Myanmar diplomat and US official dispute violence against Rohingya



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In January, Myanmar reached an agreement with Bangladesh on the repatriation of Rohingya refugees. In May, he reached an agreement with the United Nations that he presented as a first step towards their repatriation. But no Muslim Rohingya has been able to return as part of an official repatriation program, and the United Nations agencies, which are still denied free access to Rakhine State, say that There is no immediate prospect of creating one.

The authorities had arrested most, if not all, of those who had made their way home. They included 58 Rohingyas who returned between January and April and were subsequently imprisoned. After receiving a presidential pardon, the group members were transferred to a "reception center" under conditions that Mr. al-Hussein likened to administrative detention. About 90 other people who attempted to leave Rakhine State by boat last month, but who were forced by an engine failure, were also arrested.

Myanmar's sincerity on repatriation would not be demonstrated by the number of agreements signed. Hussein observed, but only by granting citizenship to the Rohingyas, including 120,000 villagers displaced by violent clashes in 2012 and kept in camps since.

He gave an equally harsh assessment of the prospects for serious investigation by an independent commission of inquiry, which the government announced in May when it stated that it would consider allegations of violations by the security forces. The government conducted a series of investigations into these events, but issued general denials of abuse and accused Rohingya militants of inciting violence.

The only exception, said al-Hussein, was a village massacre reported by Reuters. resulted in 10-year prison sentences for seven soldiers. Two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, who have investigated these events, remain in prison for violating Myanmar's official secrets law

"Myanmar has whitening practices" said Mr al-Hussein to the Human Rights Council. . "There is every reason to believe that another internal investigation will again seek to launder the terrible crimes that have occurred, laying the foundation for a new wave of violence in the future."

Instead, he invited the council to create an international team that would use the evidence gathered by a UN investigative team to investigate the criminal responsibility of individuals involved in the security forces' campaign .

"Myanmar must understand that the international community will not forget the outrages committed against the Rohingyas," he said, "and he will not absolve politicians who seek to cover them up. . "

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