A group of many MPs have recently signed a letter addressed to the foreign secretary Boris Johnson urging him to work with the EU to sanction Myanmar for their ongoing attacks on the Rohingya community in the Rakhine region of the Asian country.
The MPs signed the letter hoping that more could be done to put a stop to the sustained violent attacks, killings, rape and destruction of Rohingya villages.
The Myanmar military was quick to issue a statement vindicating their actions, claiming that the UK is “turning a blind eye to the real situation”, that they don’t know what they are talking about.
In the same statement, the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s armed forces) took the chance to put the blame of the whole Rohingya crisis on “illegal Bengali immigrants” who are joining the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, an association causing chaos in the region and who is behind the horrors.
It is estimated that over 700,000 Rohingya have fled across the border into Bangladesh, running away from military killings and their villages which have been completely destroyed. The UN is describing the crisis as having all the “hallmarks of genocide”.
“It’s not often that you see a bald-faced lie of this magnitude, but then again, the Tatmadaw have a lot of experience in having no shame – since they’ve been covering up their human rights atrocities for decades,” said the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch.
“Statements like these indicate why the international community must prioritise hauling senior general Min Aung Hlaing and other Burmese military commanders before the international criminal court to stand trial for the crimes against humanity they’ve ordered or committed.”
> Naomi Round
Myanmar Military Denies UK MPs' Accusations of Crimes Against Rohingya
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