Myanmar’s army chief, who is facing international calls that he be prosecuted for genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority, has denied any systematic army persecution and said such accusations were an insult to his country’s honour.
In his first detailed interview since the Myanmar military launched a crackdown in 2017, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing cast doubt on UN estimates that some 730,000 Rohingya had fled to Bangladesh, and on their accounts of abuses by his forces, saying the refugees had been told what to say.
“Criticism without any certain proof hurts the nation’s dignity,” Min Aung Hlaing told Japan’s Asahi Shimbun daily in an interview published on Friday.
A Rohingya mother and her daughter, who fled the village of Min Gyi in Myanmar, at a refugee camp in Bangladesh last year. A United Nations panel cited the slaughter in Min Gyi last year in its report on the Myanmar military’s crimes. The New York Times
A Rohingya mother and her daughter, who fled the village of Min Gyi in Myanmar, at a refugee camp in Bangladesh last year. A United Nations panel cited the slaughter in Min Gyi last year in its report on the Myanmar military’s crimes. The New York Times
Myanmar forces launched their offensive in Rakhine State in 2017 in response to a series of attacks by Rohingya insurgents on security posts near the Bangladesh border.
