By THE IRRAWADDY 30
July 2018
The President’s
Office announced that it would form an independent commission of enquiry in
May, after months of pressure from international rights groups to allow an
impartial investigation of allegations of arson, rape and murder by the Myanmar
military in Rakhine following the ARSA attacks.
YANGON — The
government on Monday announced the formation of a four-member commission to
investigate allegations of human rights violations in Rakhine State following
attacks on police posts there by the militant Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army
(ARSA) in late August.
On Monday, the
office announced that the commission had been formed and comprised two local
and two international members.
The commission is to
be led by Rosario Manalo, a former deputy foreign minister of the Philippines.
He is also a former chair and a current representative of the Philippines to
the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against
Women.
The commission also
includes Kenzo Oshima, a former permanent representative to the UN for Japan.
The two local
members are U Mya Thein, a former chair of Myanmar’s Constitutional Tribunal,
and a former senior official at UNICEF, U Aung Tun Thet, who is now chief
coordinator of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettle and
Development in Rakhine, which was formed in October, one month after the ARSA
attacks.
A statement from the
President’s Office on Monday said the commission was “part of the government’s
national initiative to address reconciliation, peace, stability and development
in Rakhine.”
A UN Security
Council delegation visited Myanmar earlier this year and called for a
transparent investigation into accusations of violence against Rohingya
Muslims, warning that a failure to do so could lead to military officials being
referred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
In June, Myanmar’s
main opposition and former ruling party, the Union Solidarity and Development
Party, submitted an urgent proposal
to the Lower House of Parliament imploring the government to exclude foreigners
from the investigation commission. https://lnkd.in/dDVte6H
The proposal was
followed by a meeting of the National Defense and Security Council — which
includes the president, state counselor, army chief and other senior officials
— in Naypyitaw to discuss the government’s signing of a memorandum of understanding with UN
agencies on the return of refugees from Bangladesh, the formation of an
investigation commission, the latest Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore, and border
security problems, according to the President’s Office.
signing: https://lnkd.in/dGQ3H7S
Shangri-La Dialogue:
https://lnkd.in/dNx_ccb