Washington
\nThe United States officially declared on Monday that violence against the Rohingya Muslims committed by Myanmar\u2019s military amounted to genocide, saying there was clear evidence of an attempt to \u201cdestroy\u201d the Muslim minority.
\nCiting the killings of thousands and forcing close to a million to flee the country in 2016 and 2017, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had \u201cdetermined that members of the Burmese military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya.\u201d
\n\u201cThe military\u2019s intent went beyond ethnic cleansing to the actual destruction of Rohingya,\u201d Blinken said at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
\n\u201cThe attack against Rohingya was widespread and systematic, which is crucial for reaching a determination of crimes against humanity.\u201d
\nThe US move did not come with new direct repercussions against the already heavily sanctioned Myanmar regime and dozens of members of its leadership.
\nBut Blinken said it will support international efforts, including in the International Court of Justice, to bring cases of crimes against humanity against the regime.
\nBlinken noted 2017 remarks by Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar military, that the government was \u201csolving\u201d an \u201cunfinished job\u201d in its destruction of Rohingya communities.<\/p>\n
Blinken added that Min Aung Hlaing led the 2021 coup overthrowing the elected government of Myanmar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe brutal violence unleashed by the military since February 2021 has made clear that no one in Burma will be safe from atrocities so long as it is in power,\u201d Blinken said, using the former official name of the country.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone in Burma seen as challenging the military\u2019s grip on power — regardless of ethnicity or religion, age or political party — will be targeted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Around 850,000 Rohingya are languishing in camps in neighboring Bangladesh, recounting mass killings and rape of the campaign that was launched against them five years ago.<\/p>\n
Another 600,000 members of the community remain in Myanmar\u2019s Rakhine state where they report widespread oppression.<\/p>\n
The US declaration was cautiously welcomed by activists and members of the beleaguered community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis should have been done way before. However I believe the US decision will help the ICJ process for the Rohingya,\u201d said one displaced member of the community at a camp near Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine.<\/p>\n
Thin Thin Hlaing, a Rohingya rights activist, also welcomed the US move.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington The United States officially declared on Monday that violence against the Rohingya Muslims committed by Myanmar\u2019s military amounted to genocide, saying there was clear evidence of an attempt to \u201cdestroy\u201d the Muslim minority. Citing the killings of thousands and forcing close to a million to flee the country in 2016 and 2017, US Secretary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-250791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n