Statesman
News Service
September
10, 2020
(Frank Van BEEK / UN Photo/ICJ / AFP)
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When Myanmar’s
putative icon of democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, raised the flag of her party, the
National League for Democracy, in Yangon on Tuesday, she at least theoretically
flagged off the ruling party’s campaign for the election this November.
But the
really unprecedented development of the day was the startling confession by two
soldiers on the Rohingya persecution, notably executions, mass burials, rape
and obliteration of villages. “Shoot all you see and all you hear,” was the
stern directive of the commanding officer.
The extent
to which the in-house spilling of the beans will tarnish the standing of the
omnipotent military and a generally tight-lipped Suu Kyi can only be speculated
upon. Suffice it to register that the video testimony from the two soldiers ~ which
was shared with international prosecutors ~ is the first time that
representatives of Tatmadaw (the Myanmarese military) have openly confessed to
taking part in what UN officials say was a genocidal campaign against the
country’s Rohingya Muslim minority.
The
statement by the soldiers coincides with the International Criminal Court
opening a case to examine whether the Myanmarese military committed large-scale
crimes against the Rohingyas. The soldiers have been sent to The Hague to be
present during the trial.
This is a
“monumental moment for Rohingyas and the people of Myanmar in their ongoing
struggle for justice,” is the response of a human rights watchdog. Both
soldiers could well be the first “insider witnesses” in the custody of the
court.
While it is
yet to be confirmed whether these two soldiers committed the crimes to which
they confessed, details of their statement conform to descriptions provided by
dozens of witnesses and observers, including Rohingya refugees, residents of
Rakhine, soldiers and politicians. It is not clear what will happen to the two
men, who are not under arrest but were effectively placed in the custody of the
ICC on Monday.
The
soldiers’ testimony will also add weight to the separate case at the
International Court of Justice, where Myanmar has been accused of trying to
“destroy the Rohingyas as a group, in whole or in part, by the use of mass
murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as the systematic
destruction by fire of their villages”.
The regime
in Naypidaw, if nominally helmed by Suu Kyi, could arguably have its back to
the wall. It shall not be easy to airbrush, far less deny, the hideous
narrative. Arguably, the soldiers’ confession will impinge on the proceedings
of the International Criminal Court.
Their
presence might lend a new dimension to the hearing. Myanmar’s Election
Commission is yet to decide whether the vote will still go ahead as planned. In
the interim, Suu Kyi has alleged that her campaign was disrupted because of
travel restrictions in the wake of Covid19. The objective reflection of the
soldiers reflects poorly on the military.
Original
Headline: Spilling the beans
Source: The Statesman
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