Myanmar Junta Hits Back at U.S.’s Rohingya Genocide Declaration

Bloomberg
Khine Lin Kyaw
22 March 2022,

• Foreign Ministry says ‘never engaged in any genocidal actions’
• Shadow government urges U.S. to refer situation to ICC

Rohingya refugees wait for food distribution at the refugee camp of Balukhali in Bangladesh in Sept. 2017.Photographer: Dominique Faget/AFP/Getty Images

Myanmar’s military government on Tuesday rejected U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s declaration that the Min Aung Hlaing-led military committed genocide against the Rohingya minority in 2016 and 2017.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement that “Myanmar has never engaged in any genocidal actions” and harbors no “genocidal intent” for any group. Blinken’s remarks were “politically motivated and tantamount to interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.”

Blinken on Monday had announced that the U.S. had determined that members of Myanmar’s military had “committed genocide and crimes against humanity” against Rohingya Muslims, killing more than 9,000 Rohingya and forcing 840,000 others to flee to neighboring Bangladesh in the two years.

That determination, he said, was based on on a factual assessment and legal analysis prepared by the State Department. Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Ministry rebutted the assessment, saying it was based on unreliable and unverifiable sources as well as sweeping allegations.

Earlier Tuesday, Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government welcomed the determination and encouraged the U.S. to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. The Southeast Asian nation is also up for trial for genocide charges against Rohingya at the International Court of Justice.

More than a year since the junta took power, it’s facing hurdles to restoring stability in some provinces as pro-democracy activists take up arms against the dictatorship. Roughly 1,700 civilians have been killed and nearly 13,000 arrested since the civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi was overthrown in the February 2021 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

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