The expulsion of 700,000 refugees; the deaths of perhaps 25,000 people; untold rapes, terror and dehumanisation: the last year has been very grim in the north and west of Myanmar. It can’t be called an unknown catastrophe, either. The world has had to make some effort to ignore what has happened in the last year. Much has been reported, despite the best efforts of the Burmese government, which include the shameful detention of two brave Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who have been held for eight months on charges of breaching the official secrets act after researching a detailed report on one small atrocity. Now a United Nations report, a year in the making, has condemned the army’s leadership by name for participation in war crimes against ethnic and religious minorities. The actions of six named generals meet the standard for investigation and prosecution for genocide, the report concludes.
Whether anything will happen to those the report names as guilty as a result is less certain. This is the kind of crime for which the International Criminal Court was established, but Myanmar is not a signatory to the relevant convention. The reputation of Aung San Suu Kyi is still further damaged. Her name will not be remembered as one of the more inspired choices for the Nobel peace prize. But any moves to bring to justice the soldiers whom the UN report names as responsible, including the commander-in-chief of the army, General Min Aung Hlaing, require the assent of the UN security council. This is unlikely. Both Russia and China have consistently supported the genocidal government at the UN. Only last week, the general was visiting Russia and buying arms there. Without the means and will to enforce them, the international conventions against genocide can seem merely aspirational.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
