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ICC prosecutor requests arrest warrant for Myanmar junta chief
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The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Karim Khan, has requested the issuance of an arrest warrant for junta leader Min Aung Hlaing. Myanmar's military chief and prime minister faces arrest for persecution and ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, a Muslim people in Rakhine state.
The prosecutor's office will investigate crimes committed from August 25 to December 31, 2017. The prosecutor emphasized that the crimes were committed with the support of the police and non-Rohingya civilians.
The warrant was sought based on "a wide range of evidence from witness statements, documentary evidence, scientific research, photographs and video."
“We will demonstrate, together with all our partners, that the Rohingya are not forgotten. That they, like all people around the world, have the right to the protection of the law,” the prosecutor’s office said.
In February 2021, the military under the command of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing carried out a military coup in Myanmar.
The country's leader and head of the National League for Democracy party, Aung San Suu Kyi, was convicted on a number of charges during a closed trial. She was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Context
In August 2017, mass killings and persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority began in Rakhine state in western Myanmar. In 2018, the UN recognized the persecution of the Rohingya as genocide.
As a result of the actions of the Myanmar authorities, more than ten thousand people died, and at least another 700 thousand Rohingya were forced to leave the country. 500 thousand Rohingya still remain in refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Refugees arrive in Indonesia by boat. The Coast Guard is preventing them from entering the country.
Military coup in Myanmar and “Operation 1027”
On February 1, 2021, the military in Myanmar carried out a coup d'état, seizing power in the country. Protests against the new government took place throughout the country, and during the suppression of these actions, more than one and a half thousand participants died.
The military coup ended the National League for Democracy party's five-year rule in Myanmar and sentenced its leader Aung San Suu Kyi to 33 years in prison. The sentence was later reduced by six years.
Earlier, the junta once again postponed elections scheduled for August 2023. The state of emergency has been extended for six months.
The military also frequently conducts raids during which trade union or opposition activists are killed and tortured, and houses and civilian infrastructure are burned.
On October 27, 2023, an alliance of three ethnic rebel groups launched “Operation 1027” against the military junta regime. The alliance includes the Chin National Front (Chin people), the Arakan Army (Arakan people), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (Kokang people) and the Taang National Liberation Army (Palaung people).
The rebels are successfully pushing back the military junta and capturing strategic cities in Myanmar.
On August 3, 2024, the alliance announced the capture of the Myanmar military's Northeast Command headquarters in Lashio, a key city on the northern trade route with China. This is the first of 14 regional military districts captured by the rebels.
On August 16, the alliance also announced the capture of the cities of Myingyan and Natogi in the Mandalay region. Among other things, a supply station on Chinese oil and gas pipelines was captured.
In addition, resistance forces captured more than 150 bases, as well as border crossings on the borders with China, India and Thailand.
Many analysts believe that the resistance is likely to prevail, partly due to the lack of sufficient military support for the junta from China.
At the same time, China is providing diplomatic support to the junta and has said it will support elections in Myanmar, which, according to Reuters , are fictitious and their result will not be recognized in most countries. The elections themselves are regarded as the junta's last step to retain power.
Thus, American Peace Institute researcher Billy Ford writes that resistance to the junta demonstrated unexpected unity among various ethnic groups, which could ultimately lead to stable governance after the fall of military power.
Ford notes that fears that Myanmar will become even more unstable after the fall of the junta are unfounded.