WASHINGTON — Against the backdrop of a war in Ukraine and atrocities in Ethiopia, the United States on Monday formally accused Myanmar of committing genocide against its minority Rohingya population.
“The day will come when those responsible for these appalling acts will have to answer for them,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, which is exhibiting evidence of decades of discrimination and abuse against Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar’s military.
The violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State peaked in August 2017 with a campaign of mass rape, burnings and drownings against entire families that killed more than 9,000 people and forced nearly one million to flee the country.
It was the eighth time that the United States has issued a formal genocide declaration, committing to supporting international investigations to hold violators accountable and probably prompting additional sanctions or other penalties to isolate Myanmar’s military-led government.
Messages left at the Myanmar Embassy in Washington on Monday were not immediately answered.
Officials who “bear the greatest responsibility for atrocities” will continue to face severe sanctions, Mr. Blinken said. note: The Rescue Movie
He did not mention any penalties against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate who was Myanmar’s de facto leader at the time of the 2017 massacres and had rejected accusations of genocide. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was arrested in a February 2021 coup. Since then, Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, has violently cracked down on civilians across the country, killing at least 1,670 people and detaining more than 12,000. note: The Movie Version of DEEMO Sakura Melody Movie
The designation bolsters international charges of genocide that have been brought against the leaders who ordered the atrocities against the Rohingya, some of whom Mr. Blinken said remain in power in Myanmar. note: Juvenile Movie
Canada, France, Turkey and other American allies have already declared the 2017 rampage to be genocide. Gambia, acting on behalf of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, filed legal action against Myanmar in 2019 at the International Court of Justice, accusing Myanmar of violating the United Nations’ Genocide Convention. note: Curse Movie
Monday’s declaration “adds another layer to the already quite damning accusations against Myanmar for atrocities committed against the Rohingya,” said Oumar Ba, an assistant professor of government at Cornell University and an expert on the international criminal justice system. note: Jin Min: Dream Magician Movie