UK sanctions top Myanmar generals over human rights

MYANMAR TIMES
THOMPSON CHAUSWE LEI MON
07 JUL 2020

 Commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (centre left) on his barefoot arrives at Bahadur Shah Zafar Dargah, the site where the last Moghul King Bahadur Shah Zafar was buried. Photo: EPA-EFE

The UK has stressed its continued support for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s civilian government while imposing limited sanctions against Tatmadaw Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and his deputy Soe Win for their alleged role in leading human rights abuses against ethnic groups.

The sanctions, announced on July 6, freeze any assets that Myanmar’s top two generals may have in the UK and impose a visa ban. London said the commanders were targeted for their role “in the systematic and brutal violence against the Rohingya people and other ethnic minorities.”

UK imposes sanctions against human rights abusers

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6 July 2020
Killing of Jamal Khashoggi

Image copyright Reuters

The UK is imposing sanctions on 49 people and organisations behind the most "notorious" human rights abuses of recent years.

Individuals implicated in the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 will have their UK assets frozen and banned from entering the country.

And Saudi Arabian officials involved in the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are also being targeted.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the move sent a "clear message".

U.S. court asked to force Facebook to release Myanmar officials' data for genocide case

REUTERS
June 10, 2020

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Lawyers bringing a case before the World Court accusing Myanmar of genocide against its Rohingya Muslim minority have asked a U.S. district court to order Facebook to release posts and communications of the country’s military and police. 

FILE PHOTO: Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi attends a hearing in a case filed by Gambia against Myanmar alleging genocide against the minority Muslim Rohingya population, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands December 10, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman

The International Court of Justice based in the Hague has agreed to hear a case accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya in violation of a 1948 convention.

The U.N. court, commonly known as the World Court, accepts cases between states, and the case against Myanmar was brought by The Gambia with the backing of a group of Muslim countries.

Australian ambassador meets with Myanmar military chief accused of Rohingya genocide

The Guardian
Ben Doherty
@bendohertycorro
Thu 20 Feb 2020



Exclusive: Australia accused of giving legitimacy and credibility to a military accused of mass atrocities

 Australia’s ambassador to Myanmar, Andrea Faulkner, met Min Aung Hlaing on 29 January at the Bayintnaung Villa in the capital, Naypyidaw. Photograph: Supplied 

The commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s defence forces – recommended by the UN for investigation and prosecution for war crimes and genocide – has met with Australia’s ambassador and says he wants to train more of his officers in Australia.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is the supreme commander of Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, which has been accused of genocide in its systematic persecution of the ethnic and religious minority Rohingya.

U.S. blacklists head of Myanmar military for alleged rights abuses against Rohingya

REUTERS

Daphne Psaledakis, Simon Lewis

December 10, 2019

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday blacklisted four Myanmar military leaders, including the commander-in-chief, in the toughest action taken yet by Washington for alleged human rights abuses against the Rohingya and other minorities.  

FILE PHOTO: Myanmar military commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, attends a military exercise at Ayeyarwaddy delta region in Myanmar, February 3, 2018. REUTERS/Lynn Bo Bo/Pool/File Photo

 

The sanctions targeted the commander-in-chief of the Burmese military, Min Aung Hlaing, on the same day that Myanmar’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, attended the first day of hearings in a genocide case against Myanmar at the U.N.’s highest court.

Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi faces first legal action over Rohingya crisis

The Guardian
Agence France-Presse
Thu 14 Nov 2019

Case launches in Argentina under ‘universal jurisdiction’ demanding justice over ‘existential threat’ to minority

Aung San Suu Kyi has been named in a court case seeking ‘criminal sanction’ over the treatment of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar. Photograph: Nyein Chan Naing/EPA 

Aung San Suu Kyi is among several top Myanmar officials named in a case filed in Argentina for crimes against Rohingya Muslims, the first time the Nobel Laureate has been legally targeted over the crisis.

Rohingya and Latin American human rights groups submitted the lawsuit in Argentina on Wednesday under the principle of “universal jurisdiction,” a legal concept enshrined in many countries’ laws.

How Myanmar’s Military Chief Could Become President

The Irrawaddy
Commentary
By Kyaw Zwa Moe  
23 September 2019 

Myanmar military commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing attends a military exercise in the Irrawaddy delta region on Feb. 3, 2018. / REUTERS

Have you ever entertained the notion that Myanmar’s military chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, could be the president of the country after the 2020 election? No one should underestimate him, as politics here are more unpredictable than anywhere. Still, the possibility depends on at least one big “IF”.

The commander-in-chief could be the president, IF—as I said—the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), formed by the ex-military regime and still the key ally of the military, and its allied parties win 26 percent of the seats in the bicameral Union Parliament.

Chinese Ambassador Says Beijing Stands with Myanmar on Rohingya Issue

The Irrawaddy
By Moe Myint
22 August 2019

Sen-Gen Min Aung Hlaing (right) meets with Chinese Ambassador Chen Hai in Naypyitaw on Thursday.  / Office of the Commander-in-Chief’s website

YANGON—During a meeting with Myanmar military commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in Napyitaw on Thursday, Chinese Ambassador Chen Hai reiterated that China stands with Myanmar when it comes to international pressure over the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine State, according to an army website.

