Slap sanctions on Myanmar army chief

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.

Senators including Dick Durbin, the number-two Democrat, said that sanctions against Myanmar's army chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, as well as other top officers would demonstrate "US intolerance for behavior that contravenes fundamental human rights."

"The Trump administration has taken no action against these senior officials even though sanctions designations would send a strong message that the United States supports accountability for those perpetrating well-documented human rights abuses against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities," wrote the group that also included Republican Senator Todd Young of Indiana, which has become a hub for refugees from Myanmar.

The Treasury Department in August imposed sanctions on four commanders accused of orchestrating massacres, but the senators said the move was insufficient.

They urged sanctions against Min Aung Hlaing under the Magnitsky Act, a US law named after a Russian accountant who died in prison that lays out the seizure of assets and a US travel ban for foreign officials who violate human rights, reported AFP.

RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has said investigations into allegations of grave human rights violations in Myanmar's Rakhine State remain absent.

She said there are currently no conditions for the voluntary, sustainable, dignified, and safe returns of the over 730,00 Rohingyas currently in Bangladesh, as well as the almost 130,000 internally displaced people who have been living in camps in central Rakhine since the violent events of 2012.

On Wednesday, Bachelet presented reports on the situation in nine countries including Myanmar, as mandated by the UN Human Rights Council.

Bachelet urged rapid steps towards creating the requisite conditions for safe and voluntary returns, as well as recognition by the authorities of the reality of what has occurred, as a first step towards real accountability.

Referring their report she also said no steps have been taken to adequately address the issue of citizenship of the Rohingya people.

There is essentially no representation of the Rohingya community at any level of decision-making, said Bachelet.

On Myanmar, the UN rights boss said systematic discrimination and pervasive restrictions on freedom of movement continue to severely damage the human rights and fundamental freedoms of members of the Rohingya community, reported UNB.