Myanmar military’s Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing in a Facebook post on Wednesday admitted the security forces took part in a massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslims in September, whose bodies were found in a mass grave of Inn Din village in the violence-torn Rakhine State. ‘Some villagers from Inn Din village and security members confessed they killed 10 Bengali terrorists,’ the post said using a pejorative term for Rohingya.
Damn their admission. Myanmar Army Generals are brute Nazis believing in mass killing. After August 25 violence, around 800,000 Rohingyas have fled into Bangladesh raising the total number of refugees to 1.2 million.
The United Nations in September last had termed Myanmar’s treatment to its Muslim Rohingya minority as a ‘textbook example’ of ethnic cleansing. But Myanmar did not respond to it. It also did not pay any heed to the appeals of media, human rights and voluntary organizations to stop the ‘genocide’. Myanmar military’s denial also continued about torching villages and raping women. The refugees in the meantime have given accounts of massacres by Myanmar military.
Now, two Reuters journalists, engaged in investigating evidence of a mass grave at Inn Din, are facing trial. They could be awarded a maximum sentence of 14 years. It was worth mentioning that the grave, as described by military on Wednesday’s statement, was the same being investigated by the Reuters journalists. Even, the Amnesty International showing satellite images had made it clear that Rohingya homes in the Inn Din area were burned down in a coordinated campaign, whereas non-Rohingya buildings very nearby have been completely untouched.
What is most important now is to take care of the refugees. Unless the Generals responsible are threatened with trial for genocide there will be no assurance for taking the refugees back. The world cannot let down the humanity.
Our simple minded Foreign Minister is now agreeing that experience with Myanmar government over Rohingya refugees is bitter.
Our government has weakened international efforts by telling the world it can solve the issue bilaterally with Myanmar. We see incompetence everywhere. Yet, sycophants are succeeding in creating a feeling of success in the men in power.