Rohingya refugees cross the Naf River with an improvised raft to reach to Bangladesh in Teknaf, Bangladesh, November 12, 2017.
A Myanmar government spokesman on Wednesday rejected a report by United Nations investigators that called for top generals to be prosecuted for genocide, saying the international community was making "false allegations".
His comments came a day after the U.N report, which marked the first time the organisation has explicitly called for Myanmar officials to face genocide charges over a brutal crackdown on Rohingya Muslims last year.
"Our stance is clear and I want to say sharply that we don't accept any resolutions conducted by the Human Rights Council," Zaw Htay, the main government spokesman, said in an interview published in state media.
The atrocities targeting Myanmar’s Rohingya minority are similar to those committed by Nazi Germany, according to a prominent Buddhist human rights activist.Speaking to Anadolu Agency in Kent, the UK, Maung Zarni, a coordinator at the Free Rohingya Coalition, said the international community should act against his country of origin.'Let us not fail Rohingya again': Oscar-winning actressZarni’s remarks come after the UN released a report earlier this week documenting mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces. In its report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.“We have a situation wherein a UN member state run by a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi, and her partners in power, Burmese military generals…is found by the [most] credible and highest body of human rights authorities in the world to be like Nazi Germany,” Zarni said.“Genocide is what the Nazis did. Genocide is what happened in Rwanda, in Cambodia, or to the Bosnian Muslims.”Zarni underlined that when a case is determined to be “genocidal”, the responsibility for dealing with it lies with all UN member states.“The highest political and moral obligation rests with the [UN] Security Council,” he added.He said setting up an international criminal court as was done for Rwanda or Bosnia would not be enough; the Rohingya minority needs “a protected region where they can live safely and as normal, decent human beings”.The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar has called on Myanmar’s top military officials, including army commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, to be tried at the International Criminal Court for genocide committed against Rohingya Muslims.“My expectation, in an ideal world…[is that] the UN Security Council will authorize some form of intervention so that the atrocities can be stopped and the Rohingya can be given their land back and allowed to live in dignity and in safety,” Zarni said.- SanctionsZarni said there are now more Rohingya living outside Myanmar than those who are left in the country following decades of violence but especially after a full-scale attack was launched against them in August last year.Underlining that the international community should impose sanctions on Myanmar’s government and army, Zarni pointed out that the exclusion policy against the Rohingya must end.Rohingya Muslims “are being purged,” and the ultimate goal in introducing sanctions against Myanmar should be “to fundamentally change the Burmese state’s policies and change the structures [which] have been mobilized by the Burmese military and public opinion makers to repress and persecute and essentially annihilate this population,” Zarni added.The ultimate goal of multiple sanctions should be providing Rohingya “international protection” and creating “an autonomous region where the Burmese military would not be allowed to continue the atrocities,” he said.- SolutionZarni said Myanmar has four major pillars: the military, the Buddhist order, political parties, and the public.“All four of these major institutions…have categorically rejected the Rohingya. We are telling them they don’t belong to Burma, we don’t want them in Burma.”Zarni said the solution to the problem does not lie in the country but has to be formulated internationally and within the UN institutions.- Call for Turkey's assistanceZarni added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish government “have been extremely vocal and supportive of the Rohingya people”.“This is the time for Turkey to show serious moral and political leadership,” he said.Pointing out that the UN Security Council is in a “coma” and “paralyzed” as it cannot resolve the problems, Zarni emphasized that Turkey can really help in Myanmar’s case by “leading to form a coalition of Muslim and non-Muslim governments that accept that this is genocide and [say] we must not be bystanders to genocide”.He said there are more than 500,000 Rohingya trapped in Myanmar and they can be driven out any time, adding it is the time to act and to form a coalition.“My appeal is not to the Burmese people. My appeal is to the Islamic world as well as non-Islamic communities to help the Rohingya.“Because this is not just about Muslim people. They are human beings. But we, Burmese, in my country treat them like [they are] less than animals.”On Aug. 25, 2017, Myanmar launched a major military crackdown on the Muslim ethnic minority, killing almost 24,000 civilians and forcing 750,000 others, including women and children, to flee to Bangladesh, according to the Ontario International Development Agency.The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.
'Myanmar is like Nazi Germany'
Myanmar did not allow U.N investigators to enter the country, he said. "That's why we don't agree and accept any resolutions made by the Human Rights Council."
He added that the country has "zero tolerance to any human rights violation" and had set up a Commission of Enquiry to respond to "false allegations" made by the U.N and "other international communities".
