Malaysia wants the UN Security Council to set up an
international tribunal with a special mandate to try those accused of genocide
against Rohingyas in Myanmar's Rakhine state.
Also read: Myanmar has no 'proper justice' on
Rohingya issue – Saifuddin: https://lnkd.in/gjtFhEC
During a parliamentary session on Thursday, Malaysian
Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said the International Criminal Court
(ICC) has initiated an investigation into the atrocities against Rohingyas.
“In this regard, Malaysia is of the view that the United
Nations Security Council should also refer the Rohingya issue to the
international judicial process, including the setting up of an international
tribunal with a special mandate,” he told the Dewan Rakyat [lower house of the
Malaysian parliament], reports Bernama, state news agency of Malaysia.
Some 750,000 Rohingya fled brutal military campaign since
August last year and took shelter in Bangladesh, joining some 300,000 others
who had fled earlier waves of violence in Myanmar. They have been denied
citizenship and other basic rights since 1982.
Malaysia will continue to work together with like-minded
countries to ensure that Rohingyas receive the justice they deserve, Saifuddin
Abdullah said.
The remarks of new Malaysian foreign minister is
significant as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has
historically struggled with challenges facing the region because it works only
by consensus and is reluctant in matters deemed to be internal.
So far, member states have spoken mostly of repatriation
of Rohingyas from Bangladesh to Myanmar. Amid rising international criticism,
Malaysia and other Asean members appear to be taking a stronger stance.
At the Asean summit in Singapore last week, Malaysian
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad harshly criticised Myanmar's de facto leader
Aung San Suu Kyi.
Source: The Daily Star