U.S. Sanctions Myanmar Generals for Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya

TIMES
By Amy Gunia 
17.07.2019 

Myanmar military Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in Ayeyarwaddy delta region, Myanmar on Feb. 3, 2018. Lynn Bo Bo—AP

The State Department announced Tuesday that it has brought sanctions against four Myanmar military generals, including the commander-in-chief, for their roles in ethnic cleansing of the country’s Rohingya Muslim minority.

The sanctions were issued for their involvement in “gross violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings, against Rohingya” from August to September 2017, the State Department said in a press release.

U.S. imposes sanctions on Myanmar military commander over Rohingya abuses

REUTERS 

17-07-2019

 

FILE PHOTO - Myanmar military commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, attends a military exercise at Ayeyarwaddy delta region in Myanmar, February 3, 2018. REUTERS/Lynn Bo Bo/Pool

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday announced sanctions on the Myanmar military’s Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing and other military leaders over extrajudicial killings of Rohingya Muslims, barring them from entry to the United States.

The steps, which also covered Min Aung Hlaing’s deputy, Soe Win, and two other senior commanders and their families, are the strongest the United States has taken in response to massacres of minority Rohingyas in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

Myanmar army chief's Twitter account suspended over anti-Rohingya hate speech

The Guardian
Jamie Fullerton
@jamiefullerton1
Thu 16 May 2019 06.21 BST

Min Aung Hlaing claims his army did not use excessive force when 700,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar in 2017

 Myanmar military commander-in-chief, General Min Aung Hlaing, has had his Twitter account suspended over its use to spread anti-Rohingya propaganda. Photograph: Lynn Bo Bo/Pool/Reuters 

A Myanmar army general accused of masterminding genocide against the country’s Muslim Rohingya people has had his Twitter account suspended, following complaints about him using the social media platform for hate speech.

Min Aung Hlaing, the south-east Asian country’s top ranking general, had his @sgminaunghlaing account taken offline this week.

Twitter Suspends Account of Top Myanmar General Over Hate Speech

Radio Free Asia
2019-05-16

Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi (L) presides over a meeting in Naypyidaw with military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing (R) commemorating the third anniversary of the signing of Myanmar's nationwide cease-fire agreement, Oct. 15, 2018.
Handout/Myanmar State Counselor's Office/AFP

Myanmar’s top military leader, seen by rights groups as the architect of a bloody ethnic cleansing campaign that drove more than 700,000 Muslim Rohingya into Bangladesh in 2017, had had his Twitter account suspended, RFA has learned.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, accused by the United Nations of, among other things, genocide for the Rohingya campaign, had his @sgminaunghlaing account taken offline this week, nine months after his Facebook account was shuttered for hate speech against the ethnic minority.

Military Denies Army Chief Used Twitter after Company Blocks Account

The Irrawaddy
By Moe Myint
16 May 2019

 Snr-Gen. Min Aung Hlaing in 2017 / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

YANGON—Military spokesman Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun downplayed Twitter’s suspension of the account of Myanmar Army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, denying the commander-in-chief had ever officially used the social media platform.

Banned: Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing gets the boot from Twitter

COCONUTS YANGON 

By Coconuts Yangon

May 15, 2019 | 

 Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing speaks at a military parade in honor of Armed Forces’ Day in Naypyidaw. Photo: Facebook / Senior General Min Aung Hlaing

General Min Aung Hlaing’s tweeting days are over.

The top-ranking general in Myanmar, notorious for insisting that there was no use of “excessive force” in the August 2017 military campaign that drove out more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims, was given the boot by the social media network yesterday, a move that follows similar suspensions of his accounts on Facebook and Russia’s VK platform in August.

Attempts to access the commander-in-chief’s Twitter profile today, will redirect you to a landing page that simply says the “account has been suspended.”

Myanmar military chief praises China for support over Rohingya crisis

UCA News
John Zaw, Mandalay
Myanmar
April 11, 2019

Beijing part of the problem when it comes to demanding accountability for human rights atrocities, says HRW deputy director 

A file image of Myanmar's military chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, taken on July 19, 2018. (Photo by Ye Aung Thu/AFP)

The commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s military has praised China for supporting anti-Rohingya operations in Rakhine State and for standing up against the international community.

Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing thanked the Chinese government for supporting its military measures against Rohingya Muslims during a meeting with members of China’s Central Military Commission and Joint Staff Department chief in Beijing on April 10.

 “Myanmar is thankful to China as a good neighbor for its correct stance and standing against the international community over the Rakhine State issue,” Min Aung Hlaing said, according to a press release.

Senators ask US to sanction Myanmar army chief.

MailOnline 
By AFP |20 March 2019

Myanmar military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, seen here inspecting a bridge in August 2018, is facing calls from US senators to face punishment over the campaign against the Rohingya minority

Senators called Wednesday for the United States to slap sanctions on Myanmar's army chief, saying more needed to be done to bring accountability over the campaign against the Rohingya.

In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the four senators said Myanmar has shown "no credible signs of progress" despite widespread international condemnation of the killings and sexual violence against members of the mostly Muslim minority.