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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An investigation by the US government has revealed that the Myanmar army is conducting a "well-planned and coordinated" campaign of mass killings, mass rapes and other atrocities against the nation's Rohingya Muslim minority. from Southeast Asia.
FILE PHOTO: A soldier from Myanmar patrols in a boat on the Mayu River near Buthidaung, in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar September 13, 2017. REUTERS / Stringer
The US State Department report, reviewed by Reuters ahead of its scheduled release on Monday, could be used to justify new US sanctions or other punitive measures against the Myanmar authorities, US officials said.
But she failed to describe the repression as genocide or a crime against humanity, an issue that other US officials believe has been the subject of intense internal debate that has delayed the deployment of report for almost a month.
The results were obtained through more than 1,000 interviews with Rohingya men and women in refugee camps in neighboring Bangladesh, where nearly 700,000 Rohingya fled a military campaign in Rakhine State.
"The study reveals that the recent violence in northern Rakhine State was extreme, large-scale, widespread and appeared to be aimed at terrorizing the population and driving out Rohingya residents," according to the 20-page report. "The scope and scale of military operations indicates that they have been well planned and coordinated."
The survivors described in detail what they had witnessed, including soldiers killing infants and young children, firing on unarmed men and victims buried alive or thrown into mass graves. They described the sexual violence committed by Myanmar soldiers against the Rohingya, often in public.
One witness described four Rohingya girls who were abducted, tied up with ropes and raped for three days. According to the report, they were left half dead.
Human rights groups and Rohingya activists have claimed thousands of lives as a result of repressive attacks by Rohingya insurgents against security forces in Rakhine State in August 2017.
U.N. REPORT FOUND 'GENOCIDAL INTENT'
The results of the US investigation were published nearly a month after US investigators published their own report accusing Myanmar's military of acting with "genocidal intent" and calling the country's commander-in-chief and five generals to be prosecuted in international law.
The military in Myanmar, also known as Burma, where Buddhism is the main religion, has denied accusations of ethnic cleansing and claims that its actions are part of a fight against terrorism.
Senior officials of the US State Department have stated that the purpose of the investigation was not to determine the genocide but to "document the facts" about the atrocities to guide the US policy of empowering the perpetrators, but the report does not propose any new measure.
One official, on condition of anonymity, said that it would be up to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to make such a "legal" designation in the future and did not rule out this possibility.
A declaration of genocide by the US government, which has gone so far as to describe the repression of "ethnic cleansing", could have legal implications by committing Washington to harsher punitive measures against Myanmar.
The International Criminal Court said last week that it had begun to examine whether forced deportations of Rohingya could constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Asked whether the new US conclusions could be used to strengthen these international prosecutions, the State Department official said that no decision had been made regarding the search for "judicial responsibility" over the crisis in the United States. Rohingyas.
Sarah Margon, director of the Human Rights Watch office in Washington, said: "What is missing now is a clear indication of whether the US government intends to commit to accountability and justice for so many victims.
"The stories of some refugees show a pattern of planning and pre-meditation" by the military and other attackers, according to the report, citing confiscation before knives and other tools that can be used as weapons.
About 80 percent of the refugees surveyed said they witnessed a murder, most often by soldiers or police officers, according to the report.
"The reports of mutilation include cutting and spreading bowels, limbs or cut hands / feet, removing nails or burning beards and genitals to force confessions or burning burns."
In a few cases, witnesses said the Rohingyas were killed in pits that were bulldozed by the army or buried alive.
The State Department's investigation was inspired by a US forensic examination of atrocities committed in the Darfur region of Sudan in 2004, culminating in a US genocide declaration that resulted in sanctions against the Sudanese government.
The Trump administration, which has been criticized by human rights groups and by some US lawmakers for reacting prudently in Myanmar, could now face increased pressure to take a firmer stance.
The United States announced Monday that they will almost double their aid to Rohingya IDPs in Bangladesh and Myanmar, with an additional $ 185 million.
Tougher action against Myanmar's authorities may be tempered by US concerns over complicating relations between Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and the mighty army that could push Myanmar to get closer to China.
On August 17, the US government imposed sanctions on four military and police commanders and two army units, but Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing was spared. New targeted sanctions have been considered, officials said earlier.
The Rohingya, who consider themselves to be from Rakhine State, are widely regarded as intruders by the Buddhist majority in Myanmar and denied citizenship.
Report by Matt Spetalnick and Jason Szep; Edited by Alistair Bell
