Tribune Desk
Published at May 10th, 2019
OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville Reuters
'We are deeply concerned about possibly 40 to 50 ethnic Rakhine boys and men who reportedly remain detained since April 30 in a school in Kyauk Tan village, Rathedaung township in northern Rakhine State'
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has expressed deep concern over around 40 to 50 ethnic Rakhine boys and men who have reportedly been detained in a school in northern Rakhine State since April 30.
“We are deeply concerned about possibly 40 to 50 ethnic Rakhine boys and men who reportedly remain detained since April 30 in a school in Kyauk Tan village, Rathedaung township in northern Rakhine State, where six detainees were killed on May 2 by the Myanmar Army,” OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville said in a statement issued on Friday.
According to the Myanmar Army, soldiers opened fire when the group tried to seize their guns, but other sources dispute this account. They say that the Myanmar opened fire indiscriminately after one of the detainees tried to escape, Colville said.
“The men and boys are believed to have been detained following attacks by an armed group, the Arakan Army, on two Myanmar Army bases on April 9. According to information received by the UN Human Rights Office, the Myanmar Army surrounded Kyauk Tan village on April 30, and called on all males over 15 years of age to report to the local school,” he added.
“Those over the age of 60 were released, while the others were reportedly mistreated and detained, including sleep deprivation and the denial of food. Since May 2, most of the boys and men have been released in groups, apparently after being interrogated. However, up to 50 remain in incommunicado detention without access to lawyers, doctors or any other form of protection. They are reliant on family members for food,” the statement further said.
Expressing that this was not an isolated incident, the statement said: “We are deeply concerned about the extrajudicial executions, arbitrary and incommunicado detention, mistreatment, protracted use of a school for military purposes, and what appears to be punishment of a large group of villagers for the violent acts perpetrated by an armed group.
“We are also concerned at the announcement that the episode will be investigated by the military. OHCHR has repeatedly observed that investigations by the Myanmar serve only to whitewash their crimes. We echo calls for a credible, impartial and independent investigation into the incident in Kyauktan, which should be investigated along with the incident in Mrauk-U.”
The statement concluded with calls on the Myanmar Army to respect international human rights law, and to “immediately grant humanitarian access to all conflict zones, including in northern Rakhine State where restrictions on humanitarian access is exacerbating the suffering of civilians.”
Link: https://www.dhakatribune.com/world/south-asia/2019/05/10/ohchr-expresses-deep-concern-over-rakhine-men-and-boys-detained-by-myanmar-army
No comments:
Post a Comment