The operation began after Rohingya militants attacked more than 30 police posts in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, according to the BBC.
In response, the military launched "clearance operations" targeting Rohingya communities that killed at least 6,700 Rohingyas, including hundreds of children under five, within a month, according to BBC.
There were also reports of widespread sexual assault, with the military reportedly raping nearly 2,000 women and girls, according to Amnesty International.
The military also burned nearly 400 villages of Rohingya in the Rakhine State.
Khan said that the “Tatmadaw, armed forces of Myanmar, committed the crimes with the support of the national police, the border guard police, as well as non-Rohingya civilians”.
Khan also said that the warrant request is just the beginning, adding that "the Rohingya have not been forgotten" and are entitled to legal protection.
A day before making his statement, Khan visited the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
The crowded camp is home to more than a million Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar, according to the Diplomat.
The Myanmar government has insisted that the clearance operation was solely aimed at Rohingya militants.
However, international organizations, including the United Nations, have called the actions as the “textbook definition of ethnic cleansing” and “genocide”.
Myanmar’s military government rejected the ICC’s arrest warrant request, arguing the country is not a part of the ICC and that its leaders follow a policy of “peaceful coexistence”, according to Al Jazeera.
On the other hand, Zin Mar Aung, the foreign minister for Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government, wrote on X that Min Aung Hlaing “must be held fully accountable for every innocent lives [sic] he has destroyed and the families he has torn apart”
She also asked the judges to “swiftly” issue the warrant.
Many Human rights organisations also hailed ICC’s move, which began its investigation in 2019.
“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,” Human Rights Watch said.
Although Myanmar is not a member of the ICC, the court can act because the ICC prosecutor mentioned that some alleged crimes also occurred in Bangladesh, which is an ICC member, BBC reported.
A panel of three ICC judges will now review Khan’s request to decide whether there is enough evidence to issue an arrest warrant.
Meanwhile, Myanmar is in a civil war that has displaced more than 3.2 million people, 40% of whom are children, according to UNICEF.
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