Top Tatmadaw (military) officers refused to meet with
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who underscored the need for Myanmar to
hold accountable those officers suspected of committing human rights abuses
against Muslims in northern Rakhine State.
Hunt arrived in Myanmar on Thursday for a two-day
official visit, during which he met with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
and visited northern Rakhine.
Hunt underscored the need for accountability and justice
for any atrocities that have been perpetrated in the restive state. He said
that if there is no accountability and justice in Myanmar, then the
international community needs to look at all options, including referring the
case to the International Criminal Court.
‘’The latter would need the support of the (UN) Security
Council, which it may not get, so we need to look at other options too,” Hunt
said.
He confirmed that he will discuss what the international
community should do with the Rakhine issue at the UN general assembly.
‘’Britain can’t act alone. We need to act in concert with
other countries – we are a believer in the international rules-based order.
It’s incredibly important for all of us that the perpetrators face justice,’’
Hunt said.
On Monday, the UN general assembly’s high-level meeting
and general debate begins, and the Rakhine issue is likely to be among the top
agenda items.
Earlier this month, a UN fact-finding mission on Myanmar
released a report that called for Myanmar military leaders to be investigated
for crimes against humanity. Most of UN’s member countries have backed its
proposals, and Hunt has said Britain will use all the tools at its disposal to try
to make sure there is accountability.
‘’What is essential now is that the perpetrators of any
atrocities are brought to justice, because without that, there can be no
solution to the huge refugee problem,’’ Hunt said.
U Aung Myo Min, executive director of social advocacy
group Equality Myanmar, said Myanmar can have wider access to the international
community through the ICC.
“The government should consider whether to continue
placing itself into a tighter situation,” he said.
He added that the government should start cooperating
with the international missions in dealing with the Rakhine crisis.
U Thein Than Oo, a lawyer, said the government took the
wrong approach of making blanket denials when faced with the possibility of an
ICC referral by the international community.
“Under the procedures of the UN, it’s not easy for the
case to reach the ICC. However, the situation is in flux, so the government
needs to be careful,” he said.
However, U Nandar Hla Myint, spokesperson of the
military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party, described Hunt’s
actions as interference in the country’s internal affairs. ‘’We reject what
[Hunt] said when he met with the State Counsellor. This is interference,” he
said.
He added that the Rakhine crisis is an internal matter
that must be solved through cooperation between the government, military and
political parties under the country’s laws.
At a press conference on Friday, President Office’s
spokesperson U Zaw Htay said the fact-finding mission’s report on northern
Rakhine was issued unilaterally, was aimed at the dissolution of Myanmar, and
did not follow accepted international procedures.
“Tremendous pressure is being put on the government,
which might hinder our democratic transition,” said U Zaw Htay.
On August 25 last year, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation
Army launched deadly attacks on government security outposts in northern Rakhine,
prompting a brutal military crackdown that was considered by the international
community as “overkill.” It accused government forces of perpetrating massive
human rights abuses against the Muslim minority in the state.
The United Nations and other international humanitarian
agencies estimated that the crackdown forced over 700,000 Muslims from northern
Rakhine to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.
Source: Myanmar Times