On Wednesday, November 27, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) filed a request for an arrest warrant against Min Aung Hlaing, head of the junta in Burma, for crimes against humanity at the expense of the Rohingya minority. Prosecutor Karim Khan declares, in a press release, that he has “reasonable grounds” to believe that General Min Aung Hlaing, de facto leader of Burma, could be criminally responsible for “crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution committed in against the Rohingya” in Burma and Bangladesh. The ICC prosecutor’s office, which is based in The Hague (Netherlands), says it has been investigating crimes since 2019 allegedly committed in Rakhine State, Burma, “during two waves of violence that occurred in 2016 and 2017 and during the exodus of the Rohingya” from Burma to Bangladesh. The Rohingya, mainly Muslims, are persecuted in Burma, a predominantly Buddhist country which subjects them to a regime similar to apartheid, according to the NGO Amnesty International. Several hundred thousand of them left Rakhine state in 2017 to escape large-scale persecution by the army, the subject of a United Nations investigation for genocide. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Bangladesh: “What is striking in the Rohingya refugee camps is the abandonment of a people and the social breakdown” Read later “It will not be the last” About one million Rohingya now live in sprawling camps near Cox’s Bazar, a Bangladeshi town near the border. Many of those who left accuse the Burmese army of massacres and rapes. The ICC prosecutor specifies that this is the first request of this type against a member of the Burmese government and adds that “it will not be the last”. The junta said in a statement that “the ICC’s declarations have never been recognized”. Burma is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, founder of the Court. Widely considered as intruders from Bangladesh, the Rohingya remaining in Burma are notably denied citizenship and access to health care, and must obtain authorization to travel outside their commune. “An arrest warrant is good news for us. [Le chef de la junte] is the main organizer of the 2017 genocide,” underlines Maung Sayodullah, head of a human rights NGO based in Cox’s Bazar. Le Monde Mémorable Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Test your general knowledge with the editorial staff of “Le Monde” Discover The ICC judges must now decide whether or not to issue arrest warrants. If they do so, the ICC’s 124 member countries will theoretically be forced to arrest the junta leader if he visits their territory. China, one of the main allies and arms suppliers of the Burmese junta, is not a member of the ICC. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Behind the scenes of the International Court of Justice, at the bedside of a world in conflict Read later Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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