Daily Times

WASHINGTON: As the OIC foreign ministers’ meeting in Islamabad is in progress, the United States declared that Myanmar’s military has committed genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

The legal determination comes nearly five years after the brutal violence killed approximately 9,000 Rohingya and drove nearly 1 million from Myanmar across the border into Bangladesh, fleeing murder, rape and arson.

The US has seen evidence pointing to a clear intent to destroy the Rohingya, with reports of killings, mass rape and arson, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.

Speaking at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, Blinken called the attacks against Rohingya “widespread and systematic”.

He said the Biden administration’s determination was based on a review by the US state department that included documents gathered by organisations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as independent research by the US.

Monday’s declaration comes as the Biden administration attempts to keep paying attention to Asia, especially the countries in China’s backyard, even as the war in Ukraine remains a priority. It could help bolster an ongoing genocide case against the Myanmar military at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Brought by The Gambia, that case would be only the third genocide case the court has ever heard. ICJ judges will rule on whether the case can go ahead after hearing preliminary arguments from both sides. But that process could take months.

Blinken said the United States will seek to help the accountability effort by sharing information with The Gambia. He also announced that Washington will provide “nearly a million dollars in additional funding” to an independent investigative effort related to atrocities documentation.

“The day will come when those responsible for these appalling acts will have to answer for them,”  Blinken said.

A civilian government was in charge when the military launched its campaign, but in 2021 the military took power in a coup. Blinken said that since the coup, the military continues to use the same tactics.

“For those who did not realise it before the coup, the brutal violence unleashed by the military since February 2021 has made clear that no one in Myanmar will be safe from atrocities so long as it is in power,” he said.