Antony Blinken must announce the news on Monday as the head of American diplomacy. Sanctions could be applied against the Burmese military dictatorship.
This Monday, March 21, the United States will declare that the violence perpetrated by the Burmese army on the Rohingyas is genocide. This is an initiative that activists from this Muslim minority have reacted cautiously to.
After a 2017 military crackdown, hundreds of thousands fled Myanmar’s predominantly Buddhist Rohingya. This is the subject of genocide proceedings at The Hague’s International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United States’ highest court. United Nations
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to announce the decision to consider the crackdown a genocide during a visit Monday to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, which features an exhibit titled “Burma’s Path to Genocide” ( “Burma’s road to genocide”).
Anthony Blinken stated in December 2021, during a trip to Malaysia, that the United States was seeking him. “very actively”Whether the Rohingya could be treated differently “Constitute genocide”.
CNN quoted a report from the State Department in 2018 that described violence against Rohingya in Rakhine State (western Burma) as “extreme, large-scale, widespread and apparently intended both to terrorize the population and drive out Rohingya residents”. Around 850,000 Rohingya live in camps in Bangladesh, Myanmar’s neighboring nation. Another 600,000. members of the community still reside in Rakhine State, Myanmar.
READ ALSOBurma: Rohingyas kill, silence!
“It should have been done a long time ago, however I think that the American decision will help the process before the ICJ for the Rohingyas”One Rohingya refugee said this to a Sittwe resident, capital of Rakhine state, in one camp where people have been displaced by crisis. Thin Thin Hlaing a Rohingya rights advocate, also welcomed US’s decision. “I feel like a blackout. But now, we see a light because our suffering is recognized”According to her, AFP.
“I will never forget the painful stories I heard in 2017 from members of the Rohingya community in Burma and Bangladesh – stories of violence and crimes against humanity”On Sunday evening, the American senator Jeff Merkley tweeted his opinion on the American decision. “It’s good to see the administration take this long-awaited step to hold this brutal regime to account, something I’ve been working on for years. »
Genocide against Burma could be legally defined. This could lead to additional sanctions and restrictions on international aid. argued the “New York Times”.
The United States has placed a number of sanctions on Burmese leaders. It has also, like other Western nations, long restricted arms exports to the Burmese military. These were the same people who were charged even before the military coup. From 1It isFebruary 2021: Crimes against humanity for their abuses of the Rohingyas.
The case brought against Burma by The Gambia before the ICJ in 2019 was complicated due to the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi (her civilian government), triggering massive protests, and violent repression. The Nobel Peace Prize recipient, who was criticized by human right groups for her role in the Rohingya crackdown is now under house arrest. She is being tried by the exact same generals that she defended at The Hague.
A report from the Office of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner on the period immediately following the coup indicted the Burmese military of possible war crimes and crimes against mankind. State and urged the international community for urgent action.