Authorities earlier this year set up a panel comprised of two local and two international members – Filipino diplomat Rosario Manalo and Kenzo Oshima, Japan's former ambassador to the U.N - to investigate human rights abuses.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Tuesday called on Security Council member states to urge Myanmar to cooperate in solving the humanitarian crisis experienced by Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state.Guterres described the situation as "one of the world’s worst humanitarian and human rights crises" in an address to the Security Council."I ask members of the Security Council to join me in urging the Myanmar authorities to cooperate with the United Nations, and to ensure immediate, unimpeded and effective access for its agencies and partners," Guterres said. His remarks come one day after a UN fact-finding mission published a report that said top military officials in Myanmar, including Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing should be investigated for genocide.Facebook banned the accounts and pages of Myanmar army officials Monday, citing they were spreading hate by attacking the Rohingya Muslim population through social media.UN chief warns against military escalation in SyriaGuterres said the Myanmar government has refused to work with UN human rights groups despite repeated calls by the Security Council to do so.Recounting a story of when he visited Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, he discussed the horrific stories that he encountered there."One father broke down as he told me how his son was shot dead in front of him. His mother was brutally murdered and his house burned to the ground. He took refuge in a mosque only to be discovered by soldiers who abused him and burned the Quran," the UN chief said.'Let us not fail Rohingya again': Oscar-winning actress"Some 130,000 Rohingya remain confined in camps with severe restrictions on their freedom of movement. They have extremely limited access to health, education and other essential services, and to ways of making a living," Guterres added.On Aug. 25, 2017, Myanmar launched a major military crackdown on the Muslim ethnic minority, killing almost 24,000 civilians and forcing 750,000 others including women and children to flee to Bangladesh, according to the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces. The UN has described the Rohingya as the “world's most persecuted people.”"It is clear that conditions are not yet met for the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees to their places of origin or choice."Guterres stressed the UN should follow the framework set by former Secretary General Kofi Annan, and as long as there is fear and persecution remains in the Rakhine state, they will not allow refugees to return."A year has passed. This crisis cannot continue indefinitely," Guterres said.
UN chief urges Myanmar to ensure immediate, full access
Myanmar has denied most of the allegations, saying the military responded to a legitimate threat from Rohingya militants, who attacked police posts across the western Rakhine state.
"If there is any case against human rights, just give us strong evidence, record and date so that we can take legal action against those who break the rules and regulations," Zaw Htay said.
The same day as the U.N released its report, Facebook shut down the account of army general Min Aung Hlaing and other top military officials, accusing them of using its platform to spread "hate and misinformation".
UN Refugee Agency goodwill ambassador Australian actress Cate Blanchett on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council not to fail Rohingya "again" as the minority Muslims have been enduring violence for a year."I have heard the gut-wrenching accounts. Stories of grave torture, of women brutally violated, people who have had their loved ones killed before their eyes. Children who have seen their grandparents locked in houses that were set alight," said Blanchett.Her remarks came during her address to the UN Security Council in New York on the situation in Myanmar and the Rohingya refugee crisis."I am a mother, and I saw my children in the eyes of every single refugee child I met. I saw myself in every parent. How can any mother endure seeing her child thrown into a fire?"Their experiences will never leave me," she said. In her remarks, she said the focus of the Council's member states must be to provide much-needed support inside Bangladesh while working to ensure conditions in Myanmar are conducive to return.She said from her accounts with many Rohingya refugees she talked to, the minority Muslims view Myanmar as their home and cited their fears about returning there."The Rohingya cannot return to the very conditions they were forced to flee," she said."We have failed the Rohingya before. Please, let us not fail them again," she concluded.On Aug. 25, 2017, Myanmar launched a major military crackdown on the Muslim ethnic minority, killing almost 24,000 civilians and forcing 750,000 others including women and children to flee to Bangladesh, according to the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).The UN has documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces and has described the Rohingya as the “world's most persecuted people”.Over 200 Rohingya wait to enter Bangladesh: ReportTurkey reiterates support for Rohingya MuslimsBangladesh: 87 pct Rohingya unwilling to go to islandMyanmar generals had 'genocidal intent' against Rohingya, must face justice: UNRohingya in US mark first year of Rakhine massacre
'Let us not fail Rohingya again': Oscar-winning actress
In the interview published on Wednesday, Zaw Htay said the government had not ordered the ban and was questioning Facebook about the action, saying it had caused "mounting criticism and fear among the people".
Myanmar's civilian government shares power with the military, which controls key ministries including home affairs and immigration.