Don’t respond to ICC warrants
Myanmar junta has ordered all military personnel not to answer letters related to arrest warrants or summons from the International Criminal Court (ICC) or the Argentinian judiciary on the human rights violations of the Rohingya and other communities.
In an order issued on January 6, it said Myanmar still stands by its position that it is not a member of the ICC, so it does not need to abide by the ruling of the ICC.
"Possibilities are that judges of ICC could decide that the evidence of the plaintiff is sufficient to issue arrest warrant or summons," said the order signed by Captain Aung Ko Zaw, said Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) in a statement yesterday.
Therefore, responsible officials of all levels of battalions under the command of the regional operation commands shall supervise and implement strictly to ensure that no one shall accept any letters or arrest orders related to travel restrictions or arrest warrants or summons or letters sent by express carrier services from abroad and other means from ICC or Argentinian Courts or the plaintiff, it said.
On September 6 in 2018, the ICC filed that Rohingya Muslims from northern Rakhine State in Myanmar were forcibly relocated to Bangladesh.
BROUK on November 13, 2019, filed human rights violations and crimes against former heads of state, military senior officials and government leaders in the Federal Court of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In December 2021, the Argentinian judiciary accepted a petition by BROUK to open a case against senior military officials over genocide and crimes against humanity in Rakhine State since 2016.
BROUK, in a statement yesterday, said Myanmar has led a decade-long genocide against the Rohingya people.
In August 2017, the Myanmar military and its proxies launched a vicious operation in Rakhine State, killing thousands of Rohingya and driving hundreds of thousands to flee into Bangladesh.
BROUK said it is outrageous that the Myanmar military is now desperately trying to cover the tracks of its genocidal crimes against the Rohingya.
This leaked memo shows clearly how the Myanmar junta can never be trusted to cooperate with international justice mechanisms in good faith. However, it also is a sign that the efforts to hold the junta to account for its atrocities are working, said Tun Khin, president of BROUK.
"This must also be a wake-up call to the international community to act. The UN Security Council must support a full referral of the situation in Myanmar to the ICC, while other countries should look to open universal jurisdiction cases like the one in Argentina."
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